Search for.... - Wags and Whiskey

The Polar Bar at The Arctic Club Bar – Seattle

We stayed at the The Arctic Club in Seattle because it was only a bit away from the stadiums and we were surprised at how awesome the bar was! Mike, the bartender, who's been a staple at the Polar Bar for decades was one of the friendliest, most knowledgable bartenders you'll ever meet and he's created some great cocktails. The first one I had to try was "I Am the Walrus" with our little friend on top. It's Rye, Campari, Sweet Vermouth all smoked.

Next up was the Arctic Club Old Fashioned with Rye Whiskey, Angostura Bitters, Orange Bitters, Sugar Cube and a Cherry.

Other great drinks on the menu were the Smoke and Mirrors, the Arctic Club Manhattan, Pioneer Sour, Seattle Regrade and Mike does spectacular Sazerac which I love! Lastly... the Polar Bear... ROAR!

View Listing

Three Dots and a Dash – Chicago

I love bourbon and I love a great tiki bar! With Three Dots and a Dash... I got both! Located back in an alley at 435 N Clark in Chicago, Three Dots and a Dash can be a little tricky to find. You'll have to look down the alley to see tiki torches lighting the way. Once you get past the door guy, you'll go down a dark stairwell into a "holding area" with a hostess. Once they find a seat, we got there early and sat at the bar, you're brough into a world of kitschy tiki wonder. Their drink menu is more rum focused as you would guess but it's awesome!

I had the Bourbon Special:

Bourbon Special

Bonded bourbon Jamaican pot still rum 151 proof demerara rum Madeire Lemon Ginger Honel Islay mist

Tiki bars are the first think you think of when you want a bourbon drink and Chicago may not be the first place that comes to mind when you think about tiki bars but hey... it works and it was an awesome time!

SaveSave

View Listing

Westland Distillery – Seattle

Recently were were in Seattle and had some down time and stumbled, OK the stumbling came after, upon Westland Distillery. Located down a little bit from the Starbucks headquarters and across the street from Emerald City Pet Rescue it's a beautiful urban distillery with attention to detail. Westland specializes in American single malt whiskeys which thoughtfully made. Typically, American single malt whiskeys are trying to go by the Scotch single malt whisky regulations. According to the American Single Malt Commission (ASMC) they are proposing that:

AMERICAN SINGLE MALT MUST BE:

Made from 100% malted barley Distilled at one distillery Mashed, distilled and matured in the US Matured in oak, not exceeding 700L Distilled to no more than 160 proof Bottled at 80 proof or higher

The Cantilever Room, within the distillery is a great place to hang and do a tasting. They offer flights of their whiskeys or cocktails using their whiskeys for tasting, single pours…

View Listing

Peach Simple Syrup

Craving and Old Fashioned but wanting it to be a little more summery? Well... You're in luck! Peach Simple Syrup is here to help. If you're like me, simple syrup, although really easy, was something I shied away from for years. Once I really tried it I was like "Damn! What have I been missing out on and why haven't I tried this? Simple is in the damn name!" Once you start making it next step is to try other things. For this one, we're doing peach!

First, rinse and cut up 3-4 peaches, depending on how "Peachy" you want it. Put the peaches in a pot with 2 cups of water, 1 cup of brown sugar and 4-5 allspice berries. Bring it all to a boil and then let simmer for 15-25 minutes. When finished, mush the peaches up to get all of the juice out, strain and store in the fridge. It will last 2-3 weeks. I like to leave mine a little pulpy but that's a personal taste.

Now for the extra fun... Take the soft, sugary peaches and throw them over some ice cream t…

Peach Infused Bourbon Recipe

It's summertime and that mean's fresh peaches that this sentence means that I now have "Peaches" from the Presidents of the Unites States of America ringing inside my head. But I digress... Peaches means it's time to go down to the farmers market for a visit to the Peach Truck where a version of this recipe originally appeared.

Now that we have the delicious, yummy peaches it's time to slice them up and throw them into a jar with some other ingredient. I normally use 4-5 peaches per batch, it all just depends on how peachy you want it.

From there it's time for the sugar, I like to use brown sugar. Sure... you can use regular white sugar but it just doesn't blend as nicely in my opinion. then throw in a couple of star anise and 4-5 all spice berries. I then like to top it off with a little bit of honey.

next up... After trying several different versions, I like to use a nice a bottle of Buffalo Trace bourbon. Not too expensive so that you …

Chocolate Sazerac

I don't know which came first, falling in love with New Orleans or the Sazerac. Actually... I think it was at the same time. A Sazerac, to me, is a simple drink that is so easy to mess up but when it's right... Mmmmmm Mmmmm! When I thought about a chocolate one, well... why? Why mess with a perfect drink? Well, it's because we can and it worked out nicely. Don't worry, it's still bone forward, not a sweet martini. One large deviation I made from a traditional Sazerac recipe is that I didn't use the sugar cube, instead, the sweetness comes from switching out Rye Whiskey with Bourbon and Ballotin Chocolate Whiskey. I found that using the sugar cube made it too sweet. So... here's the recipe: Chill an Old-Fashioned or Coupe Cocktail Glass (Your choice depending on how fancy you want to feel) that has been rinsed with Absinthe or Herbsaint. You can also use a dropper at the end of the recipe if you like. In another glass full of ice, pour 2.5 ounces of bourbon and 1 ounce …

View More Articles

Search for….

Some of Our Favorites

The Polar Bar at The Arctic Club Bar – Seattle

Three Dots and a Dash – Chicago

Westland Distillery – Seattle

Latest Whiskey/Bourbon Stops

Beachbum Berry’s Latitude 29 – New Orleans

The Polar Bar at The Arctic Club Bar – Seattle

Copperworks Distilling Company – Seattle

The Whiskey Bar – Seattle

Navy Strength – Seattle

Westland Distillery – Seattle

Whiskey - Bourbon Reviews and Other Ramblings

Peach Simple Syrup

Peach Infused Bourbon Recipe

Chocolate Sazerac