The Swirl Girls – PBPulse.com
Wine: 2006 Michel Dutour, Pouilly Fuisse.
Review: “Because it’s summertime, I’ve been getting into whites. It’s a really great South Florida wine. It actually reminds me of Key lime pie. It’s crisp, clean, really light, easy and refreshing to drink.” – Krystal Kinney (Sommelier)
The New Times/Clean Plate Charlie
One could argue Lubin actually knows the lay of the land in Afghanistan — where he served as a captain in the Marines for much of the past decade — better than the scene he’s chosen to set up shop.
No matter: South Florida is still abuzz with gossip on the place, with revelers as far as Miami making the trek to Lubin’s hideaway on a quiet side street a stone’s throw from downtown Clematis and City Place.
Jan Norris
The decor is tongue-in-cheek chic. Above the bar are spheres of glass, symbolizing Champagne bubbles. On the wall, old black and white films are shown – these are “motion art.” Leather seats and walls of wines fill out the comfortable room.
Leslie Streeter
Walking into the darkened, mood-lit chamber of vine-born pleasures that is The Blind Monk is like stumbling into a hidden, quiet gem on a side street in Chicago or Washington, D.C. From the minute I stepped inside, I felt like I’d found some urbane enclave that scored cool points by not trying to be cool.
Palm Beach Illustrated
Wine is an enigma. People train their palates for years in order to fully appreciate the complexities and subtleties that go into the process of creating a consumable work of art. But sometimes that just seems like work. Simply enjoying a glass of wine for the sake of wine, good company and friendly atmosphere is the crux of downtown West Palm’s newest haunt. The Blind Monk is making the wine bar cool again with its hip spot on the ground floor of the Whitney, on Evernia.
DinnerReviews.com/Grace Abel
The first thought that came to mind when I heard of The Blind Monk was a not an upscale wine bar, since most quirky marketing references to monks these days are associated with Belgium style beers. But upon entering the highceilinged room at West Palm Beach’s Whitney Center, I was thrilled to see wine references from floor to ceiling all pointing to the infamous blind Benedictine monk himself, Dom Perignon.
Dine Magazine
Meet and greet with Sandy Huffine of Napa Valley’s Krupp Brothers Vineyards
The New Times
The eatery’s name honors Don Perignon, who was, in real life, a blind monk. Thus, an alcohol connoisseur’s menu: more than 90 wines will be poured by the glass, and 300-plus bottles on the list, representing every wine-growing region around the globe.
The New Times
Here’s a great recipe.
Take a bar chock full of great wine; mix with a hearty helping of tapas; add three equal parts lifelong friendship; and add a double dose of independent film. Garnish with an eclectic mix of people…et voila.
These are the ingredients that go into the upcoming Evening of Film for Dennis Koehler, a benefit event hosted by childhood friends and South Florida natives Ben Lubin, Jordan Kessler and Josh Koehler.
WPBF Channel 25 News
West Palm Beach will be sipping and savoring this weekend at a new downtown wine bar brought together by a former military man and an extreme designer with a taste for modern flavor with a twist.
“You walk in these doors and you kind of forget about everything else for the couple hours you’re here,” said bar owner Ben Lubin. “Wine is much more then a drink. It’s the whole experience.”