Avenue Pub - A Bar Review
I saved the best for last in my series of New Orleans bar reviews. Avenue Pub is a two-story pub and whiskey bar located toward the western end of the Lower Garden District, so far away from the French Quarter that it almost feels like it's in another city. While it is a bit out of the way, it's an essential visit for anyone who loves whiskey. Atmosphere and Service: Weird is the way I'd put it, but I mean that in a good way. A great way, even. I've been to my share of oddball places, and in my experience, those people just have the most fun. This eclectic bar features a lower level that's beer-centric and then an upper level that is a high-end whiskey bar wrapped in an unassuming sports bar package. The decoration is a bit random to say the least, but mostly goes with the unfussy, old, unpolished wood-paneled watering hole anti-aesthetic. It's the place to go if you just want a drink and a TV to watch a game. And, hey, by the way, want to do a little gambling? There are a few electronic slot machines on the way upstairs, help (or hurt) yourself!
The stairs leading up to the whiskey bar feature quirky paintings and also decorative barrel ends from famed distilleries. I noted one from Four Roses with master distiller Brent Elliott's signature. The upper level has plenty of TVs and, as you'd expect of any self-respecting pub in America on a Sunday, played football on every screen. That area features a wraparound balcony so patrons can enjoy their drinks al fresco, adding to the eclectic vibe of the bar. While I was at Avenue Pub, I managed to befriend a bachelor party group and also got to see a somewhat belligerent but mostly jocular interaction between a pack of Patriots fans and a lone Saints fan, all coming from the game (where the Patriots had just vanquished the Saints). Service is great and amazingly efficient, one or two people served the entire upstairs area. When I got there, only one other table was full, but within half an hour it was packed.
Selection: Mind-boggling. The bar has hundreds of whiskies, and the tender has a barman's ladder to reach the upper shelves. This bar had an excellent balanced roster, with an entire two pages devoted to bourbons (one for regular picks, one for rare picks and store barrels). T he store barrels included a representative from almost every big Kentucky distillery. I'd guess the highlight was a Private Selection from Four Roses (a beefy 60+% OESK), but there was so much else to try I didn't even get there.
Other pages of the menu (see below) lay out the impressive scotch and world whiskey selections. Honestly, a bar with the scotch selection alone would qualify as a respectable whiskey bar. To combine everything together, this bar had the best roster in New Orleans. Rare Bottles: In the mood to try some older special editions of Islay scotch, like Ardbeg Ardbog or 2015's Supernova? They're here. In the mood to pay for a slug of Pappy Van Winkle? They have bottles, and the prices actually were reasonable (relatively speaking, I think it was $60 a pour). The list goes on and on. My prize pick for the day was Parker's Heritage Promise of Hope, a 2013 release and one of the most acclaimed bourbons of the last 5 years. I personally had given up hope of ever seeing and getting to try that bottle. Avenue Pub had one. Just look at this ridiculous menu:
I can only speculate that the owner or manager of this bar has deep connections in the liquor industry (that, or salacious blackmail on the heads of every major distillery in Kentucky and Scotland). How else can a bar have so much in stock? The only comparable bar for finding rare whiskies that I've visited is Jack Rose in DC, which has the largest whiskey collection in the US. This bar doesn't have thousands of bottles like Jack Rose, but what Avenue Pub has at the high end stacks up with anyone. Value: Here's the best part -- it's downright cheap for a whiskey bar. It's $6 for a 1.5 oz pour of Eagle Rare. My local whiskey bar sells that for $20 for 2 oz. Even other New Orleans bars had that for a bit more. Elmer T. Lee is $8 for a pour; in most of the country, you can't even find a bottle of that bourbon. Their Four Roses Private Selection went for a reasonable $13 a pour. Considering that's a barrel strength Private Selection, that is very reasonable ($13 might not get me a pour of standard Four Roses Small Batch in a lot of bars in Miami). The list of great value picks goes on and on.
I almost lost my mind when I saw the price for the Parker's Heritage I tried -- $17.25 a pour. That is not a cheap drink, but look for that bottle online, and it'll cost $500. At the listed price, I could have bought the bar's entire bottle for $300. Incredible value, paired with incredible selection. This bar is made for whiskey lovers.
***
Run, don't walk (or, better yet, have you car take you straight from the airport) to Avenue Pub. It's unpretentious, a little weird, a lot of fun, and a great place to drink. If you want a bar that's good for a first date, don't come here. But if you want to try some of the best whiskey this world produces, without mortgaging your house, Avenue Pub in New Orleans is the place to be.