Or us! But if you’re beer and spirits writer Lew Bryson, the fermentation gods are on your side and suddenly, you are inside of the long-shuttered Man Full of Trouble tavern at 127 Spruce Street - the last remaining 18th century tavern in Philly - drinking rye whiskey while a rainbow magically appears in the distance.
We, along with every other bar fan we know, have long imagined how cool it would be to be able to imbibe in this, the last of Philly’s real colonial-era drinking establishments - sorry, City Tavern is a cornball facsimile - and now Bryson has actually gone and done it. The University of Pennsylvania owns the building and has kept it closed to the public for years; which is a shame considering it’s the sole remainder of Philly’s historic tavern culture. For now, a caretaker actually lives in it, which is how Bryson was able to snag an invitation inside. How he arranged for the rainbow is a mystery.
Man Full of Trouble and Rye Whiskey [Seen Through a Glass]
