PARK SLOPE — Great Scots! A new high-end whiskey bar is slated to open on Fifth Avenue and Bergen Street this winter.
The owners of the Upper East Side Scottish pub Caledonia are opening the new venture at 47 Fifth Ave., where the furniture store Trade Winds closed in June.
Caledonia owner Steven Owen says the new bar, to be called Duke of Montrose — a title that's linked to his ancestral Graham clan — will serve high-quality single malt whiskeys and a full menu of food. He hopes to open in December.
"We're really trying to bring something fairly sophisticated to the neighborhood with a Scottish flair to it," Owen said.
Owen has lined up architect Leslie A. Barnett — whose work includes Harlem Public and the new Avlee Greek restaurant on Smith Street — and lighting designers Taylor & Miller to create a space that resembles a whiskey distillery inside, complete with stone floor, he said. "It's going to be very cool," Owen said.
New York magazine praised Owen's Manhattan bar as a "small, serene drinking spot" with a "fine selection of Scottish brews like Innis & Gunn and Bellhaven, and yes, lots of Scotches."
When Trade Winds closed, Here's Park Slope speculated that it was a victim of "arenafication" because the new Barclays Center arena is within sight of the corner.
Owen, who also owns Pegasus Realty Solutions, said Duke of Montrose will serve arena crowds, but the bar will be focused on neighborhood customers.
"Obviously we'll cater [to the arena] but also to the local community," Owen said. "Our establishment on the Upper East Side has been voted one of the best bars. We're very intent on the community."
Community Board 6 will review a liquor license application for the bar at its Monday Sept. 27 meeting.
