Whiskey Kitchen

A New Fashioned cocktail at Whiskey Kitchen. (Credit: Alan Poizner)

Byrd's Eye View - Whiskey Kitchen

I spotted Kings of Leon there. Who else popped by this...

Tasty concoctions are coming out of the Whiskey Kitchen.

Entrepreneur Chris Hyndman has taken the concept of a great tavern - that easy, neighborhood joint known for stout pours and spirits-sopping grub - and given it comfortable sophistication.

What had most recently housed tequila bar Agave at the corner of 12th and McGavock is transformed into a savvy urban saloon. The place is open yet cozy, a study in warm browns. There are walls of brick, reclaimed oak and crocodile-patterned leather and convertible windows to let in air and light. Glass shelves of whiskeys soar behind the bar, and inverted bottle-shaped pendants seem to hover in space. It's a clubby, industrial feel that fits top-of-the-Gulch.

And like a good bar, it has relaxed buzz, music, flat screens for sports, a pervasive din of chatter and clink.

If you're a whiskey purist, there are more than 100 opportunities to drink it neat. Under mixologist Austin Ratliff's direction, there also are creative concoctions: classic cocktails made anew. You're not restricted to whiskey - beers, wines and vodka- or gin-based cocktails abound - but we narrowed our choices to the namesake.

WK's Marmalade Whiskey Sour used Bernheim Wheat Whiskey for its base, with bittersweet orange marmalade and lemon to give the drink a complicated citrus twang.

Peach bitters and diced tart green apple mixed with Old Forester Bourbon went into the New Fashioned, making for smooth sipping. And the cinnamon lacing the Buffalo Trace Bourbon in Amber had a surprising and pleasant bite.

With all these heady beverages, you'll want something concocted from the culinary side of the Kitchen. Cuisine maestro Scott Alderson, a Gulch pioneer of 6 Degrees fame, has created a broad menu that takes bar favorites and enlivens them with unique sauces, spreads and dips. Pub mainstays such as wings and nachos get special treatment, bourbon-spiked barbecue chicken and fire-roasted chili being standouts. You'll notice fresh, local ingredients, especially cheeses and smoked meats, and some healthier options, such as WK's Raw crudités plate. Most items are amply portioned; this is food made for sharing.

A wooden bowl filled with sweet potato fries, dusted with sea salt and brown sugar, found crisp favor with all at our table, good alone or dipped in zippy Jack Daniel's mustard ($6).

Most creative was the fried green tomato appetizer, with apple butter, goat cheese, country ham tapenade and a tangle of peppery arugula bringing distinctive pops of flavor to the dish ($7).

The slider phenomenon is no stranger here, and WK has a sweet setup. You can choose steak, ham, chicken or fried green tomato to top the four hefty buttermilk biscuits, and the trio of tasty spreads are standalone good. We got ours with Alderson's famous fried chicken fillet - crunchy and delicious, layered with whipped blackberry-peppercorn butter, horseradish-peach marmalade and honey-pecan Bonnie Blue goat cheese ($14.50).

Chris Hyndman has a larger vision for the top of the Gulch. His M Street project, focused on that block of McGavock between 11th and 12th, will offer a stretch of entertainment and dining venues. In early 2010, Kayne Prime steakhouse is poised to open in the former Radius 10 space, and his signature sushi spot Virago will relocate across the street. With its upscale yet unpretentious feel, Whiskey Kitchen's debut bodes well for what's to come.