The East End in Providence has a lot of the elements you’d expect to find in a whiskey bar: moody lighting, leather chairs, dark wood, and sets of deep blue velvet curtains tied off by golden ropes. The bar has lots of little cubbies, and every inch of the shelves is full of bottles of dark-hued liquor.

The bartenders need to climb onto a ladder or onto the bar itself to reach parts of the restaurant’s collection of more than 400 types of whiskey. The East End was opened seven years ago by Gil MacLean (who also owns Bottles, the popular East Side liquor store), and is getting another wave of investment, including doubling down on their late-night and spirit programs, which boasts far more whiskey varieties than many other watering holes around the city. They underwent a three-week renovation in late 2023, and hired Josh Davis as the tavern’s new executive chef. Davis, who previously worked in kitchens in Boston and Portland, Maine, and most notably served as the chef de cuisine for Portland’s Duckfat, is focused on keeping the bar’s approachable menu in tune with customer demands.

The East End will soon be launching a newsletter for new whiskey drops, and will restart product launch events and whiskey tastings that were more prevalent prior to the pandemic, said Hannah Weaver, a long-time bartender who was promoted to East End’s general manager.

“We’ll hold onto some limited editions for a while, and then release them at the restaurant. It’ll feel like you’re getting a final taste,” said Weaver, who said they have a collection of bottles from the early 2010s that haven’t yet been touched.

As old-as-time cocktails — like the Sazerac, Highball, Manhattan, and Whiskey Sour — surged in popularity in the late 2000s and early 2010s, whiskey bars also made a resurgence.

For a time, it felt like nearly every other bar was part of the craft cocktail renaissance, and “mixologists” were attempting to create their own versions of Prohibition Era offerings. Owners advertised their establishments as “speakeasies,” handlebar mustaches became “in” again, and suspenders became a standard part of the uniform. But many of these places had one thing in common: Much of their identity was built on the 21st century whiskey wave. Those on the outskirts of the mainstream who were working with mezcal or rum were still trying to recreate that whiskey taste — smoky and defined.

Changing tastes, market pressures, and the COVID-19 pandemic pushed whiskey into a downward spiral by 2020, but the decline in sales did not last long. Sales for bourbon, Tennessee whiskey, and rye whiskey rose by nearly 7 percent in 2021 to $4.6 billion that year, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States.

“Whiskey never goes out of style,” said Weaver.

Weaver — who previously worked in bars and restaurants in Seattle, New York, and Detroit — thinks of The East End’s massive whiskey collection the same way the kitchen thinks about its food. “We want everything to be approachable,” said Weaver. “But with our whiskey, we want it to be educational for the pros, and for those who have never really tasted whiskey before.”

Collectors’ editions of whiskey can run into the thousands of dollars. But Weaver said the bar will build a whiskey tasting flight for any budget — starting at $20. “Understanding and appreciating whiskey doesn’t have to be unaffordable,” she told me.

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“At the end of the day, we’re a neighborhood bar,” Weaver added.

This story first appeared in The Food Club, a free weekly email newsletter about Rhode Island food and dining. Already a member of the club? Check your inbox for more news, recipes, and features in the latest newsletter. Not a member yet? If you’d like to receive it via e-mail each Thursday, you can sign up here. Have an idea for a dining guide in Rhode Island? Email RhodeIslandFoodClub@globe.com.

Alexa Gagosz can be reached at alexa.gagosz@globe.com. Follow her @alexagagosz and on Instagram @AlexaGagosz.