Saturday, June 4, 2011

PDX Cocktail Stop #2: Teardrop Lounge (Portland, OR)

Besides pies, a maple bacon donut, and Bunk sandwiches, all I wanted in Portland were cocktails. Wandering Chopsticks and I met up with one of her readers for a night out starting from happy hour at Clyde Common. Our second stop was Teardrop Lounge in the Pearl District. Highly recommended by my cocktailian friends, Teardrop Lounge makes their own bitters, uses fresh and seasonal fruits that include local (Oregonian) specialties like marionberry liqueur.

They call their housemade bitters "tinctures" and there is an amazing selection of them. Do you see the Thai Chili and Jalapeno ones?

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I had deemed myself pretty versed in booze these days, but the cocktails at Teardrop list ingredients I either wasn't familiar with or haven't imagined being in a cocktail. Lustau East India sherry? Montinore verjus? Pear butter?
This was our second cocktail stop after visiting wineries all morning, so WC wanted to share a drink. We got the Naive Melody ($9): Clear Creek pear brandy, Lustau East India sherry, lemon, apricot liqueur, Oregonian wildflower honey, egg white, bitters
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Fruity and creamy, it wasn't overly sweet and overall pretty balanced. It's a great drink for someone not used to stronger drinks but wanted something interesting.

WC's reader/friend originally wanted a drink that had Batavia Arrack and some black rice horchata concoction but it was pretty early in the evening and they had not made a new batch of horchata. He instead ordered the Unfinished Business, described as "devilishly pleasant, elegantly fierce" $10: Martin Miller's Westbourne Strength Gin, Cocchi Americano, Bonal gentian aperitif, Rocky's bitters, agave nectar, absinthe
Cocktail
In contrast to the previous drink, this one is strong and clean.

Teardrop Lounge is fairly small and even early in the evening we weren't able to find seats. Who knows how crowded they get later, but they're busy for a reason. It's a great bar that I plan on revisiting when I'm in Portland again.



Teardrop Lounge
1015 NW Everett St
Portland, OR 97209
(503) 970-8331
www.teardroplounge.com
Teardrop Lounge on Urbanspoon

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