Vintry Wine and Whiskey

With its reliance on terroir and barrel aging process, whiskey is sometimes called the wine of liquor...but if they're so alike, why aren't they hanging out on the couch and watching Universal Soldier all the time? Finally becoming the roommates they were destined to be, Vintry Wine and Whiskey.

From the team behind Adrienne's, Ulysses, and pretty much everything else on Stone St, VWW's a brown booze and vino temple that feels like the inside of a swanky tree thanks to a 23ft bar made of rare African "flaming bubinga" redwood; rainforest marble table tops; port-colored custom leather stools; and handcarved, bone-like maple "vines" snaking throughout the space...sadly not also made out of flaming bubinga. Using a life-extending dispensing system, more than 80 global wines typically available only by the bottle are broken down into 2oz & 5oz pours, including big time vintages like a '95 Carruades de Lafite Rothschild, an '07 Rochioli Pinot from the Russian River Valley, 1er Cru from Henri Gouges and Les Fremiers, and a '79 Chateau Talbot, unfortunately not accepting coupons from the Sunday paper. Whiskeys hail from all over as well, from Irish offerings like Knappogue Castle's '51 (the "oldest Irish whiskey in the world"), to Japan's Suntory, to America's Pappy Van Winkle, but most impressive are the 100-plus single malts broken down by region, including Speyside, Highlands, Campbleton, and islands from Skye, to Mull, to Orkney, where batches are set aside to help cope with the mental anguish of massacring hobbits.

There's also a bourbon-heavy cocktail list, plus quaff-enabling small plates including lobster stuffed mushrooms, lamb spare ribs, smoked salmon knishes, and veal meatballs, reminding you that maybe if yours weren't always hanging out on the couch you'd still have a roommate.