Dave's found a great bar

Although Dave's bar on 3rd Street ought to have been a hit it was just "OK".  Last night however we headed out to Bourbon and Branch which is on the site of an original speakeasy from the days of the prohibition.  The entrance is just a door with a buzzer (makes Soho House look like a regular pub entrance).  You press the buzzer and the door opens a crack and you're asked for the password.  Assuming you pass this test and have ID (I failed that one but passed the "tie-breaker" question to gain entry), you are escorted through a few dark rooms and, in our case, to the library at the back of the building.  It's floor to ceiling books as you'd expect with a bar at one end.  The barman was an absolute pro, an artist in fact.  They do about half a dozen "house" cocktails but he said he could make anything you liked but he was out of egg whites (no big loss in my opinion).  So I tried a couple of the house cocktails which were nice enough but then I caved and got down to the serious business of the Highland Park 18 (sorry Keith!) and a wonderful Ardbeg Uigeadail.  The barman seemed to like the way I was motoring my way through the tab and we got chatting about bourbon versus whiskey.  We discussed the whiskeys I enjoy and he proceeded to line up half a dozen glasses on the bar and started collecting various bottles from the massive array behind him.  Well, one thing lead to another and I now know that:

1. Right now, I prefer whiskey to bourbon.

2. I need to practice a little more to move beyond the vanilla and butterscotch.

3. If I practice too much, they all taste nice and it's hard to be really objective.

4. My current favourite is Black Hill Maple although the Buffalo Trace was also good.

5. You don't want to head South or West when you exit the bar.

So maybe not as cultured or as interesting as Jo and Owen's entries but you can't go far wrong with a tip for a good bar.