SB Newbie in New York City

[Mega Boris]

Hey guys.
Name is Boris, a 27 year old living in NYC.
Started drinking Bourbon in college thanks to my Kentucky roommate.

I've found some pretty great places around the city to stock up.
Astor Wines and Park Avenue Liquor both have great selections and are reasonably priced. I live close by to Crush Wine and I can find some surprises there occasionally.

I'm trying to get the taste for Rye's.
I recently bought a bottle of the Hudson Rye (I took a weekend trip up to Tuthilltown Distillery) and I also just started on a bottle of the Rittenhouse Bonded Rye.

I wanted to get some suggestions for some great places around the city where I can try out new Whiskeys without breaking the bank. I've been to Char No. 4 and Brandy Library. Both places are amazing, but very expensive.

I also am bummed that I missed WhiskeyFest by a day.

[Stones]

Hey Boris! Welcome mate, you are one lucky fella having Park Avenue Liquor on your doorstep, some of us fly half way round the world to see that sort of variety. Enjoy your flourishing relationship with this wonderful syrup.

Other places to visit that you may find interesting:

St Regis - Two East 55th Street, at Fifth Avenue.
Keens Steakhouse - 72 West 36 Street.
Sherry-Lehmann Spirits - 505 Park Ave.
Bar American - 152 West 52nd Street.

Have fun!

[fishnbowljoe]

Welcome Boris. Nice to have you as a member. I'll be honest and tell you I haven't the vaguest idea what places are available in NY, but I might be able to help you figure out ryes a little. When I first got into bourbon, I just couldn't get into ryes at all. I tried a few, and ended up trading them. This was probably due to the fact that at that time, I really preferred wheated bourbons. As I tried different bourbons, and my tastes expanded, I gradually started to like bourbons with rye/high rye recipes. Then I happened upon some 23 yr old Rittenhouse Rye. I bought a bottle and tried it. I ended up buying three more because the price was too good to pass up. Then I got to taste the BTAC 08 Handy. Wow! Bought one of those. To top that off, a local store did their own bottling of Sazerac Rye. (Baby Saz) Bought some of those too. My suggestion would be to give it some time. Don't force it. Try some different bourbons. WT and FR have higher rye content, so that might be a start. Then try a rye again. My story is funny in a way, because the second time around, I started towards the high end and worked my way down. Go figure. Anyway, I hope this has helped some. Again welcome. Cheers! Joe

[sailor22]

Welcome Boris. Brandy Library is fun isn't it? Just be sure your credit card has lots of room
Don't miss the Manhattans at Keens (mentioned in Stones post), they don't have a terrible Bourbon selection either.

With Rye sometimes it is easier to start with the higher aged stuff like Sazerac 18, Hi West 21, Rittenhouse 21, 23, Vintage 21, 23, or Van Winkle 13 (it's actually an 18) and work toward younger.

[Mega Boris]

Hey guys, thanks for the warm welcome.
While at Brandy Library I tried the Russel's Reserve Rye which was very mellow and very delicious.

Lucky for me, today happens to be my Birthday, so I'm treating myself to a present. Wanted to get an idea for something nice to buy for myself.

I was thinking of getting a Handy or a Sazerac 18.

[p_elliott]

Welcome to the site Boris and happy birthday. Try this for a rye Wild Turkey 101 Rye it's a lot cheaper than those others and I think you'll be happily surprised. If you like rye Whiskey you'll probably like the high rye bourbons as well like WT 101 or any of the WT products, Old Grandad, Fighting Cock, to name a few. Have fun on the site ask questions , give us your opinions and make some new friends.

[Ruby K]

Hey Boris, welcome to SB! Always fun to have someone local on the boards. Here are some other local places worth checking out:

1) Blue Smoke/Jazz Standard has a decent collection behind the bar, including the PVW 18,which I don't think you can find anywhere else.

2) Another store with a great selection and great prices is Warehouse Wines, on Broadway and (i want to say) 8th St. Downside is they don't have a website, but plus side is the prices are really reasonable.

if you're looking to do bourbon-related stuff, lemme know. i have a group of folks, we kick in 20 bucks or so apiece, and i buy bottles for tastings, so lemme know if you're interested.

[Parkersback]

I guess i should post my own intro rather than tag along on someone else's into, but I just searched "New York" in order to ask a NYC-centric question. And I guess it is OT since I am a newbie from NYC.

I've been on the board as a lurker for about 4-5 months and as a member for much less. Many thanks to everyone for such informational and fun posts.

I have been dusty hunting around NYC with some very mild success: I found a liter of Old Taylor 86 in Bushwick (very nice bourbon), some OWA from 97 (post-SW) in Clinton Hill (the place also had exactly one remaining 750 of OWA that was the gold-threaded bottle) and some 1.75's of OF86 from the mid-80's (meh).

But my question is this: I was thinking of heading to the Bronx tomorrow for some hunting--I know there are a pretty good handful of New Yorkers on the board--and I was wondering if it's already been pretty picked over there. If someone here on the board has already been there and has picked things over, I can save the time if I know about it.

[Vosgar]

I can't answer your question of whether or not the Bronx is picked over, but you should go for it anyway. You never know what others may have missed or what the store owner may have come across in the backroom and just recently put out on display. Happens often enough around here to where I have to stop in to certain stores ""just in case".

Good luck and let us know if you find anything interesting

Gary

[camduncan]

Welcome aboard Borris. You certainly live in a great part of the world!

One of our members was nice enough to show us around New York City a couple of years ago. One place we went that had a reasonable selection of bourbon was Union Square Wines. Even better though was their tasting setup that let me try some of their bourbon range for a nominal price before I purchased a whole bottle. (That's when I first tried Vintage 17 and later purchased a bottle in KY)