In what we initially took as a dare, Grant Achatz announced on Twitter that Aviary would start offering a flight of just about every Old Rip Van Winkle bourbon available, including the 10, 12, 13, 15, 20, and 23 year old bottles. Considering our bourbon infatuation, we immediately reached out to Achatz to see how the whole flight experience would work, how much it’d cost, and what other flights were in store for the future.
The Old Rip Van Winkle flight features tastings of those six bottles with “food bites to compliment,” and will cost $150. While Achatz admits that other bars in the city may have some of the same bottles, he believes that Aviary is “the only one to offer a flight of this depth, and do it in a way that allows the guest to evaluate them side by side.” While the price is high, the retail cost for a single bottle of the Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve 23 Year Old Bourbon is usually well over $200.
Aviary won’t be stopping with this flight. In fact, Achatz let us know that “cocktail progressions are becoming the norm.” In fact, he and Craig Schoettler, Aviary’s executive chef, are trying to put together a Chartreuse flight. “I love the idea of a planned progression of spirits and food,” wrote Achatz. “It makes sense for us to calculate the experience and hone in on the ultimate synergy.”
