Whiskey Neat introduces you to restaurant and beverage industry professionals, the books they read, and the whiskey they love.
There is a thing about Tom Kleiner, Managing Partner of Club Lucky, a historic, prohibition-era bar and Italian restaurant in Wicker Park, you need to know. It’s not that besides managing the club, he’s also a chef. And it’s not that his level of chef is “opened restaurants for Wolfgang Puck” chef-level. What you need to know about Tom is that he went to Santa Claus School. Kleiner is into Christmas. He’s got more than one Christmas tree in his house and while there are some families with more than one Christmas tree there aren’t that many with seven. When you see Tom dressed as Santa (usually standing next to his charming, hilarious, and gloriously witty wife, Harriet, dressed as Mrs. Klaus) you realize his clothing isn’t a costume. It’s a uniform.
How long have you been at Club Lucky?
Eleven Years.
Name a book that matters
Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
Why does it matter?
Like Faust, it tells a tale of narcissism, of vanity, of wanton desire and pride, that ultimately ends disastrously. Beauty, and the maintenance of such, leads many down a road that is hard to deviate from once barreling upon it at a speed that is uncontrolled. In today’s age of social media and the “look at me, where I’m at, and what I’m doing…” generation, I fear many may get caught up in a Dorian Gray type of scenario, yet perhaps in reverse; never aging in photos, but certainly aging in real life. Real-life brings a sort of shame to those immortalized on Instagram for their never-changing youthful beauty, for those supported by their anonymous donors who click “hearts” of adoration, or infatuation, as proof for their necessary existence. It must be so difficult to age in real life and do everything you can to keep your picture frozen in time, always a perfect specimen of beauty and desire.
Favorite quote from the book:
When Dorian realizes that changing his actions to bring his portrait back to beauty is just another choice of maintaining beauty and vanity and that the only thing that really changes the picture (Dorian’s true character) is to take accountability and confess his true sins and accept that responsibility. Then, and only then, can you heal your true character, your true self, and not merely just the image you present to the public.
Your preferred top-shelf whiskey:
Why do you like it so much?
Woodford is super smooth, rich, and well-rounded on the profile. With a 90 proof, I can appreciate the flavor profile and subtleties easier than at some of the higher-proofed bourbons/whiskies on the market. There’s a place for those higher-proof hooches, but not my preference for the regular imbibing.
What’s your guilty pleasure cocktail with that whiskey?
I like to keep it simple, so if I’m gonna guilt (or more appropriately, gild) I’d just make a beautiful Manhattan with it. A gilded Woodford Reserve Manhattan with some fine vermouth and a dash of aromatic bitters and a single plump cherry.
I never want to make a ___________ again in my life:
What is a perfect whiskey?
Perfect whiskey? Well, for me, the perfect whiskey doesn’t need to be the most expensive or rarest but for this exercise, I will say Redbreast 27 yr old. Yes, an Irish Whiskey!
People need to quit drinking . . .
Irish Car Bombs, because you just shouldn’t!
Who would you most like to see answer these questions?
Jon Cecil
