Spirits and Sophistication: Batch, Bin & Barrel Opening on Albany Street

It’s not a bar. It’s not a restaurant. It’s not a shop. Maybe it’s a little of each.

Brian Karluk uses the word “hybrid” to describe this space where people are invited to select wines and spirits, nibble on some fine cheeses and sliced meats and enjoy a sophisticated but not stuffy night on the town.

Batch, Bin & Barrel will be hosting its grand opening at 98 Albany St. on Friday, Jan. 6 at 3 p.m.

Located in a space that has been vacant since the Red Mango yogurt shop closed about five years ago, Batch, Bin & Barrel is a smaller sister project to Steakhouse 85 - where Karluk has served as chef since it opened 15 years ago.

From the granite top, and 12-stool bar to the dangling lights to the high ceilings, Batch, Bin & Barrel is designed for a classy night out before or after dinner. You won’t find ballgames droning on from blaring TVs in here.

One of the most unique features is the wall stocked with high-end, carefully curated liquors. There are about 100 different wines, and a wide array of spirits, vodkas, gins, whiskeys, bourbons, and tequilas.

“A lot of it will be small-produced liquors that we are going to rotate in and out,” Karluk said. “It’s not going to be your run-of-the-mill, monstrous, supermarket-style store. It’s going to be a little smaller, a little boutique-y, a little eclectic.”

Karluk said he envisions customers trying a new, say, bourbon, at the bar. Perhaps it’s been a bourbon they’ve been meaning to try, but didn’t want to go for the whole bottle. If they like what they taste, they can go to the wall, find a bottle of that bourbon and take it home.

There’s a small separate, elegant dining room in the back perfect for a party of six. The room has been fitted with two wall-mounted TVs.

Karluk’s vision is to serve several courses of a particular wine throughout the evening.

“And then at some point, we’ll schedule a little meet and greet with the winemaker on those monitors,” he said. “They can get to interact with the winemaker right from the vineyard where the grapes were picked. And they get to not leave California and they love it. They love those kinds of things.”

It’s a relatively small space, but there are small touches everywhere you turn inside Batch, Bin & Barrel. For instance, Karluk decided to turn a blank back wall into a homage to New Jersey with photos of everything Garden State from Frank Sinatra to Wyclef Jean to a Carvel ice cream truck.

And then there’s the hand-cranked slicer, which was imported from Italy.

“We are only going to serve small plates, cheeses, meat, and snacks,” Karluk said. “So with this slicer, the prosciutto comes out so thin. What will likely happen is that others will see us slicing for someone else and say, ‘We want that, too.’”

Story and photo by: Chuck O'Donnell