"Neighborhood Bar" Flying Scotsman Opens in Norwalk's Wall Street District

A few days after I interviewed owner and bartender, Alan Heron of the Flying Scotsman, he posted one of the portraits I captured of him on Instagram along with the caption, “Mediocre service guaranteed.”

It’s an obvious joke, especially to those who’ve already experienced the laid-back atmosphere—while sipping a cocktail or a pour of a fine scotch, bourbon, or rye—combined with his stellar hospitality and friendly disposition.

The interior of Flying Scotsman was designed by Alan’s wife, Jessica, who’s a designer. While it’s mostly bar seating, there’s a little nook near the entrance with a high top and a lounge area.

Before we get to what exactly Heron’s bar is, and what brought him to open a watering hole in Norwalk, it’s important to learn a little about the man.

Originally from Glasgow, Scotland (hence the bar’s name), Heron has been in the industry since he was a teenager, first bartending at a pub called O’Neill’s in his home city when he was just 19 years old.

Heron said he would have been open before November, but the first order of business was to get married, something he and Jessica were supposed to do in 2020.

“There were no cocktails at that bar,” Heron says. “I bartended there from about 19 to 23 years old, and that’s a long time at that point in your life. After that, I went to Spain for a bit, messed around a bit, came back, worked part time (at bars), and went to college in Glasgow for graphic design. But I was a terrible graphic designer. I would have been like an apprentice or something, doing typeset. By the time I finished college, I realized I was a horrible designer anyway.”

After his realization that he wasn’t going to make it in the world of graphics, Heron weighed his passions, and at that time he says they were, “drinking, eating steak, and watching football (soccer, because remember, he’s Scottish),” so he went to Argentina to find himself.

Black Manhattan with a twist - Heron’s version uses Compass Box The Spaniard instead of traditional rye—a blended malt scotch aged in sherry and red wine casks—with Amaro Montenegro and walnut bitters.

In 2011, Heron came to New York City and lived in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park neighborhood and tended bar at Jack Demsey’s, an American – Irish spot in Midtown, where he also worked as an occasional server.

Eight years later, and many dues paid working the bar scene in NYC (that even included cleaning beer lines, though, mostly as a favor), Heron, with some partners, opened the cocktail focused bar The Hunterian on Manhattan’s Upper East Side that he still co-owns and bartends at.

Currently, Flying Scotsman is Heron’s one man show. He’s not only hopping to The Hunterian in the early part of the day before settling at his Norwalk bar in the afternoons, but he’s laying the groundwork before he can hire staff. As to the kind of people he’s looking for? “I need them to take care of the place,” he says. They should be trustworthy, deliver great service, care for the equipment, and hey should have a track record of service, reliability, and hospitality. They’re not expected to know everything about every spirit or the distilleries represented here, and I don’t want employees to be scrutinized for not knowing about a certain pairing or spirit.”

“It’s almost impossible to independently own a bar in Scotland because they’re all usually owned by big companies,” Heron says. “When we opened The Hunterian, two cocktail bars on the Upper East Side had just closed down. People are hypercritical of cocktails, and I took over as the bartender (even though I’m a partner), to figure out what it needed and that was the drinks. I like to maintain standards. Elevated, but give people what they want. I like to take as much feedback as I can, because people will always tell you what they want, but you have to filter it through your own experience.”

With an already established bar, Heron found himself in Connecticut often since his then girlfriend and now wife, Jessica, is from here and still has family here. Norwalk ended up being a logical in-between location to settle down and start a family. The pair found an apartment, got married (something they were supposed to do in 2020), and Jessica would give birth to their son, Ronan.

Old fashioned - Old Forester Bourbon, demerara simple, Angostura and orange bitters. “Like an old fashioned, the best things in life are simple,” Heron says.

While in Norwalk, Heron looked at places to open a sole venture with his wife. He mentioned that he looked at vacant storefronts on Washington Street and at The Waypointe, but that some of them took too long even for something as simple as giving him a showing of the space. Once he inquired about the vacancy at 30 Main Street, in the Wall Street area, owned by developer Jason Milligan, Heron made a deal.

“I met Jason and he gave me a time scale, I gave him a deposit, and his construction guys started that day,” Heron says. “I feel like I’m not alone in this. Jason and his people always pick up the phone, they’re easy to reach, and they talk to me like I’m a human being. They’re invested in this area financially, but emotionally as well. I even joined the Wall Street Neighborhood Association. I wouldn’t have any of that in New York City.”

Heron opened the bar seats at the Flying Scotsman in November of 2023 and began serving his lofty list of scotches, bourbons, ryes, and mostly classic cocktails using hand pressed juices and homemade syrups. Don’t freak out, they have vodka, gin, tequila, rum, wine, and beer, too.  

And he opened it with another caveat, a member’s club he dubbed the Angel’s Share Club. But don’t let that stop you from going in. Flying Scotsman is NOT a member’s only kind of place. The membership, $240 for the year, gets you access to guided tastings and discounts on drinks and neat pours on select days.

“I like to do two tastings a month,” Heron explains. “We might end of averaging three or four a month as the year goes on. We have 30 members, and we could take more, but it’s a healthy members club right now. It’s not closed, but I’m not promoting it. We could maybe go up to 50 members later this year at a prorated rate.”

Penicillin in the making - Compass Box Glasgow Blend, ginger, honey, lemon, Laphroaig float, candied ginger garnish

Membership aside, Heron is planning to show soccer matches soon, and debut an industry night.

I know, I know. You’re wondering about food. That’s not in any immediate plans. As of now, besides Heron having thrown a small New Year’s Eve party with food brought in from a nearby restaurant and when folks bring in their own for a private function in the bar’s back room, something to nibble on may or may not be addressed at some point in 2024. At this moment, what Flying Scotsman is, is a hospitality-focused neighborhood bar, not strictly a whiskey bar or a cocktail bar, although Heron finds the latter pretty flattering.

“If someone decides they want to spend time here, that’s a gift,” he says. “I want to make sure people at the bar are having a good time. Lots of places focus only on the drinks and not the experience. I want to steer it back to being service oriented and a place where you can come and meet people. It’s a place that I’m happy people think the cocktails are good enough to call it a cocktail bar. I like to call it a whiskey bar. But what does that mean to people? They call and ask if we have anything other than whiskey. We do. I want to be known as a neighborhood bar.”

30 Main Street, Norwalk
203.286.8740, flyingscotsmannorwalk.com