After a spherical at Pebble Seaside, seize a Hakushu, Macallan, or Knob Creek on the golf course’s Faucet Room. (Picture by Randy Tunnell)
A bucket-list spherical of golf deserves an equally distinctive post-round pour. But, on the subject of whisky collections, America’s most exemplary golf resorts are usually not all created equal. Right here’s a have a look at 5 esteemed golf golf equipment and resorts with distinctive whisky lists.
The Vineyard Bar doesn’t focus on what its title suggests. Sure, you possibly can order greater than two dozen wines by the glass, and The Immigrant Restaurant, recipient of Wine Spectator’s Better of Award of Excellence, which is adjoining to the bar, gives an in depth wine checklist by the bottle. However if you’re seated in one of many 10 chairs on the bar, the headliner is whisky—with a group of practically 300.
“It’s such an thrilling time to be a whisky drinker,” says managing bartender Peter Kalleward, who factors particularly to various distinctive scotch choices on the menu, amongst them picks from unbiased bottler That Boutique-y Whisky Firm and a few restricted releases from Gordon & MacPhail, together with a 21 12 months previous single malt from Outdated Pulteney. In truth, scotch lovers will revel within the alternative to sip their approach via expansive vertical tastings of Glenfiddich (12 bottles), Balvenie (16 bottles), and Macallan (17 bottles). Simply know that a few of these choices—like Macallan 1985, two Glenfiddich 1975 Classic Casks, and Balvenie 1973 David Stewart Assortment—carry four-figure worth tags per pour.
However you don’t have to drop severe coin on the bar to come back away with a tremendous expertise. Kalleward loves speaking whisky, whether or not discussing unheralded gems from Campbeltown or lesser-known Highland expressions that always redefine a patron’s notion of single malt scotch. “I like exposing individuals to those whiskies that they’ve by no means heard of,” he says. “It’s an awakening that’s unimaginable to look at.”
The Nationwide Tavern at Reyolds Lake Oconee
At first look, the Bourbon Reserves checklist at The Nationwide Tavern will make you suppose you’ve handed via a time warp. It’s a group of fascinating and elusive American whiskeys—a listing that features E.H. Taylor 18 12 months previous Marriage, Blanton’s Gold, Elmer T. Lee one hundredth Anniversary, a full vertical number of Pappy Van Winkle, and many extra. Evidently, bourbon lovers are more likely to be shocked to see so many uncommon whiskeys out there at one bar.
Sure, the menu clearly states that the 34 whiskeys are restricted, that means a few of these choices gained’t final lengthy. Even so, patrons are sure to search out one thing that may quicken their pulse, particularly given the tavern’s costs. Beneficiant three-ounce pours of Abraham Bowman 16 12 months previous, William Larue Weller, and Pappy Van Winkle’s Household Reserve 20 12 months previous price $25, $35, and $65, respectively. Even Pappy Van Winkle’s Household Reserve 23 12 months previous will set you again solely $100 for a pour.
“I all the time worth merchandise primarily based on what I pay for them and never the secondary market,” says Oliver Wilcher, Reynolds Lake Oconee’s director of restaurant companies. “All of us have bucket lists in our lives, and for some individuals, attending to style a few of these hard-to-get allotted whiskeys is one in all them. On the finish of the day, it’s in regards to the expertise, and people are the great recollections we wish to construct as a lot as attainable.” The tavern can also be a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence recipient.
There are two main resort lodges at Sea Island, The Cloister and The Lodge, and each provide distinctive whiskies. The Lodge’s Oak Room’s menu is extra in depth, with 137 bottles, together with Outdated Forester one hundred and fiftieth Anniversary and Glenmorangie Grand Classic 1997. The River Bar at The Cloister gives 89 bottles, however a handful of standout expressions, like Ardmore 30 12 months previous, Glenfiddich 1978 Uncommon Assortment, and Macallan Advantageous & Uncommon 1952, make it a top-notch spot for a dram.
When requested to single out just a few vital bottles throughout the resort, lead bartender Nic Wallace factors to a few vintages of Macallan Advantageous & Uncommon—1950, 1952, and 1990. “These are snapshots in historical past,” he says.
The Oak Room at Seal Island Resort
Whether or not you’re deciding on a tipple at The River Bar or within the Oak Room, ensure you ask if any off-menu bottles can be found. “The minute we put a few of these issues on the menu they’re gone inside per week,” Wallace says, alluding to Pappy Van Winkle and the Buffalo Hint Vintage Assortment. “A few of these bottles don’t make the checklist simply in order that we will make sure that they will stick round for just a few months.”
There’s greater than meets the attention at Pebble Seaside when patrons look at The Faucet Room’s spirits menu. Positive, indulgent pours like Hakushu 18 12 months previous and Bomberger’s Declaration (from Michter’s Legacy Sequence) leap off the web page, however the extra allotted whiskeys—sure, we’re speaking about you, Pappy—are typically out there, too. This additionally applies to whiskeys which might be launched all year long in restricted capability, resembling Blanton’s, so be sure you inquire.
“After we get allotted gadgets, particularly if it’s a one-bottle allocation, it tends to not final very lengthy as soon as phrase will get out,” says Wendy Heilmann, the resort’s director of wine and spirits. “Some are so extraordinarily widespread that we undergo a whole bottle in a single night.”
On the scotch whisky entrance, the resort not too long ago acquired allocations of the most recent Concord Assortment launch from Macallan—Wealthy Cacao—and it plans to create a specialised truffle pairing to additional elevate the expertise. But, based on Heilmann, among the hottest bottles on the bar are personal barrel picks of Knob Creek and Maker’s Mark, each of that are utilized to create specialty cocktails that always function the exclamation factors following a bucket-list spherical of golf. “You get a one-of-a-kind golf expertise,” she says, “and a one-of-a-kind Manhattan in The Faucet Room afterward.”
Following a singular spherical on the Wynn Golf Membership—the 6,722-yard course is discreetly tucked behind the Wynn and Encore towers proper alongside The Strip—golfers can discover equally enthralling whiskey choices, offered they know the place to look. Those that are looking for a noteworthy number of bourbons and ryes ought to enterprise to the Tower Suite Bar, only a quick stroll from the professional store.
The bar’s personal assortment is comprised of greater than 5 dozen exemplary bottles, most of that are celebrated American expressions that may accommodate a variety of budgets. Pours of Elmer T. Lee, E.H. Taylor Small Batch, Excessive West A Midwinter Evening’s Dram, and Outdated Fitzgerald 15 12 months previous, amongst others, may be had for lower than $60. Rarer whiskeys are additionally out there for these prepared to pony up. Two ounces of Michter’s 20 12 months previous bourbon, for instance, will set you again $295; whereas the identical dimension pour of O.F.C. 1995 comes with a $650 price ticket.
In response to Wynn Las Vegas’s resident mixologist Mariena Mercer Boarini, the bar not often exhausts its reserves. Such is the benefit of being a luxurious resort in Las Vegas, although the bar’s tucked-away location additionally helps to clarify how these bottles of sought-after whiskey stick round. “The Tower Suite Bar is unquestionably a hidden gem right here on the resort,” she says. “It was designed to be an adventure-seeker’s bar for its whiskey program.”
