singlebarrel

Snazzy. Fun. Experiential.

Just some of the words I would describe my first time at singlebarrel. Definitely a change of pace if you're looking for a chill, reserved environment to have drinks versus a rager at a typical nightclub/lounge in San Jose.

My friend called me up wanting to explore this place and I had no idea a speakeasy existed right next to Motif. We arrived around 10:00pm and only had to wait for another party of 4 to be let in. During that time, we were given menus to browse their extensive lists of cocktails. The person at the front door was dressed in "newsies" like attire, like all the workers in the venue, and briefed us on all the ground rules before entering. They definitely want to maintain a certain decorum for the ambiance. Before we knew it, we were on our way in and being taken care of at the bar.

Our server, Jacob, was great! Definitely informative and validated our selections when we had questions. He fixed our drinks efficiently and it definitely felt like a mini show watching him concoct the different mixtures together. Average drink price for my orders were about $12.00. The drinks that I got were:

+ Kentucky Buck: Fresh strawberry muddled with bright citrus, a stout whiskey underbelly, ginger spice. Definitely my favorite of the night. A great blend of fruitiness and the distinct taste of whisky for all you whisky lovers.

+ Blood and Sand: Rich dark fruit, fresh orange sweetness, slightly smokey edges. When they say smokey, they really mean it! Our server actually set it on fire, which helped in creating that smokey aroma as you sip. A very distinct flavor combination.

singlebarrel, thanks for the great throwback experience. I'm definitely going to come back to try another round of drinks.

Decided to message Abram with a bored night of nothing to do. So we decided to yelp the local area to drink and bar hopped to some bookmarked places!

One, I don't really like to get dolled up for 99% of the time. This is one of those nights, I went to Britannia Arms earlier because I knew already I can wear flip flops a pair of old leggings and some floozy top on without being stopped by the bouncer.

We got here and there was two other dapper gentlemen in front of us. Yikes, the door guy was already attired for work so I kinda panicked. When it was our turn, he handed us the menu to peruse and I asked if what I had on was okay. He looked me up and down, made a face, then smiled and said no worries. 10 seconds of worrisome nothing :)

The menu was handed to us, got briefed us in on how to order which side of the menu was sweet, bitter, little taste of alcohol, strong alcohol taste, etc.

Two, I love the order and semblance of this place. Crowd control, rules are also listed on the menu, I believe the second page of it. We wait our turn to go down the little stairway, wait in line for some people to get their drinks, then we are ushered to go to the bar, then I got to order my first Original Norman Rockwell!!

The drink was superbly refreshing. Yes, there was a little taste of alcohol when they said there wouldn't be, but I didn't mind. I watched him make me drink, was in awe, then questioned if there was enough alcohol in it. LOL. Raspberry in the drink and the sneak up after taste of cucumber. It was AWESOME!

Standing there at the bar next to the peeled and sliced citrus was unique to me, because it made me feel like I was in my own kitcen, granted someone else was making a drink for me :)

We got our drink and because of crowd control, we didn't have to fight for a table or yell at each other across the table to carry a conversation! We spoke normally, we weren't sweating from crowdedness and cramped up against one another. It was a mindblown moment for me to find something like this in DTSJ.

I'm glad I got to come to a place where I didn't have to fight for a place in line to use the women's room or a really, really clean ladies room to boot!

this place is awesome! took some out of town friends and we all loved it! at first youre thrown off by all the rules, but they totally make sense. it's actually quite nice to not have music blasting and not seeing some skank wasted. very refreshing. it's about experiencing the moment and not being distracted by outside elements. the drinks were great and the service wonderful!