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LifeEpicurean.com wrote
Barrel 44: A Whiskey Bar Work In Progress
Thursday, October 16th, 2008
BY ANGEL JACKSON
For many Columbus residents, the grand opening of Barrel 44, a new whiskey bar in the Short North, was a much anticipated event, so it came as quite a surprise to discover the bar had opened, very much under the radar, without a Grand Opening, or much fanfare of any kind. This may be attributed to the long delay in opening, and early renovation problems the bar encountered, or perhaps its an indication that they would rather have time to work out the kinks prior to the City’s resident Bar Hoppers descending on their establishment. Regardless, I ventured out to Barrel 44 this weekend to sample one of Columbus’ few dedicated whiskey bars.
Barrel 44 is not a bad new spot, and in time could present a lot in the mid-range bar and upscale casual dining scene of the Short North, particularly in that area of the neighborhood. As it stands now, however, there is room for improvement, and it remains to be seen if Barrel 44 even aspires to be more than merely a quaint spot for a few drinks before moving on to another establishment. One hopes they do, and it certainly shows promise, but the proof is in the whiskey.
Related Story:
Thursday, October 23, 2008
By Brittany Kress
Barrel 44 has been getting its Short North once-over.
Curious faces stop in regularly, wondering what to make of this self-proclaimed whiskey bar that opened Oct. 1.
Behind the small, high tables and a bar so shiny it looks wet, Dave Nguyen might seem familiar. In his nine years bartending, he’s worked at almost as many Columbus bars: Novak’s, Brazenhead, Skully’s and Skye Bar are just a few.
He’s really enjoying Barrel 44, though.
“I’m just a Scotch drinker,” Nguyen said, adding that wasn’t a requirement to get hired. “It helped on a resume.”
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I sell people a product that makes them stupider. And it works, pretty effectively.
What do you think you’d be doing if you weren’t bartending?
Probably working 9 to 5, with the rest of the zombies.
Ouch.
It’d be interesting to do a side by side tasting.
I have done a side by side. I’ve guzzled gallons of both over the years.
For one, you would have to add a LOT of water to bookers to get it down to anything near the concentration in the “white label”. a couple of ice cubes won’t do it. I usually use one cube. I’ve never attempted to add that much water, and I don’t know why anyone would.
For another thing, it has noticeably more smokey flavor. The white label has distinctly more corn mash flavor. Again, this may be a function of not being diluted, but it may also be because it is aged longer (8 years instead of 4). I’m going with the later.
Either way it’s a fine taste that you do NOT get with any treatment of the white label.
Flavor being somewhat subjective, of course, everyone’s mileage will vary.
I sell people a product that makes them stupider. And it works, pretty effectively.
What do you think you’d be doing if you weren’t bartending?
Probably working 9 to 5, with the rest of the zombies.
Ouch.
Yeah. I like this guy.
heh.
Digging a little deeper…
I used to be a shy, sullen, angry loner kid. And when I became a bartender, I couldn’t be that. I like feeling popular, because I was never popular as a kid.
Well… at least he’s not shy any more.
heh.
Digging a little deeper…
I used to be a shy, sullen, angry loner kid. And when I became a bartender, I couldn’t be that. I like feeling popular, because I was never popular as a kid.
Well… at least he’s not shy any more.
This guy is sweet. Even sweeter than NDecent.
I’ve been three times now. The Jefferson Reserve beer on tap is great. I will agree with everyone else about the ramps. There are way too many. Everywhere you go the floor is slanted or there is a step. Not a good mix with whiskey and good stout. I wish the beer were about a dollar cheaper but other than that I like it.
I disagree, you can never have enough ramps! 8)
Has Barrel 44 fallen off the radar for everyone now?
We went for the 1st time post-GH on Sat. Food is meh. Whisky list is decent enough, mostly dragged down by Ohio’s wretched availabilities. Props for actual cubes of ice in correct size. I did have something I’d never even heard of – which is alway cool – in a Tasmanian single barrel whisky. Smooth, nice quality with a suprising fruitiness. Elena’s ‘Old Fashioned’ was nice enough.
Bonus points for having a game on TV while having an old-school punk soundtrack.
Would go again, won’t seek it out specifically.
A.
I’m still totally turned off by the interior unless they’ve made big changes since my last visit.
We had planned on doing a Happy Hour Meetup here, but the owners never really followed up with me about it and I haven’t gone out of my way to hunt them down.
We’ve usually walked in Bodega and walked right out lately and headed to Barrel 44. I’ve been enjoying B44. Pretty good selection of whiskeys.