H50 Bistro & Bar in the stylish boutique Hotel Fifty in downtown Portland, OR, announced it would be featuring one of the
most expensive cups of coffee in the city. Not a mean feat in this city
of coffee purists!
The H50 Bistro & Bar is something of a hangout for the stylish
set (that's where they were their flannel shirts pressed) and now
there's a coffee drink for their delectation.
But not just any coffee drink! One of the most popular coffee
concoctions in the city of Portland for some years now is Spanish
Coffee, so the H50 has created a $300 Spanish Coffee.
There can’t be a better possible combination than a perfect day in Portland (for those who almost forgot, it’s called “Summer”), a Portland Pedicab and the DistilleryRowPDX Passport Program.
On the gorgeous serendipity of the finest day of the year, the DistilleryRowPDX Passport Program kicked off Sunday, June 5 with a special preview of all the conveniences and delights in store for tourists and locals to enjoy on Distillery Row, starting with a kick-off party at the Jupiter Hotel, complete with some tasty bar drinks using only Portland-made spirits, a dj spinning some tunes, and a shuttle bus to convey the partygoers to the different distilleries, along with plenty of PDX Pedicabs ferrying people around plein air.
Photo: Hoke Harden
After listening to some up-tempo mixes that nodded to the young and the old among us (Hello, Bob Seger who never goes out of style!) and sipping a refreshing warm-day cocktail made with Stone Barn Brandyworks Un-Oaked Rye Whiskey, grapefruit juice and triple sec with a twist, we were ready to go on our free-wheeling journey.
The PDX Pedicab Passport program is a real winner, and would be perfect for visitors to our fair city who want to see the sights in unhurried comfort very much in keeping with Portland’s attitude and image---but without all the sweating. The pedicab drivers are happy to do that---as one said with a smile, “Hey, we’re getting paid to exercise and do what we love too.”---and they know the heart of the city better than anyone bound to four wheels could.
Stone Barn Brandyworks Photo: Hoke Harden
With the Passport you get so much more though. You get the detailed and descriptive passport maps locating all the distilleries, restaurants and bars, coffee shops, shopping, entertainment, art exhibits, hotels---and to be particularly Portland a vegan place and a tattoo parlor—and other points of interest that partner with the program, with substantial discounts galore for drinkers, munchers and shoppers.
The Distilleries on DistilleryRowPDX are House Spirits, New Deal Distillery, Deco Distilling, Stone Barn Brandyworks, Integrity
Spirits, Highball Distilling & Sub Rosa Spirits, and Bushwhacker Cider.
So if you can imagine yourself gliding along in old-style comfort, silently and slowly cruising through the streets of old Portland, stopping at some welcoming artisanal distillery or two along the way, this program’s for you.
Something truly unique is occurring in Portland—a craft distillation revolution.
A handful of innovative small distilleries are making handcrafted, locally distilled spirits available for the first time since prohibition. The heart of this movement lies in an inconspicuous neighborhood of small warehouses and light industrial buildings in Southeast Portland, known as the Lower East-side Industrial District where independent distilleries have begun producing over twenty unique liquors. They make everything from vodkas and gins, rums and whiskeys, to more specialized spirits such as absinthe, aquavit, and flavored liqueurs.
Portlanders are witnessing these pioneering distillers as they put the city and state into the national spotlight, just as Oregon winemakers defined the Willamette Valley as a world-class wine region in the late 1970’s, and the small breweries of the 1980’s put Portland at the forefront of the craft brewing movement. No longer must we turn to the handful of multi-national giants that currently dominate the liquor industry for premium spirits. We now have truly local, handcrafted, small-batch alternatives.
Taste the new spirit of Portland!
As the much-lauded birthplace of the microbrewery boom, Portland has become Mecca for fans of craft brewing. Now, Stumptown distillers are hoping to replicate
Portland, Oregon-area food cart owners are innovative, creative, and continue to contribute to Portland’s food and beverage culture. The range of food options varies greatly, but it is easy to find what you are looking for, or get updated on the recent cart happenings, with the likes of Food Carts Portland. Portland’s food cart culture has even been featured in Sunset Magazineand the New York Times.
Next time you want to learn a thing or two about America's cocktail scene, arrange a chat with Lucy Brennan over one of her beet martinis - or perhaps an avocado daiquiri is more your style. Without a doubt, Brennan is a bona fide celebrity bartender. The proprietor of the much lauded restaurant Mint and adjacent 820lounge in Portland, Oregon, her list of big name kudos is approaching intimidating status. Nightclub and Bar magazine recently named her one of America's most successful women in the industry. She landed a coveted place of Playboy.com's 'A-List," as one of America's Top 10 bartenders. The list goes on. Food and Wine magazine named her one of the nation's top 5 mixologists in January 2006. Of course by that time she was well-accustomed to the attention, given her November 2005 recognition in Spirit magazine as one of the best nine bartenders and her (now familiar) moniker as one of
Portlanders are witnessing these pioneering distillers as they put the city and state into the national spotlight, just as Oregon winemakers defined the Willamette Valley as a world-class wine region in the late 1970’s, and the small breweries of the 1980’s put Portland at the forefront of the craft brewing movement. No longer must we turn to the handful of multi-national giants that currently dominate the liquor industry for premium spirits. We now have truly local, handcrafted, small-batch alternatives. 
