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1. Nostrana
1401 SE Morrison St., Suite 101, 503-234-2427, nostrana.com. 5-9 pm Monday-Thursday, 5-10 pm Friday-Saturday.
Sure, you come here for Cathy Whims’ hearty pasta dishes, scissor-cut pizza and the classic Insalata Nostrana. But this 17-year-old Italian restaurant also features a monthly Cocktail for a Cause, which raises money for a local nonprofit. During December, a month very much centered on food, Nostrana is donating $2 from each boulevardier (zero proof available) sold to the Blanchet House, which offers free meals to those in need. Even more reason to order two with your dinner.
2. Straightaway Cocktails Tasting Room
901 SE Hawthorne Blvd., 971-255-1627, straightawaycocktails.com. Noon-7 pm Monday-Wednesday, noon-8 pm Thursday-Saturday, noon-5 pm Sunday.
There’s a good reason all of the charter yacht guests on the ever-expanding Bravo franchise Below Deck order an abundance of espresso martinis. The ‘80s cocktail really is delicious, and thanks to the caffeine content, it helps keep the party going. Straightaway Cocktails and Stumptown Coffee teamed up to make their own canned version with coffee liqueur and cold brew, which you can now drink at the distiller’s Hawthorne tasting room or purchase to enjoy at home.
3. Sleigh Love at Hey Love
920 E Burnside St., 503-206-6223, heylovepdx.com. 3 pm-midnight Monday-Thursday, 3 pm-1 am Friday, 10 am-1 am Saturday, 10 am-midnight Sunday.
Now through Jan. 1, Jupiter Next Hotel’s ground-floor botanical garden that also happens to serve food and drinks is Sleigh Love, a Christmas pop-up adorned in holiday décor. The menu includes a limited-time lineup of boozy drinks, like Noggy by Nature, a slushie version of the classic; a Peppermint Patty Pudding Shot; and Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s World Famous Amaretto Sour. While they’re probably expensive (as per the pop-up tradition), isn’t drinking out of festive glassware at someplace other than your grandma’s house a priceless experience?
4. Breakside Brewery
Multiple locations, breakside.com. Hours vary by location.
Breakside is starting to see the fruits of its labor—overhauling its barrel-aging program—a project that began two years ago. The prolific brewery recently released a special case of six blended and aged stouts that debuted in 2021 and, earlier this year, were cellared, making the set an ideal holiday gift for the beer nerd in your life. Also look for the final two imperial stouts on draft and in bottles in the 2022 lineup: My Stars Shine Darkly (aged in bourbon and maple syrup bottles) and This Great Stage of Fools (aged in bourbon barrels with pecans and spices).
5. Masala Lab & Market
5237 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., 971-340-8635, masalalabpdx.com. 9 am-3 pm Thursday-Tuesday.
The recently opened Masala Lab just extended its hours of operation and added new items to the menu after the team had several weeks to perfect recipes. While everything coming out of the gluten-free kitchen sounds appealing—from the saagshuka to the chaat hash—we might be most excited about the lineup of new cocktails, boozy brunch classics with an Indian twist. As we head through December, at least one chai hot toddy should accompany your meal.