bar

80 whiskeys at the bar...

Went to a media-preview at Irish Whiskey Public House in Dupont last week -- aka the 3-story bar that took over the former Porter's spot.

This is not a shooter bar -- several whiskeys on the menu will set you back $20+ a glass. Makes me wonder how much they spent on that case full of Chris Cooley pottery on the third floor.

The menu, design by Sean McIntosh (Kinkeads, Dean and Deluca) is unlike any Irish pub in the region -- with dishes such as seared hailibut with roasted, woody Chanterelles and (amazing) gnocchi-like potato puffs, corned beef & cabbage spring rolls a $50+ lobster and filet 'surf and turf' option. The gougeres went so fast during the media preview that the chef had to yank them from the opening menu. They require a special tapioca flour that must be special ordered, but they should make it way back onto the menu by mid-January.

An off-menu whiskey worth considering on a VIP night: Tullamore Special Reserve (Private Stock. Bottled in the '40s): $300 per glass. The owners claim it may be one of the last bottles left in the world, from the original Tullamore Irish Whiskey Distillery in County Offaly. Try it while you can. And tell me how it tastes.