A few weeks after the Multnomah Whiskey Library opened, I decided to visit them again to see what it was like when it was not their opening day (my first visit). It was a Friday and around 3 pm was a good point to stop in my work, and my brain was full from the week. So I decided to leave and have a little reward, and the MWL immediately came to mind- I knew it opened at 4 pm, so maybe 10-15 minutes later I was off.
When I arrived there it was just after 4, and there was still a line- but not because the tables were all taken. They were “staging gently” by seating people a table or so every few minutes- they didn’t want to overwhelm their staff. I understand they need to pull the bottles and to the individual table service, but I’m not sure about the other guests, but I could easily spend quite a bit of time reviewing the bottle list. Regardless, 15 minutes later I was seated in a cushy sofa lounge chair and there were still a few chairs at the communal table open, so clearly you will be rewarded for being able to come early. I was warned that they had a reservation in about 1.5 hour, as was the pair of people before me (well, it seemed like a son and his mom actually, aww), but I didn’t think I’d be there that long (the son and mother were told the same thing). As it so happened, we ended up sitting across from each other in other two lounge chairs.
While his mom ordered a cocktail, I think the son ordered a bourbon with a beer-back and seemed extremely familiar as he browsed through the large tome of bottles and inquiring about membership. Membership allows the privileges of making reservations, as well as the ability to rent a locker space which you can store your own bottles (and presumably have access to being able to order those bottles from the sources at the MWL’s list). At the time all the locker spaces were already all rented until sometime next year- wow. I didn’t know there was such pent up demand in the market. I’ve not been a fan of the beer-back, though in theory I understand how beer can be a great pairing and even partial cleanser with its carbonation- after all beer pairs great with food, and having it with say whiskey is a similar concept. I guess I’ll have to eventually explore this more myself and learn.
After taking probably 10-15 minutes to flip through the book of bottle listings, I took the advice of a commentator on my previous blog entry to order half pours. This allowed me to order 3 half-pours in order to create my own flight: Tyrconnell 10 year finished in Madeira port, Sherry port, and a Port cask.
It was marvelous to be able to taste these 3 options side by side. Each was unique- the one in Sherry finish had more of a smoke current in the flavor profile and a nose of sweet honey, the sample in the Madeira cask had more of a caramel noise. Finally the Port finish version had a balance of smoke and vanilla and was very smooth and was my favorite of the three.
There have been changes to the menu- the delicious but messy to eat Hot Brown morphed into a sandwich, and as I write this now I think they have updated the menu again based on what is available seasonally. When I asked the hostess, besides the sandwich version of essentially the Hot Brown she said a well loved food entree was the Smoked Ham Hocks mac n cheese, so that’s what I had. It was a smaller portion than I anticipated when it arrived, but it’s hard to complain about the tastiness of that bubbly crunchy cheese except for wanting more.
Meanwhile, it looks like the MWL is starting their classes. Tomorrow, from 5-7:30pm the MWL is presenting A Tour of Cognac in Six Glasses with Hoke Harden.
“Learn the story of terroir in the six crus of Cognac, tasting Grande Champagne, Petite Champagne, Fins Bois, Bons Bois, Bois Ordinaires and the rare and highly acclaimed subzone Borderies. Discover the amazing range of expression of the world’s most iconic brandy.
Learn the exacting double-distillation process required by the Méthode Charentaise, plus the process of barrel-making, secrets of aging and blending by Master Blenders.
We’ll journey through Cognac the finest way possible: TASTING six Cognacs, expertly selected for the evening.”
It also looks like the tasting will be accompanied by snacks from the kitchen as well, which helps rationalize the price $35 Public price. I won’t be attending since I need to start carefully watching my budget for the holidays, but I’m so pleased to see that MWL is stepping up to be more than just a place to order drinks but also learn. There was a Prichard’s Double Chocolate Bourbon that caught my eye while reading the bottle list, so I’ll be back eventually for another Multnomah Whiskey Library whiskey flight.
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