Barley Mac
This new-ish kid on Wilson Boulevard between Courthouse and Rosslyn is a temple to whiskey. Witness the walls, papered with large-format photos of barrelhouses. They’ll even pour you a dram from their own house barrel of bourbon, from A. Smith Bowman in Fredericksburg. But if that’s too rich for your blood, there are scores of other options to choose from. Cocktails are divided into classics (mostly spirit-forward), and seasonal, where you’ll find more fruit juices, syrups and sangrias.
Be sure to try: The whiskey drinks (what else?), from a classic Boulevardier to the restaurant’s take on an “Improved” Old Fashioned, with maraschino liqueur and absinthe. The warming effect will be double if you can score a seat on the patio, which is dotted with heat lamps.