Bar Culture in PDX: Where Are the Best Places to Get a Cocktail in Portland?
“Mixology” From the Speakeasiest to the Height of Cocktail “Programs”
Portland is no longer a city most populated with dive bars and strip clubs. It has evolved, over the last decade or so, from a town in which your best bet for a well made cocktail resided in a downtown steakhouse or hotel lounge, to a town that sports cocktail programs and mixologists who garner national and international attention.
Read on to discover some of the city’s best cocktail spots, including some hand-picked options from Urban Nest Realtors!
Downtown & The Pearl
Clyde Common & Pepe Le Moko
Both of these bars are located in downtown’s Ace Hotel and both sport cocktail programs put together by Portland mixology superstar Jeffery Morgenthaler, whose barrel-aged cocktails inspired a nationwide phenomenon. The bar at Clyde Common is great for enjoying a well-made drink over a snack, while Pepe Le Moko, located in the hotel’s basement, will transport you back to the cocktail scene of the 1970s in high style.
The Rookery at Raven and Rose
The cocktails are all well made, professional and solid, but what really sets The Rookery apart is the sheer effort employed by bar manager David Shenaut in sourcing custom blends and special bottlings of brandy, whiskey, tequila, and other liquors direct from the makers.
Multnomah Whiskey Library
You’ll most likely come for the astoundingly large collection of whiskeys, or for the dynamite steaks. But what will keep you coming back is the old-school, almost ritual way in which the MVA prepares drinks: on a rickety cart, at tableside. Sit back, sink in and relax; you’re being taken care of.
Eastside Joints
Hale Pele
If Tiki is your pleasure and you want to try something better, leave Trader Vic’s new incarnation in your rearview mirror and take the Broadway Bridge to the East Broadway tiki lounge that is Hale Pele. With a rum collection that rivals the handful of rum-only programs in town, the kind of 1950s chic atmosphere that can only be evoked with dried grass and the occasional fake thunder storm, and the well-crafted cocktails that keep the place filled to capacity whenever Tiki-Con comes to town, it’s hard to go wrong here.
Vintage
Most likely the farthest you can get from downtown (without a trip to St. Johns), and still get a decent drink, Vintage (located just inside 82nd Avenue in Montavilla), has one of the city’s best and most diverse liquor walls, a rotating lineup of some of Portland most talented bartenders, and theme tiki and coloring nights.
Whether you’re looking to kill time before your reservation at Country Cat or movie time at the Academy, or you’re just looking for a well-made creative or classic cocktail, this is a great spot to keep in mind when you’re in the neighborhood.
Angel Face
Introverts beware: Angel Face may be the only cocktail bar in Portland that doesn’t have an established menu or “cocktail program,” but instead relies on the customer’s description of what they’re in the mood for. If you have trouble naming what you want in front of strangers, then this might not be the place for you.
Portland Is Still one of the Best Cities for Cocktails
Portland – maybe it’s the weather, maybe it’s our love for all things well-crafted, or maybe it doesn’t matter why – maybe it’s just fantastic to live in a city where a world-class cocktail, prepared especially for you, utilizing a combination of ingenuity and time-honored traditions, is only ever a short bike ride from your front door.
Get out there and raise a glass to the best of what our city has to offer. And, share your favorite bartenders, lounges, mixologists, and cocktail programs in the comments below.