Rock and Rye to stock 3,000 liquors, one for every taste

There’s room for something like 3,000 bottles of liquor on the shelves at Rock and Rye, the new cocktail bar that opened at The Rim over the weekend. They’ve already stocked 400 of them on the way to full speed at this new venture from Don Marsh, owner of Southtown’s

Bar 1919.

The bartenders use ladders to reach them all, picking from dozens of styles of whiskey, scotch, gin, agave spirits, rum and harder-to-find liquors such as aquavit, grappa, armagnac and absinthe.

And from those bottles, they compose about 30 classic and specialty cocktails, including one called the Bella Roja, spiked with reposado tequila, red bell pepper juice, ginger and lime and created especially to christen Rock and Rye, said lead manager Brian Trombley.

Trombley describes Rock and Rye as an East Coast-style whiskey-slash-cocktail bar, smar0t and stylish in a long and narrow space with room for about 50, with an “anything-but-vodka” aesthetic. A note to aficionados of the Moscow mule and other vodka cocktails: They stock exactly two vodkas, which is twice as many as their Southtown sister Bar 1919.

The bar also pours 20 craft beers on tap with another 30 or so in bottles and cans, plus a short list of red, white and sparkling wines. The food lineup includes sandwiches, burrata, nuts, brie, soft pretzels, olives and hummus.

For the first weeks of operation, Rock and Rye is open 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily, Trombley said, with plans to expand those hours to 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. Monday through Friday and noon to 2 a.m. Saturday and Sunday by the end of the month.

Rock and Rye Rock and Rye, the new cocktail bar from Don Marsh of Southtown’s Bar 1919, has opened at The Rim. The drinkery at the Rim bills itself as an East Coast-style whiskey/cocktail bar.