#2374 #S1197 - The Barrel Thief, Seattle - 12/21/2013

I always enter a bar within the ground-floor retail section of new condos with an anticipatory sense of discouragement, but the Barrel Thief owners have done a fairly nice job of instilling some character and romance into this space. More to the point, their unique, botany-based cocktails and prodigious selection of wines by the glass make it a fine bar stop regardless of setting.

Established earlier as Wine Tea Chocolate, in mid-2013 it was refashioned as a wine and whiskey bar, with an inventive cocktail program by Nicholas Utke. I enjoyed the "Surrender at Appomattox" (rye, sweet grass, and herbs) which as promised had a "grassy and smokey" taste. The bar also features approximately 200 whiskeys and offers almost that many choices of wine by glass, with the aid of a Coravin device, which extracts wine via a needle and without uncorking the bottle, filling the space with argon gas to prevent oxidation.

Bitters, tinctures, and other ingredients used in the unusual
cocktail program of Fremont's "Barrel Thief."

I haven't yet had dinner there, but the menu features some tasty sounding, locally sourced snacks and small plates. In addition to regular wine tastings, special events at BT include things like a "fancy single malt tasting," an "obscure scotch distillery tasting," and tango dancing. (If these seem like they might catch your fancy, you may want to add yourself to their mailing list, as I've finally remembered to do.)

3417 Evanston Ave N #102, Seattle, WA 98103 - (206) 402-5492
Est. July 20, 2013 - Building constructed: 2012
Previous bars in this location: Wine Tea Chocolate
Web site: bthief.com - facebook
Reviews: seattlemag - seattlemet - tripadvisor - thestranger - beeradvocate - untappd - urbanspoon