For Your To-Do List: Old Town Whiskey Opens at The Saguaro

If we could only take away one ‘lesson-learned’ from the Arizona Taco Festival results, it’s that we don’t want to miss out on what is coming up at Chef Jose Garces new restaurant, Distrito.

To hold us over, prefacing Distrito’s opening in December, Chef Garces has opened two new spots at The Saguaro: Old Town Whiskey and Garces Trading Company. He’s put Chef de Cuisine Dave Conn (who also led the team at the Taco Festival) in leadership of both.

The Garces Trading Company (GTC) Coffee To-Go will offer morning and afternoon coffee-drinkers a quick cup of Joe, French press, cappuccino, espresso, café late or hot tea. Bags of Chef Garces’ roasted coffee beans will also be available for purchase. The spot will be open seven days a week, 6:30am-3pm.

The less caffeinated, but still entirely exciting option: Old Town Whiskey. If there’s whiskey (it’s kinda my favorite), I’m there… and personally, I can’t wait to check out the menu of beverages and food. The bar is reminiscent of an olden day saloon and will offer classic recognizable cocktails, but also new options. Their carefully crafted cocktails are paired with a classic American menu – meaning really good bar food!

The all-day menu schemed by Chef Conn will include: Raw Bar selections of oysters and clams, a list of bar snacks including House-made Cheese Puffs, Fried Shrimp, Deviled Eggs, and Tator Tots, and a selection of House-Cured Pickles.

Perhaps the star of the menu, the restaurant prides itself on its burgers, originally made famous at Chef Garces’ Village Whiskey in Philadelphia. The beef is procured from Painted Hills Farm (using only pasture raised cattle with no added hormones or antibiotics), and enriched with Kobe fat. On the menu, you’ll find the Old Town Burger (served on a sesame seed roll, tomato, Boston bibb and housemade Thousand Island dressing), the Whiskey King (topped with maple bourbon glazed cipollini, Rogue blue cheese applewood smoked bacon and foie gras – yes, FOIE GRAS!), and the Veggie Burger for the meat-less (black bean and lentil patty with guacamole and pickled red cabbage).

Whiskey King Burger

Other items and sides include duck fat fries, salads, sandwiches and milkshakes (yum).

Not to be forgotten, the bar offers over 100 varities of whiskey, bourbon, rye and scotch. But, you’ll have to make a trip in to take a peek at the library for yourself!

The restaurant is open from 11am-midnight, Sunday through Thursday, and 11am-2am on Fridays and Saturdays.

The Saguaro | 4000 Drinkwater Blvd | Scottsdale, AZ | 877-808-2440 | jdvhotels.com