Would you like a seat with your Scotch?
 
  To pair with your whiskey: braised pork belly with salted radish and an herb purée

Jack Rose in Full Bloom
 In the raucous neighborhood of Adams Morgan, a hush-hush joint has opened in recent months. Refreshingly, it’s the kind of spot where you won’t find youngsters on the prowl for tequila shots and Jaegerbombs. That’s because the Jack Rose Dining Saloon (2007 18th St. NW, 202- 588-7388) isn’t for them—it’s for adults. Walk in and get ready to be stunned: More than 1,000 whiskey bottles line the shelves, like a library of refined booze. So many, in fact, the bartenders use a ladder to reach them. “It’s almost like going to Scotch church,” says beverage director Rachel Sergi. “It’s a temple to spirits.” That’s not to say the food isn’t equally worthy of praise. Critically acclaimed chef Michael Hartzer, who is cultivating a unique brasserie-style menu, mans the kitchen. Look for his interpretation of the “Wedge” salad, here with radicchio, grapefruit, and walnuts, or sample creations such as buttermilk- fried frogs’ legs, house-cured salmon, braised local pork belly, and small plates of sharable chilled pickled shrimp and baby cheddar biscuits with prosciutto.

But the lure of old-school spirits is what spurred co-owner Bill Thomas, a veteran of several DC watering holes, including Bourbon, to open the rather intimate Jack Rose. In addition to a roof deck, which was designed to accompany the main floor shenanigans, Thomas and his team will any minute unveil the aptly named Prohibition Bar on the lower level, the perfect place to hide out and really get to tackling those thousand-plus bottles of distilled perfection.

It’s a sin not to order whiskey, especially when half-ounce pours cost as little as $4. Sergi’s favorite? Old Grand Dad 100 Bourbon and Ardbeg Corryvreckan Scotch. Cocktails include classics like the namesake Jack Rose and Bees Knees, and new creations like the Knuckleball and Oh Henry Highball. All cocktails are $13.