With its street entrance, Rowes Wharf Bar doesn’t feel like a hotel bar. The place has a neighborhood vibe, even though its other door opens into the lobby of the Boston Harbor Hotel along the waterfront in downtown Boston. A classic upscale watering hole, Rowes has rich red carpeting, raised wood-paneled walls, deep leather couches, a bar of dark polished wood, and high-backed bucket seat bar stools that face a well-lit display of fine whiskies and spirits on the back bar.
You don’t see many menus with a section called “Oysters & Scotch.” This long-standing house special features a half dozen New England oysters on the half shell with 2 ounces of Bowmore 12 year old, chosen to complement the briny salinity ($38 or $25 from 6-8 p.m.). The New England seafood and whisky themes continue throughout the menu, with a full raw bar, lobster rolls, and chowder alongside an impressive spirits collection that includes more than 120 whiskies, with a focus on older single malts. The bar claims to be the only place in Massachusetts serving Macallan 40 year old ($580/1 oz.), alongside the rare M label ($215). Indeed, Macallan also gets its own menu section, starting with a reasonably priced 12 year old ($20). The rest of the list features 1.5-ounce pours, and there are almost 50 other single malt scotches, from Islay’s Bunnahabhain 12 year old ($16) to Balvenie 40 year old ($495). The bourbon and rye selection is nearly as long, with dozens of options including Van Winkle Lot B 12 year old ($185), Pappy Van Winkle 15 year old ($325) and 23 year old ($745), plus numerous New England choices from Vermont Spirits and WhistlePig. Irish and Japanese whiskies are well represented, and the hotel just added a slate of its own private barrel bottlings from Vermont Spirits, WhistlePig, Makers Mark, Hudson, and Knob Creek.
The cocktail list includes historically inspired bowls of punch from the 17th-19th centuries, including a Whisky Punch with Macallan 12 year old, lemon juice, Drambuie, and allspice ($24). House signature cocktails include the namesake Rowes Punch (Sagamore rye, Limoncello, simple syrup, lemon juice, peach purée, and grenadine, topped with Prosecco), the Beyond Compare Old Fashioned (the hotel’s Single Batch Maker’s Mark bourbon, thyme demerara syrup, Fee Brothers whiskey bitters, and orange bitters), and Beyond Compare Manhattan (the hotel’s single barrel Hudson rye, Carpano Antica, and peach bitters) all offered at $19. Several times each year, the bar partners with whisky brands to put on pop-up whisky pairing dinners as well.
