Favorite
Self-claimed as “Portland’s hippest Strip Club,” Union Jacks separates itself from the ever-so-common ‘sleazy and seedy’ strip clubs we have all encountered at one time or another. Boasting great music and even occasional live music, beautiful dancers who have mastered the stage and really know how to work a crowd, a full bar and a generous menu—Union Jacks’ unique philosophy Read more...
Favorite
The Pearl’s diviest dive bar (which is somewhat like saying “the most metal folk band”) caters to the working people of the Pearl and serves some of the greasiest food around. Their $5.50 meal deal is everything low-end multi-course dining should be, with a choice of brat or chilidog, fries or tots, a bottle of High Life, and an ice Read more...
Favorite
Known as the grandfather of Portland’s craft-distillery movement, Stephen McCarthy started Clear Creek in 1985, and started making eau-de-vie (fruit brandy) from the fruit of his parents’ Hood River Valley farm. His pear brandy is now famous and still features Bartlett pears. McCarthy was the first American distiller to make grappa, and in 1987 he persuaded the Oregon legislature to Read more...
Favorite
Looking to expand on the success of his award-winning ales, Jack Joyce, decided to install rum stills above the bar at Rogue’s Pearl district outpost in 2003. The distillery is a three-story Pearl District building that once housed a milk plant and the 1980s-era Portland Brewing Company. At the Pearl location, climb the metal-plated stairs above the bar for a Read more...
Favorite
After toiling in the restaurant and bar business for the better part of fourteen years, owner John Ufford had tasted enough bland, mass-produced alcohol to know Portland deserved better. He started Indio in 2004. The company is headquartered in Portland but distills in Cottage Grove, near Eugene. Indio infuses its vodka not just with locally sourced flavors, but also with Read more...
Favorite
The former home of Jimmy Mak’s has reinvented itself as one of the Pearl’s best attempts at a dive bar. A real dive bar’s drink menu wouldn’t include a Cucumber Gin and Tonic or a Pomegranate Hot Toddy, but the Pearl District’s Life of Riley Tavern does offer a casual alternative to the neighborhood’s general uppitiness. The tavern’s beer list Read more...
Favorite
It’s a school night, and my drinking companions and I have offices to be at bright and early tomorrow, but there’s something about the Secret Society Lounge that triggers the desire for extended conversation. Basking in the room’s sepia glow, we’re all convinced we’ve stepped through a portal in time, into a gentlemen’s club from a more civilized age. The Read more...
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Aritsan is Oregon’s newest homegrown spirit-maker. With infused vodkas, distillers typically add flavors to the alcohol after distillation, but Artisan tosses in its inventive tongue-pleasers during the process. Based on an old Russian recipe, Apia is distilled from honey, giving it a hint of clover and thick, golden sweetness. Artisan’s goal is to rescue the clear liquor from a glut Read more...
Favorite
Integrity shares its Southeast Portland space with the Green Dragon brewpub. You might just catch a glimpse of the owners distilling the latest batch of 12 Bridges gin through one of the windows on the shared interior wall as you suck down a cocktail made with the stuff. Integrity makes its small batches with high-quality ingredients and uses a handmade Read more...