Southeast Portland's bustling drinking district just off Grand Avenue and Morrison Street hasn't hit its peak, it's just getting started.
The area, home to Dig a Pony, Kachka, Trifecta Tavern, Oso Market + Bar and Loyal Legion, the massive 99-tap all-Oregon beer bar, will soon be getting another member: Bit House Saloon, an ambitious single-barrel spirits, barrel-aged beer and cocktail project from Jesse Card, the force behind one of The Oregonian's favorite new bars, Northeast Portland's The Knock Back, former Wildwood frontman Dustin Clark, Robert Kowalski and Jayson Criswell, the co-owners behind other successful bar rehab projects, most notably Lutz Tavern, and Elk Collective, the design team behind Multnomah Whiskey Library.
The 150-seat Bit House Saloon will house roughly 500-600 bottles of liquor, with a focus on whiskey and tequila, an expansive list of single-barrel spirits, tap cocktails and barrel-aged beers -- all served with speed, efficiency and hospitality in mind.
Maybe the most exciting part of the bar, for cocktail nerds and whiskey aficionados, is the gun system Card found in the old East Bank Saloon's basement. Bit House will use it to pour around 16 (and counting) single-barrel spirits, some -- including Ransom Old Tom Gin, Cruzan Rum, Novo Fogo Cachaca -- representing the first single barrels ever distributed by their respective distilleries.
The bar will open with six barrels on tap -- five whiskeys, ranging from Weller Special Reserve to Blanton's, and one tequila, Orgullo's anejo, available by the .5/1/1.5 oz pour, in a flight or naturally, in an old-fashioned. The single-barrel program, Card says, is geared towards getting people to try new spirits at an affordable price. He hints that depending on how the spirit moves him, he may throw Pappy Van Winkle, one of the world's most sought-after whiskeys, on the gun.
"This is total Las Vegas-style easy bar gun," Card told The Oregonian in March. "We're just re-appropriating it for craft service. The idea is sound. It just makes it so my bartender doesn't have to take two steps to the right to grab a bottle."
In addition to the single-barrel spirits, Bit House is working with Carlton's Cana's Feast Winery to provide red and white house wines on-tap, vermouth and a house sherry blend on-tap, and a barrel-aged beer program from local breweries using the bar's own spent barrels.
In total, Bit House will pour 28 drinks on-tap -- five cocktails, three carbonated and two still, 12 beers, two on nitro, Stumptown Coffee cold brew, six wines, two proprietary blends with Cana's Feast winery, a Venetian prosecco, rose and a seasonal red and white, two slushy drinks, the bar's own sherry blend (cream and fino) and a vermouth.
The kitchen, serving the full menu from open to close, will be helmed by former Ned Ludd cook Jeremy Sturm, with menu consultation from Dustin Clark, the first project the longtime Portland chef has been attached to since Wildwood's unexpected closure.
Expect to find a well-rounded menu with an assortment of riffs on classic bar foods (think housemade beer nuts, a burger in the spirit of In-N-Out's double double animal-style with one beef and one elk patty, beer cheese soup with fried green tomato croutons and a fried housemade bologna sandwich) alongside some not-so classic bar offerings, including buttermilk cheddar biscuits, popcorn-crusted Rocky Mountain oysters, a housemade charcuterie plate and grilled hangar steak with smoked potatoes.
The space, which housed East Bank Saloon for the past 36 years, has undergone a total remodel, overseen by Elk Collective. The design team took out all the neon and replaced it with bourbon barrel-stave flooring, a bar made from Oregon wine barrel staves, lots of brick and brass, an airy atrium and a new fire pit in the back, though almost all the chandeliers and sconces in the bar are original.
"I grew up in Southeast," Card said. "This is my love letter to Portland."
Bit House Saloon is located at 727 S.E. Grand Ave. Currently, they are in their soft opening phase. Their official opening date is July 31. They are open seven days a week from 3 p.m. - 2:30 a.m.
-- Samantha Bakall
sbakall@oregonian.com
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