You need a drink… AM I RIGHT?e5eb/1241458909-compass.png
If you have an iPhone or iPod Touch, then do yourself a favor and download our brand spanking new iPhone app Cocktail Compass: Portland Happy Hour Finder. (This opens iTunes.) Not only does Cocktail Compass find the closest Happy Hours happening right now, IT’S TOTALLY FREE!

HERE’S HOW IT WORKS!

• Let’s say you need a cheap drink (NOW) or some cheap bar food. It doesn’t matter where you are in town, simply tap the Cocktail Compass icon, and poof! You’ll have the closest happy hours at your fingertips, along with how many hours or minutes you have left until that particular bar’s happy hour is over!

• Don’t know how to get there? Tap the bar’s name for the address, phone number and yes, even directions. You’ll also get bar details such as hours, specials, and other important deets.

• Not that desperate? You can also use Cocktail Compass as a local bar search engine. Look for bars by neighborhood, or special features such as patios, wi-fi, karaoke, and tons more. You can also compile a personal list of “favorite” bars for future reference, and share the bar’s info with your friends!

• BUT HERE’S MY FAVORITE PART. Had a wee bit too much boozing? Then simply hit the big blue button that automatically dials you a cab! Finally, an app that can keep me out of the hands of the po-po.

SO WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? Download the new Mercury Cocktail Compass: Portland Happy Hour Finder for FREE, and find the happy hour of your dreams… NOW!

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Note: Is your fave happy hour missing? Email us here with your bar updates or here with any technical problems/suggestions!

Bang bang, choo-choo train, let me see you shake that thang. Wm. Steven Humphrey is the editor-in-chief of the Portland Mercury and has held the job since 2000. (So don’t get any funny ideas.)

29 replies on “New <i>Mercury</i> iPhone App: Cocktail Compass!”

  2. OMG thank you. Was going to be really jealous if those snot-nosed punks at The Stranger got the happy hr app and Portland didn’t. A shame that Urbandrinks.com doesn’t work well on the iPhone, it’s my go-to when I have access to a computer.

  3. This is such a genius idea. I wish I had an iPhone so I wouldn’t have to actually talk to people to find out about happy hours.

  5. Looks great – I’ll have to try the results during normal happy hour times. One problem, though – there’s no search on the search tab, just browsing categories.

    Also, is this live updated from the Mercury’s listings? Or is it fixed in the downloaded bundle? I imagine this sort of thing changes a lot.

  7. robotadam: True, the Search layout does not have a keyword search, it is really to narrow results by the features listed. The All Bars layout will let you browse by alpha, so if you are looking for a specific bar, that is the way to go.

    Right now the data is updated weekly from the Mercury web site. We will be moving to a live stream in the coming versions. Thanks for asking!

  8. FeloniousMoz, we (UrbanDrinks) are working on an iPhone app now actually. In the meantime, we just released an iPhone-friendly version of the site today: urbandrinks.com/iphone

    It’s not an iPhone app (so you can’t use the GPS functionality), but it looks like a native app and will hopefully do the trick for now.

  9. No iPhone here–but a note about a HH that I’m hoping maybe maybe someone with an iPhone post on the app: We went yesterday to local Mexican-flavored spot Trebol, which posts a daily HH 5-6:30 and were told they wouldn’t be doing doing their HH this week “because of Cinco de Mayo.” ???WTF?? The three of us went to another local spot for our fix (and guess what–there ARE still several Mexican restaurants around that’re keeping their HHs this week). What’s Spanish for “local price gouge?”

  11. Wow, it’s getting really hard for me to justify not buying an iphone.

    As a short aside, I’m no expert, but I am a delivery driver, and being 3.8 miles away from both N Killingsworth and SW Bvrtn/Hillsdale and 3.9 from Hung Far Low doesn’t seem possible. Maybe I’m wrong – or maybe that’s just a sample, and not an actual screenshot?

  12. I’m no expert, but being 3.8 miles away from N Killingsworth and SW Bvrtn/Hillsdale and 3.9 from Hung Far Low doesn’t seem possible. Maybe I’m wrong, or maybe this is just a sample and not an actual screenshot?

    In any case, sweet app.

  16. frinkiac, no one said the address was wrong. They commented on the array of milages being impossible, which it is.

  17. Obilgatory — of course it’s possible, if you’re in between the two locations. The screenshot was taken in inner southeast, which accounts for the distances. Check a map (as I did) and you’ll see. Keep in mind that distances are as the crow flies, not driving directions “distances.”

  18. The array of mileages is right, but they are crow fly distances, not driving distances. (The screenshot was taken at roughly SE Harrison & 7th, no comment on how big of a geek I am to draw the circles to figure that one out.)

  22. Indeed, there are a lot of us who have the G1, or an android device. This needs to get ported out. Id do it myself, but I have no idea how that works.

  23. OK so if you are headed back to school like me you gotta get iShot Machine for your iPhone. It’s cocktail-shot recipes and a slot machine in one. It works pretty good for picking up girls or boys for the ladies out there. The coolest part it is free. http://www.iShotmachine.com

  28. I am having a hard time adding my favorite place to this amazing app… the Pink Rose off of 13th and Lovejoy in NW has ALL DAY Happy hour on Tuesdays and has everyday happy hour from 4pm-7pm!! With an amazing Wine Down Wednesdays where select wine is only $3 ALL night as well as $3 well drinks!!!

  29. I am a hard time trying to get one of my favorite happy hour spots listed on here… the Pink Rose on 13th and Lovejoy in NW Portland has happy hour ALL day on Tuesdays and everyday from 4pm-7pm!! They also have an amazing Wednesday deal for their Wine Down Wednesday’s which includes select wines for $3 a glass (all local wines and very YUMMY) as well as $3 well drinks ALL NIGHT:) Please spread the word and go check them out for yourself as they are a locally owned and operated restaurant!!! Cheers Portland and ENJOY!!!!!!!

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