Who wants to go in on an Eastside liquor store with me? On Friday, I posted an update about Portland officials’ plans for a malt liquor/fortified wine ban in Goose Hollow, downtown, and Old Town. The news was that the effort, which must be approved by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission, wouldn’t be completed this […]
Drunk
Posted inDrunk
Ken Burns’ Prohibition, Or Why You Should Be Watching TV at 2 AM
Last night documentary filmmaker Ken Burns’ (probably most famous for The Civil War) three-part Prohibition kicked off at 9 pm, a thorough, journalistic look at the story of America’s “noble experiment” with alcohol. If you missed the first installment, “A Nation of Drunkards,” all is not lost: OPB is airing it again at 2 am! […]
Posted inDrunk
Downtown Portland’s Malt Liquor Ban Taking Longer than Expected
Illustration by BT LIvermore It was just more than a year ago, in mid-September 2010, when Commissioner Amanda Fritz pushed through city council a contentious idea to ban sales of cheap-yet-potent alcohol in parts of downtown, Old Town, and Goose Hollow. You might remember why the plan was controversial: It threatened to snag tallboys of […]
Posted inDrunk
Portland’s Cocktail Cart Could Become Permanent Fixture
Have you heard? In honor of Cocktail Week, food cart pod Cartopia now has a cocktail cart! Open through October 23, this iteration (accomplished through some pretty tricky footwork with the OLCC, as you can imagine) is temporary, but as I was hobnobbing with the boozy set last night, I was introduced to Geoffrey Anderson […]
Posted inDrunk
Cocktail of Death!
O en Español: Coctél de la Muerte. That’s the name of the game for me tonight. I’ve been chosen to act as a judge for a cocktail competition of the same name this evening at Trébol, where I will finally have a chance to show off my highly developed tequila palate (which might be summarized […]
Posted inDrunk
Good Beers Don’t Come in Pink Bottles
A disturbingly pink bottle of beer turned up at the Mercury office this afternoon. No, it isn’t Pepto-Bismol. It’s Rogue’s new Bacon Maple Ale, a dark orangish-brown ale—at one point it seemed like they were going to make a porter, which this definitely isn’t—that’s been brewed with the addition of apple-smoked bacon (sorry, veg heads), […]
Posted inDrunk
Club 21’s Grand Reopening
Our former neighbors Club 21—the finest dive bar in the land—has changed ownership and has been undergoing renovations at the hands of the fine folks responsible for Gold Dust Meridian. Not to worry: the Club’s homey, divey appeal will reportedly remain preserved, just spruced up a tad. (Or as their Facebook page says, “Totally the […]
Posted inDrunk
PBR Must Die
Okay, this news is from June, but somehow I hadn’t heard about it until just recently. Various strange business issues are occurring behind the scenes with Portland’s Favorite BeerTM, Pabst Blue Ribbon. FACT! PBR was sold last year to a billionaire whose last name is Metropoulos who says employees should consider working for the family […]
Posted inDrunk
Are You Still Working? FOR SHAME.
Today is a holiday, good people, and not just any holiday—it is the most IMPORTANT holiday of the year. The Awl, a New York online publication/blog/magazine/thingy, has decreed that today of days, August 25, is National Duck Out for a Drink Day. That’s right: Put down what you are doing right this very second (you […]
Posted inFashion
Palace of Industry Turns One
As any art show-hosting, champagne cork-popping boutique owner worth her wits can tell you, shopping and booze are a magical combination. And in an age where shops can be so much more than a shop, Palace of Industry went straight for the throat with their vintage store/bar model. And so far, so good, since they’re […]
Posted inDrunk
Rum Club
While Dig A Pony has been (understandably, deservedly) getting some attention on this blog, it’s not the only new bar in town. Last night I checked out Mike Shea’s Rum Club, a spinoff partnered with Beaker and Flask’s Kevin Ludwig. They’ve been open for about three weeks though there’s still no sign—well, there is a […]
Posted inDrunk
House Spirits Meets Pok Pok Som
Not too long ago I wrote about the retail release of Pok Pok’s popular drinking vinegars, and specifically how wonderful they are as a cocktail mixer. If you didn’t run out and buy a bottle immediately, we should talk about your trust issues. THEN, you should clear your Saturday afternoon for House Spirits’ Som cocktail […]