Thursday

I arrived in Portland around lunch, knowing that it would give me a chance to head over to Bunk Sandwiches. As I explained to Allan and Danielle from Caña Rum Bar, Bunk is a bit different from your usual hipster-DIY-chic sandwich shop in that a James Beard Award-nominated chef is at the helm. Comforting favorites from a meatball sub to a pork belly cubano are treated with great whimsy as well as great care. I also kicked off the party with my first drink of the long weekend: a Bunkmosa. This would be one the recurring themes throughout cocktail week: drinking without pretension. While a mimosa may mix orange juice with champagne, this concoction takes a full bottle of Miller High Life (the champagne of beers) and tops it off with a little bit of OJ.

The opening gala at Wilf’s that evening was a fun shindig. Various stations were set up throughout the area allowing visitors to partake of many drinks being offered. The room got quite warm once the crowd arrived (and by crowd, I mean a train full of bartenders arriving from Seattle) and so I found myself gravitating toward the booth with Beefeater and tonic as well as another station making palomas with Avion Tequila. A live jazz band filled the room with a festive spirit, and King Cocktail himself Dale DeGroff even ended up singing a short set.

Such decorum would be in stark contrast to the debauchery to follow. The whole gang shifted over to Mary’s Club, the oldest strip club in Portland. Jeffrey Morgenthaler was working behind the bar, the first man to ever do so at Mary’s. I don’t remember much from this part of the evening except that I was happily imbibing on Becherovka shots that were being passed around the room as wadded up dollar bills flung through the air and onto the stage.

I eventually found my way back across the river to Rum Club, described as “geographically and philosophically between Beaker & Flask and The Slammer”. Here, I remember ordering a daiquiri made with Banks rum which paired nicely with the plate of chicken and dumplings I got just as the kitchen closed.

Friday

While many opted to go on a charity 4k walk/run benefiting the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, I opted to spend my morning rather lazily easing my way into the day. Despite everyone’s collective hangover, there was good spirits all around: the desire to raise money and awareness was sincere, even if the athletic endeavor was not, as evidenced by the Segway and boxes of Voodoo Donuts.

The seminars over the course of the weekend varied in topic, ranging from free-pouring techniques to optimizing the business aspect of running a bar. Absolut Vodka sponsored a condensed version of the Sensory Analysis road show they put on with Grant Achatz of Alinea. After tasting a few domestic caviars, the session began with explanations on the limitations of our sense of taste, and how smell works to augment our perception of flavor. It was followed up by a tasting of a flight of vodkas, ranging from Portland’s Medeyoff to Sweden’s Karlssons Vodka. Truly, vodka is a neutral spirit, but it was an interesting experience heightening one’s flavor senses in order to pick up the subtle differences in acidity, sweetness and spice across them all.

Dushan’s talk discussing the story of Employees Only (the world’s most successful bar in terms of dollar sales per square foot) reinforced the notion that providing excellent customer service not only makes bartenders good hosts, but it can be a quite successful business as well. Off in another room, David and Allan recorded a podcast discussing promotional techniques, particularly through social media.

Friday closed out with a Yacht Rock party in Lola’s Room at the Crystal Ballroom, a venue famous for its bouncy floors. The room was alive, alright, as a live karaoke band serenaded party revelers who were enjoying cocktails made with Don Q Rum. The party even featured an appearance from burlesque dancer Vivienne VaVoom! The nautical theme, delicious drinks and festive atmosphere combined for a fantastic party.

Saturday

As the weekend rolled in, the list of activities expanded to now include the Great American Distillers Festival, held at a separate location. In the past, these two events coincided and provided natural symbiosis, but this was the first year where the two felt a bit mismatched. Perhaps it was the quality of non-GADF events going on around town and in the Jupiter Hotel where Portland Cocktail Week centered.

One great event was organized by the Bon Vivants, held at Davis Street Tavern. The front room featured great bourbon cocktails as well as a live band, while the back of the restaurant featured plenty of food and two Big Buck Hunter arcade games set up for a tournament!

I ducked into the Leftbank Annex to visit the Distillers Festival and naturally gravitated toward the Haus Alpenz booth, featuring interesting vermouths and amari such as Zucca and Cardamaro. Now, as a regular at bars like Bar & Kitchen in Downtown Los Angeles, I am quite familiar with the their portfolio, but I still like to support good importers like Alpenz or Preiss in order to encourage wider distribution of their products.

While roaming the hall, I ran into Mary, the bar manager at Park Kitchen, who continued my Miller Lite trend with this excellent cocktail combining beer with one of my favorite gins. That’s right: it’s Miller Two Ways.

One common fixture throughout the weekend was the sight of the big red double decker bus used to shuttle revelers to and from various events. On this evening, the bus was used to partake in a bar crawl across various bars and restaurants around Portland, highlighting a particular spirit or theme. The cognac tour started at Central before moving onto Dig A Pony and other bars.

I should add that Beaker & Flask and Rum Club were quite comfortable as the unofficial clubhouse during Portland Cocktail Week. On this particular evening, I ducked out of the Robots vs Bartenders event early so that I can grab a good seat at Beaker and have a nice dinner. The last planned event of the evening was at Beaker anyway, featuring a whole host of female bartenders from across the country.

I decided to call it an early night, which was perfect: Sunday ended up being the best day.

Sunday

I got up early Sunday morning and caught an eastbound bus to take me to 82nd Ave, a part of Portland most well known for hookers and good ethnic eats, particularly Asian food. Cabin fever had begun to set in, and luckily I’m able to draw upon my experience as a resident and seek out a personal oasis far from the din. There’s a small sandwich shop called HaVL which serves a daily selection of Vietnamese noodle soups. Sunday brunch is one of Portland’s favorite activities, and so this is merely my version of that.

From there, I met up again with Allan and Danielle for a trip out to House Spirits in Portland’s Distillery Row. I’ve always been a fan of House Spirits' line of products, especially Krogstad aquavit and their entire “apothecary” line. For this tasting, we were able to sample some of their 100% malted barley whiskey that will be released next year, as well as some of their new rums, both aged and unaged.

Beyond this point I wasn’t really taking any pictures because I was having too much fun. After a trip to House Spirits…

…went back to Leftbank Annex to see the GADF cocktail competition finals (which included Justin Pike, fresh off his win as LA’s Best Bartender) …had some nice Four Roses cocktails and even got a nice neck tattoo to go with it (temporary) …got to cheer the ladies on during the Speed Rack competition …had dinner at Le Pigeon …enjoyed the celebration at Spirit of 77 for Imbibe’s Fifth Anniversary …played lots of arcade games at Ground Kontrol in which the whole place was bought out and all the games were free …drank and threw dollar bills on stage at an adult entertainment establishment (where my last drink of the night was a bottle of Miller High Life)

Again, that was just one day! Portland Cocktail Week certainly closed out in style, and it’s a credit to Lindsey Johnson and the Lush Life crew as well as hard-working folks like David Shenaut at the Oregon Bar Guild.

I certainly can’t wait for next year. Cheers, everyone.