P . 8 | OCTOBER 2023 | THE HAMMONTONIAN
MUSICALLY SPEAKING
HIT ROCK BOTTOM
by Kristin Guglietti
One of the best fall hangout spots for listening to music and enjoying drinks , is at a bar hidden inside another bar .
Located at 21 N . Third St ., Rock Bottom Whiskey Bar is located at the lower level of Rocco ’ s Town House , and it has been a popular music destination for years .
Ashley Marsh , the manager at Rock Bottom Whiskey Bar , said the bar started when the owners and brothers , Dave and Steve Ruberton , wanted a place for people to hangout .
“ The owners wanted somewhere to hangout , a fun place to bring their friends . I was not here when it started that was six years ago ,” Marsh said .
While Rock Bottom Whiskey Bar opened six years ago , the main restaurant Rocco ’ s Town House has been open since 1983 .
Rock Bottom Whiskey Bar hosts live music downstairs every Saturday night during the fall and winter months .
“ It ’ s always a one-person musician . Typically classic rock but some of our musicians go all over the place ,” Marsh said .
Some of the musicians this season include Robin Gazzara and Dion Paci .
While the musicians play on stage , people can enjoy a variety of cocktails the bar has to offer .
“ We have craft cocktails of all kinds . We specialize in whiskey . We got a lot of it . We make very good whiskey cocktails , but we make really good cocktails of all kinds ,” Marsh said .
Currently , the staff is working on a new fall cocktail menu .
“ We ’ re working on right now a fall cocktail menu . We ’ ve got a couple drinks in the works . Got two of them out of four right now ,” Marsh said .
Marsh said she is excited for the fall cocktail menu .
“ For the fall cocktail menu , we ’ re going to have a pumpkin spice latte , and it ’ s going to be an expresso martini with pumpkin infused whiskey ,” Marsh said .
Dion Paci
Rock Bottom Whiskey Bar Manager Ashley Marsh
Besides live music and cocktails , people can also enjoy playing games including Big Jenga , Shuffleboard , Hammontonopoly , regular Monopoly , Trivial Pursuit , Yahtzee and Scrabble .
Marsh said she loves seeing her regular customers come in .
“ I love seeing my regulars come in . We get some really good regulars come down here . Love seeing their faces , and I love making people drinks they maybe never would ’ ve tried at any place else . Open their eyes that they can drink whiskey too ,” Marsh said .
For food , Rock Bottom Whiskey Bar , carries an appetizer menu . And for the full menu , guests can go upstairs to Rocco ’ s Town House , which is known for their chicken parmigiana , red rooster fries and peanut butter pie .
For more information call ( 609 ) 561-9384 , visit roccostownhouse . com and follow Rock Bottom Whiskey Bar on Facebook and Instagram @ rockbottomwhiskeybar .