One of the best things about Atlanta is how easy it is to get to great vacation destinations from here. Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport is arguable the busiest in the country and you can fly to almost anywhere from here. Another attraction is the central location in the south. I took advantage of this last weekend and drove over to Charleston, South Carolina with my wife and friends, Sam and Sandra.
My wife’s mother is from Charleston and our friends have been there many times, however it was my first visit. Charleston is a wonderful old southern town. It’s beautiful. The people are friendly. There are plenty of great things to see, do, and eat. We did all of those and packed as much fun into a three day weekend as we could. But what about drinking?
For a beer lover there’s plenty to enjoy. Irish pubs populate a number of streets in Charleston with good selections. The locally made Palmetto Amber is a nice one if you want to go local. Whiskey can be a bit more fickle. There are a lot of 4J bars around the city but there is hope. We found a few bastions of whiskey in the arid sea of beer and cocktails!
First, there are those with small but well chosen selections. These tended to be in the bars of restaurants. High Cotton on East Bay Street and Pearlz Oyster Bar jumped first to mind. Both have great food (High Cotton was hands down the best meal I had in Charleston) and they have a small but well selected whiskey menu.
Second, there is the multitude of Irish pubs all over Charleston. Most are big on beer, light on whiskey. When you go into Tommy Condon’s over on Church St. it looks much the same. However, the secret is to ask what they’ve got behind the bar. Tommy Condon’s has a very respectable selection of Irish whiskey but you can’t see it. It includes favorites from Powers, Paddy’s, Jameson, and even Redbreast. Just ask your server or bartender.
Lastly, if you want to seriously get your drink on there are only two places I found. There is Club Havana on Meeting St. and Husk on Queen St. Husk has a fantastic selection of bourbon, rye, and American whiskey but you will pay for it. They have far and away the highest markup on their liquor. You’ve been warned. For everything else there’s Club Havana. They have a very nice selection of scotch, bourbon, and rums at not astronomical prices. They sit above a Tinder Box and you can bring up the cigars you buy downstairs and smoke up in the bar and lounge. Colleen at the bar was a great bartender and if you want to adventure out beyond the whiskey, give their rum flight a try. It’s a really cool place I wish we had in Atlanta.
That’s my Charleston report. I had a great time and if you go you probably will too.
Drink wisely my friends,
Richard
