Village Whiskey Shakes


Several weeks ago I was at Village Whiskey for something to eat (and drink) after a rather informative cruise down the Schuylkill River (which is worth checking out). On the menu–below the belly busting burgers and hedonistic duck fat fries–was a section for milkshakes. And not just any kind of milkshakes, but liquor-enhanced Irish Car Bomb shakes and a strawberry rum version as well.

I tweeted that VW was serving Irish Car Bomb shakes. I expected backlash. I expected at least a couple, What is Jose Garces doing? That’s disgusting. I expected some sense of outrage that this very grown-up bar was stooping to sell Irish Car Bombs of any kind. But instead I received yumsOMGs and I have to try thats.

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This week I received the press release that these shakes are an official part of the Village Whiskey menu. The Irish Car Bomb, house made devil’s food cake brushed with Negra Modelo, layered with dark chocolate pastry cream that has been flavored with Jameson and Bailey’s, is blended into a mix of vanilla and chocolate ice creams and topped with a piece of cake;  Strawberry-Rum, fresh strawberry ice cream, strawberry sauce and Goslings rum topped with sliced strawberries;  S’Mores, toasted marshmallow ice cream with chocolate sauce garnished with a graham cracker and house made toasted marshmallow;  Vanilla and Chocolate.

I was skeptical but intrigued. After all what’s wrong with a quality shake on a steaming summer day? Burgers, fries and shakes are as much an American staple as apple pie and baseball, right? And with Danny Meyer bringing his Shake Shack across the street next year, Jose Garces is just being shrewd by stepping up his shake game in anticipation of the interloping New Yorker with the American road food cred.

There was only one way to figure out whether these shakes were a good idea or a bad one and that was to walk over to Village Whiskey from the office for some lunch-time reconnaissance. My lunch-time companion and I ordered the chocolate milk shake and the Car Bomb shake. We learned that even the alcoholic Car Bomb shake wasn’t that alcoholic. I would only catch a buzz if I drank eleven or so of them. That was as a bit of a disappointment but I guess it did make for a more productive afternoon. Our waitress informed us that the liquor is included in the pastry cream, not added as a shot.

As for the taste, one strenuous toke on the straw revealed that this was one tasty shake. Both the chocolate and Car Bomb shakes impressed with an impressive density and rich chocolaty taste. The whiskey and Bailey’s added a dimension that had me going back again and again. The cube of cake served as a pleasing reward to getting to the bottom of the shake.

So once we made peace with the shakes we focused on the Jamie’s Mac & Cheese and the Kentucky Hot Brown, a ridiculous open faced turkey sandwich served in a skillet and topped with smoked bacon and a rich and habit-forming mornay sauce.

Village Whiskey [Official Site]