Our inaugural Women Who Whiskey outing was to Employees Only.
Employees Only is where I began my search for the best Manhattan in Manhattan (although I look forward to expanding my search to Brooklyn), and has since become one of my favorite speakeasy style whiskey bars in the city.
Made with a little more Vermouth than usual, citrus bitters, and a generous sliver of orange peel, and served in very generous larger-than-average stemware, the Manhattan at Employees Only has yet to be beat.
If you don't know exactly where it is, the first time you go Employees Only is hard to find. The only thing on the sign is their enigmatic EO logo, which on its side looks more like stylized Arabic scrips than English. But you can recognize the place by the red light of the palm reader in the entrance.
When we showed up at 6:30 on a Sunday evening, we expected to find a table, since there weren't very many of us. Fortunately (although we didn't think so at the time) there weren't any open tables, so we were forced to stand at the bar. This was a blessing in disguise because it meant that we got to chat with the not-too-busy bartenders, and have them explain everything that was going into our cocktails. All of which were delicious, including the fruity ones!
It was then that we realized that every bartender's wet dream is having a group of beautiful, charming women show up at the bar in the form of a women's whiskey club, and start making connoisseur inquiries about the whiskey selection.
The bartenders at Employees Only take their work very seriously, a number of them rocking identical Prohibition era waxed mustaches and tattoos of the EO logo.
Our bartender certainly took the time to make sure all of our questions were answered. He even gave us a very generous (free) sample of delicious Templeton Rye, which Paige and I promptly ordered a glass of, neat.
It was like warm liquid nutmeg-spiked eggnog, and one of my favorite rye whiskeys to date.
As our first Women Who Whiskey event, it was a success (in spite of all of the women who couldn't make it), and I look forward to our outing to Employees Only.
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510 Hudson St
(between 10th and Christopher)
(between 10th and Christopher)
212.242.3021
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