[title]
Do you prefer your whiskey on the rocks? Or is a shaken Whiskey Sour more of your speed? Well, Williamsburg’s latest bar is here to please, however you like to “handle your brown."
As of July 12, Foolproof opened its doors on 476 Driggs Avenue. Andy Lock, previously of The Lobster Club and the now-closed Gotham Bar & Grill, is the maestro behind the bar and its bold selection of spirits, with whiskeys tipping over 400 bottles deep. As intimidating as the number may be, Lock’s whiskey haven is here to welcome all who wish to sip and swill.
RECOMMENDED: The 30 best bars in NYC right now
“Foolproof is the kind of bar I’ve wanted to open for years,” said Lock in a press release. “We take the whiskey seriously—but never ourselves. This is a place to drink well with an extensive list of options, eat well, and actually have fun doing it."
Whiskey lovers will surely be drawn to the glow of the handsome wooden bar, with its hundreds of glittering bottles that climb up to the ceiling. And yet, Foolproof’s handmade wooden tables and chairs, plus a few plush booths, are sure to be the spot for casual conversation while perusing through the book of spirits.
American whiskies dominate with six pages dedicated to the fermented grain. However, the list hawks plenty of Irish and Japanese varieties, as well as selections from lesser-known areas, including Austria, India and South Korea, ready to sample by the glass, flight or boilermaker. If you’d rather have a cocktail, they’ve got "Foolproof Classics,’"including barrel-aged Manhattans and Old Fashioneds, plus Highballs and Boulevardiers. There’s a reserve cocktail list that includes an Old Fashioned stirred with black truffle-infused Prunier VSOP Grande Champagne cognac and an Extra Añejo Espresso Martini. Yet Foolproof includes all drinkers, as the bar comes full stocked with beer, wine and a handful of no-proof tipples.
Lock’s other philosophy also rings true here: good whiskey deserves good food. Better bar bites include a Relish Tray with an assortment of house-made pickles and tapenade and sashimi-grade tartare, including one that uses a whiskey-cured salmon. There are heartier sandwiches that use house-cured portobello and pastrami plus a veggie-friendly "burrata". And when you are ready for a nightcap, you can actually turn to the dessert menu for salted caramel whiskey ice cream.