Teardrop Lounge is Portland's O.G. Mixology Spot

Teardrop Lounge was one of the first spots to kickstart the mixology renaissance.

(ronitphoto.com)

1015 NW Everett St., 503-445-8109, teardroplounge.com. 4 pm-late daily. Happy hour 4-7 pm: Select cocktail specials.

Established: July 2007

Teardrop Lounge could easily be mistaken for simply another shiny-on-the-outside, hollow-on-the-inside Pearl District club hybrid. Oh how wrong you would be, and it would take just one sip of your perfectly executed drink for you to realize what a damn fool you'd been. Opened by Daniel Shoemaker a decade ago, Teardrop Lounge was one of the first spots to kickstart the mixology renaissance. Teardrop's reason for existing is the craft—every bit as much witchy magic as mixology—with house creations like the Grand Armée (mezcal, Dubonnet Rouge, housemade aperitif, dry curaçao and rosemary) and the Heatwave (vodka, passion fruit, lime and Bee Local Hot Honey) highlighting the bar's creativity and clear understanding of balance. Giving credit where credit is due, Shoemaker features a full page of drinks from "Friends"—fellow pioneers of the craft cocktail movement—like the Alpine Drive (calvados, Cocchi vermouth, maple bitters and Becherovka) by Mark Stoddard at William Grant & Sons in San Francisco. And if you don't know what half of those ingredients are, there's a helpful glossary on the back page.

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