Little Bar Space 映产生

Article By Franklin Bluth

I love whiskey, but not like other people love whiskey. Other people who love whiskey know the names of everything, and they throw shade at you for putting too much ice into your glass, and “aged for 12 years” means something specifi c to them instead of just the general sense that it’s better. At a certain other famed whiskey bar in town, I always felt out of my element, but at Little Bar Space, I felt right at home.

That’s a cliché, to say that I felt at home, but hominess is the defi ning quality of this quaint whiskey bar in an alley east of Wenchang Gate. It’s a fairly new place, but it’s decorated with an eclectic burst of folding chairs, yak skulls, and wood carvings from a local artist that combine to give an incredibly lived-in feeling.

If there’s anything that I really appreciate about Little Bar Space, it’s the lack of pretense. I felt comfortable coming as I was, and it was the perfect place to meet halfway with my connoisseur friends. They got to geek out over the at least dozen whiskeys available, from Islays and Speysides to Japanese, and I got to learn what all those things were while not worrying that I was too lowclass to be there.

That’s not to say you’ll be getting out of this particularly cheap; you’ll be paying around 40-60RMB a fi nger for these fi ne spirits, but going to Little Bar Space to get party-boy wasted is probably missing the point of it. This is the kind of bar that Xi’an has been sorely missing: a happy medium. It’s nice enough to sate your need for classiness, accessible enough without being some South Gate dump, and just a spectacularly comfortable, intimate little space in which you can spend a night shooting the breeze with a small group of friends over a drop.

No.2,Xian Cang Xiang,Xia Ma Ling, Beilin District.
156-8605-0098
6:00am – Midnight

Average Price per Person 50-100 RMB

PROS:
Great selection of whiskeys, a couple other offerings for those who don’t care for the drink of drinks

CONS:
I don’t particularly see this as a con, but you should know that “Little Bar Space” is probably the most truthful advertising in all of China

Franklin Bluth doesn’t want to be a part of your tight-ass country club. He can be reached at reviews@xianease.com

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