North End BBQ - A Bar Review
Just got back home from visiting my parents this weekend in Indianapolis and, on Saturday night, I couldn’t resist the chance to try one of the best stocked bourbon bars in the city. It was a trip of firsts for the family in many ways. The night before, I decided to go hunting for some Four Roses Private Selections from Crown Liquors, and so I took my mom on the very first midnight liquor store run of her life. The next day, I also took her to her first whiskey bar (Mom makes the best designated driver!).
Atmosphere and Service: North End is a barbecue restaurant that prides itself on also having a hell of a bourbon selection. The aesthetic is something of a modern/country crossover, with some allusions to the rough-and-tumble West or South. For the most part, however, it’s a pretty slickly presented but slightly forgettable contemporary bar-restaurant that could be found anywhere in America. Service is friendly — come on, it’s the Midwest. It’s hard to beat the friendliness of Midwesterners.
As is becoming more common nowadays, the bar area was decorated with a number of barrels, although I didn’t catch which distillery they came from (and, honestly, for all I know, they may have been made rather than repurposed for decoration). They serve their whiskies in Canadian Glencairns, which are a wider, stouter version of the standard glass.
Selection: This bar is for the bourbon fans in the whiskey community. It has a deep roster of America’s whiskey, around 150 bottles of the stuff. Aside from bourbon, North End also stocks 50-odd ryes, scotches, and international whiskies, but the star of the show is Kentucky’s finest. From 1792 to Yellowstone Select, you’ll find just about every major bourbon producer out there at this bar. North End also has its own single barrels that vary over time; when I was there, they had a Jefferson’s, a Russell’s Reserve, and a Garrison Brothers Texas bourbon.
Just one part of the impressive bourbon list
The bar also has a few flight options, including a Whistlepig Flight, an Orphan Barrel Flight, and an Old Forester Birthday Flight (guess which one I had . . .). These probably represent the best value at the bar, as you get 1-ounce pours and can try more options within a unified theme.
Rare Bottles: The selection, particularly of rare bottles, was this bar’s strongest suit. North End had multiple Four Roses limited releases, including the 50th Anniversary Al Young and two Small Batch Limited Editions. It had the last three years of Old Forester Birthday Bourbon, and I indulged in a flight of those three to compare and contrast how it’s morphed over the years. And the bar was stocked with a whopping four Parker’s Heritage expressions: this year’s 122-proof powerhouse, the 24-year old from 2016, the malt whiskey (2015’s odd little experiment), and the elusive and acclaimed Promise of Hope. I was surprised not to see either mainstay of the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection, the George T. Stagg or William Larue Weller, but it's hard to complain about what was here.
Value: I’d be hard pressed to argue that this bar is an amazing value given its prices, which are pretty staggering. $45 and up for Parker’s Heritage is pretty stunning. I get that all of these limited edition bourbons are harder to find and priced at a premium nowadays, but I had a dram of Promise of Hope in New Orleans earlier this year for about $18. That was value.
That being said, in fairness to the bar, they stock a ton of limited editions and maintain a backlog of older vintages. So, for instance, they appeared to me to have the Parker’s Heritage bottlings from 2017, 2016, 2015, and 2013 there. So you certainly have to pony up the dough to get a taste, but the bar’s value lies in the fact that you could come here and try a large variety of expensive bourbons in one place. For many of these expressions, this may be the only bar in town that even has them.
***
If you’re ever in Indianapolis and in a mood to try some rare and unusual bourbons, North End is the place to be. Just don’t forget to stop by the ATM before getting there. I’m certainly glad I went, as it’s not every day one gets to introduce his mom to the world of whiskey!
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