The Flatiron Room

37 W 26th St

Step into The Flatiron Room and find yourself transported to 1920s. You are about to experience a truly classy establishment with cocktails, jazz, and over 1000 variants of whiskey.

According to the New York Magazine bar guide, “Time stops when you pass through the doors of the Flatiron Room.” Once you set your foot inside, you might as well just have time traveled. Space feels soft and inviting. A velvet-curtained stage is lit up with changing jewel-colored lights, rolling ladders along the wall cabinet are filled with whiskey bottles, a cozy intimate feel, and sounds of jazz create the atmosphere of an early 20th-century private club.

The Flatiron Room is a whiskey lounge – one of the best in the world. It boasts a selection of over 1000 types of whiskey. If you are in the mood to experiment, there are tasting flights​ with tempting names like Discovery, World Tour, New York, Single Malts, Rye, Peat, Independent Bottlers, Ultimate Japanese Flight, and many more. If you feel that you need to get more academic, take some Saturday classes at the Whiskey School.

Not in the mood for whiskey? Try the cocktails! A lot of them are takes on Prohibition-era cocktail classics while some are original creations. They are imaginative, perfectly crafted and – a word of warning – very strong. There are some 19th-century classics which became popular during Prohibition, like Sazerac (B. Circa 1850) or Old Fashioned (B. Circa 1833) and the Flatiron Room’s variants like 1920S, 37 West 26th or my personal favorite – Blood Orange Sour.

There is always music, and it’s always jazz. By design, the music is not meant to overpower your conversation. It’s there to set the mood and allow you to listen or talk or just simply enjoy the moment.

One of the unique and most noticeable features of The Flatiron Room is the “bottle keep.” Since good whiskey is meant to be enjoyed at your leisure and preferably in the company of good friends, you can purchase your favorite bottle and enjoy it at your table. After you’re done, the bottle is tagged with your name and stored right along the wall in the library-like cabinets.

I could go on about that turn-of-the-century feel, the setting, the offerings, the selection. But what makes this place completely unique is the way you are treated. The staff is knowledgeable and extremely helpful without a hint of snobbery.

Order a cocktail, get yourself a whiskey flight, inquire, ask for suggestions, feel like a member of an exclusive club, even if you came for the very first time.