Single Malt

Tonight we had dinner with a friend of Dave's, who is also at the conference. We decided to walk to the 16th Street Mall and stop when something looked good to us. We liked Marlowe's, but thought we'd try something new. We walked the mall, and chose Katie Mullen's, an Irish pub. Good food, excellent beer.

Afterwards, I suggested walking to the Brown for a drink at the Ship Tavern. I wanted Dave to see the place anyway, the inside is too spectacular to miss. So we walked the couple of blocks on a perfect summer evening, and through the side door into the center of the hotel. First, I had them look straight up to the stained glass ceiling. Then I pointed out the iron balconies, and recounted the story about the soldiers who liked to rapel down to the main floor. As we walked to the Tavern, we stopped to look at the elevator mural, and the antique mail drop. But their jaws dropped when we walked into the Tavern, and they saw the paneling, the ceiling, the triangular shape, the braced "mast" coming through the floor and continuing through the ceiling. Plus all the scale models of sailing ships, displayed around the room.

The Ship Tavern has a great atmosphere. Even though it was crowded, it wasn't loud and noisy. The television wasn't blaring. We could have been in a British bar, surrounded by people, but able to talk and enjoy ourselves. Mike was right—they have a great single-malt menu here. We each chose a different one to try, and also sampled each other's. My first whisky tasting!