the goodist

Review: Clyde Common - Happy Hour

Clyde Common inaugurates a series of articles exploring Portland's best cocktail bars and the hamburgers that inhabit them.

Gazing out the window, cocktail in hand, I realized that Clyde Common may be Portland's best bar for people watching. Hip out of towners from the attached Ace Hotel milled about the sidewalk as the ubercool bike set and delightfully trashy Stark St folk passed by - every Portland cliche well represented. The soundtrack isn't bad either. Behind me at the large busy bar were the rants of local cooks packing their chef's knives and touring musicians attempting to brag their way into bed with dolled up ladies. But I had trouble paying attention, my drink was just too interesting and there was a burger on the way.

Manhattan Project: The Best Manhattan Revealed!

What's the best rye or bourbon for a Manhattan? I thought this would be a quick and easy question, but it's spun out into weeks of testing, reading, drinking and drinking (poor me). Alas, today, we have the answers to the burning questions that keep you up at night - rye or bourbon? does pricier vermouth matter? can you do a 4-way rye tasting and 6-way Manhattan tasting in the same evening?

Read on for some unexpected answers...

Manhattan Project: Rye Reviews

Rye oh rye do things always have to get complicated? (let me get it out of my system in the first line then I promise to stop)

After deciding on Bulleit as the spirit of choice for our little Manhattan project, I of course start hearing about rye whiskeys being the likely choice during the invention of the cocktail in the mid-1800's, but bourbon gaining popularity post prohibition. Some purists insists that bourbon shouldn't even be allowed in a Manhattan. I know nothing of you rye, but you're a whiskey, I'm a man, lets meet and greet.