Portland Cocktail Week, day 2, night 3

Well, it happened again. I woke up to a number of business cards and flyers and evidence of a great night spent with new friends. A highlight was a fantastic dinner at Little Bird, which was one of the best recommendations Mr. Tommy Klus could have made. Everything up until and including dinner is perfectly clear. Then it starts to get fuzzy…

I woke up Friday and got my ass in gear to get over to 12 and Hawthorn for a cocktail by Matt Lanning.

Remember him from my cheese dinner? Matt was guest bartending at the cocktail cart in a food cart cluster called Cartopia. He made me a cocktail named Scotchtopia.

Matt’s shift ended and we ate a putine from a food cart nearby, and then Ryan Layman of Steuben’s in Denver, also guest bartending, made me a cocktail named Wheels Are Turning.

So, by 3:30 I had had 2 cocktails by two Colorado bartenders here in Portland. Pretty cool.

Next, Matt and I took a taxi to The Jupiter, where most people are staying. As soon as we arrived Matt was asked to pour cognac (he’d been working, it seemed, this whole time)… We went into a room where he could pour cognac, and I Met David Delaney Jr.,  drank some cognac and a cognac cocktail, and talked to a number of people about cocktails. Totally appropriate.

Next stop was Kask for some cocktails by my buddy Tommy Klus.

Had a few cocktails there and then another at the Saucebox (and some green chartreusese) before an amazingly good dinner at Little Bird with a fantastically Oregonian Pinot Noir, shared with my new friend Spencer Warren of Pittsburgh, PA. Next on to the Crystal Ballroom for a party. Then to Cassidy’s for a Pisco tasting, Teardrop Lounge, pizza, back to The Jupiter… Taxi ride home around 4:30 am.

I think my liver hurts and it would yell at me if it had a chance. I am promising it that I will be in serious detox mode next week, and Bikram yoga will be my routine again. It must. There is simply no other option. Until then, the festivities continue. I’m going to attend a distillers fest, Bourbon 101, and an Absolut Sensory Analysis workshop before a Robots vs. Humans cocktail competition this evening. Ahhh… The life I live…