6 bars to find stellar mocktails in Portland
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The "Drag(on) Disco Queen" at Paadee. Photo: Meira Gebel/Axios
Portlanders doing "dry" — or "damp" — January this year have plenty of options for finding beverages without booze at many of the city's bars and tasting rooms.
Here's where you can enjoy a nonalcoholic mixed drink this month — or anytime:
Dear Sandy
2800 NE Sandy Blvd.
Here you'll find a small-but-mighty mocktail menu where you can cozy up in one of this cafe's many comfy vintage couches and sip on "A Slightly More Complicated B*tch" — featuring permission shrub, a squeeze of lemon and aquafaba for some much-desired creaminess, á la a frozen creamsicle.
Tusk
2448 E Burnside St.
Who said you can't consume your veggies in mocktail form? The folks over at Portland's favorite Mediterranean restaurant concocted what they call "Nature's Candy" — pureed beet, coconut, lime and a splash of ginger beer served in an ever-chic Collins glass.
Wilderton Tasting Room
407 Portway Ave., Hood River
This sleek distillery located on the Hood River Waterfront claims to be the first non-alcoholic tasting room in the nation, offering its very own botanical-based spirits, including a bittersweet aperitivo infused with orange blossom and herbs, which makes a perfect afternoon spritz.
Sousòl
227 SE 6th Ave.
If you can't score reservations to Kann, this is the next best place … literally, it's next door. Chef Gregory Gourdet, who has been vocally sober for years, wanted to ensure the bar's zero-proof offerings were as well-rounded as the rest of the menu.
- You can find Caribbean-inspired mocktails with ingredients like spiced banana shrub, Haitian ginger tea and jerk spice.
PayDirt
2724 NE Pacific St.
This bar in The Zipper building boasts one of the more robust beverage menus for drinkers and non-drinkers alike, with delicious twists on classics. Order the "Fade to Grey" starring an alcohol-free gin from Dhōs, Earl grey syrup and lavender bitters.
Paadee
6 SE 28th Ave.
Slurp some pad kee mao and wash it down with a "Drag(on) Disco Queen" — flavor notes include prickly pear, dragon fruit, Fuji apple and a splash of Topo Chico with a flamingo and a literal disco ball on top just for fun.
- This buzzy Thai restaurant is routinely adding mocktails to its menu, the latest being "Gravity" — a spiced apple, lemon, cardamom and ginger tea served hot or cold.