One of the newest additions to Midtown Crossing, Grane (120 South 31st Avenue, Suite 5105, Omaha) offers all the comforts of a modern day speakeasy. A whiskey dispensary that also offers a number of craft cocktails and small plates, this concept bar is brought to us from Brix, incorporating their tasting machines (you buy a dispensing card, then sample whisky and scotch to your heart or wallet’s content). Happy Hour is all day Monday and Tuesday (the whiskey machines are also half price all day Monday) as well as Wednesday - Saturday from 3p-6p. Their House Old Fashioned and Amaro are both on tap and $2 off as well as their other house cocktails and featured whiskey classics. Wines are $5 a glass and all draft beers are $2 off. All small plates including whiskey charcuterie (meat & cheese plate) and a chocolate whiskey bundt cake are 25% off.
I immediately loved Grane when I walked through the doors. Dimly lit and all brass and wood really makes you feel like you’ve walked back into the prohibition era. The bar is massive and I got a kick out of the rolling library style ladder the bartenders have to use to reach some of the bottles. I enjoyed that the walls were decorated with news clippings from Nebraska about prohibition and bootlegging as well as Capone-esque pictures of bootleggers and bartenders. Everyone was super helpful and attentive from the moment I arrived (both of my visits were on Mondays and their were only a few other patrons, but I get the feeling the service is the same even with a packed house). The GM even greeted me personally, remembered me upon my second visit and left me his card (great place Joel). Grane is the perfect place if you enjoy history, escapism and whiskey even half as much as I do.
My first order of business was to try the House Old Fashioned ($7: Wild Turkey 101, orange, sugar, angostura). I was a bit skeptical at first since this is “on tap” and how can a mass produced Old Fashioned really be good? It can if it’s from Grane. The drink was perfect and if you’ve never tried an Old Fashioned before this is a good place to start.
I also ordered the warm goat cheese fondue ($8.25: rustic country loaf, Shadowbrook Farm Chevre, roasted cippolini onions, Banguls vinegar reduction). The fondue came out promptly and piping hot. The reduction and onions were very nice compliments to each other as they were both sweeter.I do wish the onions had a bit more of a fine chop to them as currently you’re eating a whole clove at a time. The country loaf was fresh and soft but for this it may have served a better purpose by being toasted. Overall the fondue was a bit sweeter than I expected. I love the slight tanginess of goat cheese and it was definitely missing from this fondue.
I ended up getting a dispensing card, putting $10 on it and sampling three of the whiskeys Grane currently has. First was the George Dickel Grane 9 Year as the bartender had told me this was bottled for Grane (they even have the barrel it was aged in). It’s a Tennessee Style whiskey with notes of maple syrup and caramel and a smooth finish that lingers. Next was my favorite of the bunch, the Green Spot Single Pot Still. An Irish Whiskey comprised of pot still whiskeys aged between 7 to 10 years and matured in bourbon or sherry barrels, this whiskey is a spicier whiskey in tandem with green apple, leaving behind barley and clove notes (yes I just nerded out about the “nose” and “finish” and blah blah blah. I’m becoming a snob with these things). Last was the Greenore Single Grain Irish. This small batch Irish whiskey is also aged in bourbon barrels and made from corn instead of barley, lending it a sweeter taste. It’s not made in a pot still so the finish is smoother. I would recommend the dispensary machines to anyone who 1) likes whiskey or scotch 2) likes learning or tasting new alcohols on a budget 3) someone who just happens to be in Midtown on a Monday and wants something to do.
I ran out of time on my first visit so I returned to try the chocolate whisky bundt cake ($6: scotch raisin compote, bourbon caramel, irish cream ‘air’, coffee powder). The cake is really really dense and the coffee and whiskey is evident immediately. The irish cream ‘air’ (whipped cream) was delicious as was the scotch raisin compote. I would probably would just eat a bucket of it had it been available. I’m not a huge fan of chocolate cake but the raisins and irish cream air made me finish it. The bourbon caramel sauce was a little bit lost with everything else that was going on and I wish the cake had been warmed.
I give Grane 4.5 smiles. It is exactly what I imagine a speakeasy would look like with modern adaptations. The focus is where it should be, on the whiskey, so I only took away half a smile for the food. If you’re looking for an interesting date idea, want to sample something before buying it for a gift, or just want an excuse to dress up a little nicer and enjoy an Old Fashioned Grane in Midtown is the place to be.
No comments:
Post a Comment