A bar honoring former President Donald Trump has recently opened up in, natch, Trump Tower.
The new 45 Wine & Whiskey Bar features “handcrafted cocktails and iconic photos and memorabilia celebrating our very own, 45th President,” according to the Trump Tower site. The menu focuses on American-made whiskeys and wines (many from son Eric’s Virginia vineyard Trump Winery), while the cocktail list is decidedly Trump themed: There’s a Mar-a-Lago Spritzer and “The 45,” an Old Fashioned riff featuring Wyoming Whiskey, Demerara and orange bitters, plus a Diet Coke and two American beef sliders (that combo is $45).
According to The Drinks Business, the bar itself features walls “adorned with gold-gilt framed photographs,” including one image of Trump watching the U.S. task force that killed ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. And of course, lots of odes to the different branches of the U.S. military.
Approaching this purely from a drinks standpoint, the idea of a bar honoring a president who doesn’t drink is, well, weird (which didn’t stop the one-time existence of Trump Vodka). And those drink prices seem incredibly inflated. Also, I have no idea of the partnership the 45 Bar has with Wyoming Whiskey, but I find it odd that a brand that closely aligns with the National Park Service is prevalent here.
I was curious what other people had to say. There are a whopping two reviews on Yelp — one five-star from a person who doesn’t seem to have actually visited the bar and a one-star takedown, the latter of which noted, “Spend your money on a place that doesn’t water your drinks down and charge you an arm and an orange toupee to drink there.” On Instagram, the modest amount of comments seemed to be in Trump’s favor, as one (private account) user asked, “Do we need to show vax cards to go inside in communist NY?” (Yes, you do.)
If you’re looking for a way to combine booze and presidents, at least with one who actually knew a little about American whiskey, I suggest you take a short trip and hit up George Washington’s Distillery instead.
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