Premiere Drams: The Perfect Whisk(e)y Party

Who doesn’t love a party that comes with accessories? And by accessories, I mean a cute little whisky glass I absolutely lost at hour four, an adorable notepad to write down all of my whisky thoughts (which should be illegal, no one needs to know what I’m thinking after four hours of whisky pours) and a map that counts out more distilleries and brands than you’d think they’d be able to fit inside the hallowed halls of Jack Rose. These are the tools of the trade at Premiere Drams, a limited edition and rare whisky festival that kicked off the dog days of D.C. summer with its third iteration.

Premiere Drams is the kind of event that requires a game plan. Should you hit up all of the scotch distributers first and start your day off strong? Should you trust the house and peruse some fine drams at the Jack Rose bottle shop, or should you skip all of that together and make a beeline straight for The Imperial, where raw bar towers and a blind tasting station await? While there are a lot of choices to make here, luckily for you, they’re all the best kind. After all, trying to figure out which rare whisky you should tackle first isn’t a problem, until you’ve been doing it all day in the D.C. sun and you can no longer differentiate your Glenmorangie from your GlenDronach. Even then, that’s not really a problem, it’s just a funny boozy mistake your whisky snob friends will laugh about later.

And speaking of your past, present, and future whisky snob friends, they were all at Premiere Drams, because it’s the kind of festival you can’t miss if drinking good booze is your favorite (or only) hobby. From local pours like the ryes at Sagamore, to international delights like Suntory and all of those aforementioned scotch brands, Premiere Drams had a sip for everyone. Between bites from the overstuffed cheeseboards and gulps of cold oysters, I couldn’t get enough of pours from Uncle Nearest’s Master Blend, Widow Jane’s Lucky Thirteen and The Yamazaki 12-year single malt from Suntory. 

Don’t get me wrong, I tried so much more than that, but it all starts to blend together when you’re hours deep into a high alcohol / high octane drinking party. You have to give it to the folks at Jack Rose though: the booze continued to flow, the mac and cheese bites continued to be passed out like candy and there was always a dark corner or shaded patio to help you hide away and catch a breather. And speaking of breathers, an outdoor spritz bar was available, just in case you needed a break from the whisky and were looking for something a little more bubbly. In that way, they’ve really thought of it all. There’s food, booze, and two different locations with very different feelings. Between the rooftop views of Jack Rose and the dark booths of Dram & Grain, it might just be the perfect whisky party.

Jack Rose Dining Saloon: 2007 18th St NW, DC; jackrosediningsaloon.com // @jackroseindc

Photos by Clarissa Villondo

Kaylee Dugan