On our first night we ducked into Copper & Oak, a tiny nook of a bar on Allen St in the Lower East Side that specializes in brown liquors including whiskys, bourbons, scotches and brandys.
The staff are very knowledgeable and retrieve bottles from high on the shelves using movable ladders. Here I’m receiving some recommendations.
The drinks menu at Copper & Oak is so extensive they don’t attempt to print it on paper, but instead just give you a tablet configured with a menu app. Overwhelmed with indecision, I ordered an Oban, a reliable scotch I’ve had a few times since I visited the town of Oban in Scotland in 2003.
Whatever you order at Copper & Oak they bring you the bottle to admire while you sip.
For my second round, I got recommendations for Japanese whiskys, something I’d surprisingly not tried before. I enjoyed the Yamazaki from Suntory, described to me as a “good baseline” for Japanese whiskys.
Although the bar doesn’t really serve cocktails, they do have one nod on the menu to those who don’t like to consume their firewater straight. Josie enjoyed this Tennessee Whisky on the rocks with crème caramel, a subtle-enough alteration that cuts the burn but keeps the flavours intact.
After our evening drinks we were treated to a great sunset down Prince Street from the Bowery. Tokyo Bike, on the right, was a quirky little bike shop.
