The West's Best Saloons
Sherry Monahan and I mix it up with Buckskin Frank Leslie, Tom & Jerry and a Hub Punch.
By: Johnny D. Boggs 08/01/2008
No.8
It’s Sherry’s turn, but I beat her to the draw and announce No. 8 before she can, because, hey, it’s my dream. “No. 8, Saloon No. 10 in Deadwood, South Dakota.”
“That’s it,” Wild Bill declares. “I’m out of here.” He quickly storms through the door, taking his Tom & Jerry (No. 9) with him.
“Wild Bill was playing poker in Nuttall & Mann’s No. 10 Saloon on August 2, 1876, when he cashed in,” Sherry says, “and today the current Old Style Saloon No. 10 is part museum, part saloon. Poker, blackjack and slots are played in the Utter Place.”
No.7
“No. 7,” Sherry says, “the Occidental Saloon in Buffalo, Wyoming.”
“It’s certainly one of the best preserved hotels and saloons in the West,” I say. “It was a rough place, though, in the late 1800s. Ask Frank Canton. He got his head cracked open with a pistol barrel there. But they changed its look around 1908, putting in a beautiful, 25-foot bar.”
“Saloon interiors ranged from simplistic to elegant,” Sherry says. “Few had nothing but swinging doors you see in the movies. Can you imagine the dust and dirt rolling in from the streets had there been swinging doors? Most had your typical 14-foot double doors, like all the other Victorian style businesses. The saloons that did have swinging doors were beyond the first set of bigger doors.”
No.6
“No. 6,” I say, “the No Scum Allowed in White Oaks, New Mexico.”
“White Oaks boomed in the 1880s with a gold strike, bringing in men like Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid,” Sherry explains, “but when the railroad bypassed the town and the mines played out, White Oaks faded into a ghost town. Although you wouldn’t believe that when the saloon’s hopping. The building has been an office for a lawyer, then a surveyor’s office, before Bud Crenshaw opened it as a saloon.”
“The lawyer’s office might explain all those bullet holes,” I add.
Tom Mix, drinking a Sweet Potato Brandy (No. 10), walks over and hands us each a free sandwich. “What happened to Buckskin Frank Leslie?” I ask.
“He’s settling an argument with Billy Claiborne,” Tom says.
We eat our sandwiches. “As saloons multiplied and their prices rose,” Sherry explains, “many of them began offering luxury services to attract wealthy customers. A popular trend of the time was for a saloon to serve free lunches to its patrons. It not only attracted them, but also made them thirsty! Saloons offered pickled herring, roast beef, roast turkey, pickled eggs, sardines and olives—one even offered pâté de foie gras.”
“I’m thirsty,” I say, and we order a Mint Julep (No. 3) for Sherry and a Claret Sangaree (No. 6) for me.
No.5
“On to the top 5,” Sherry says. “No. 5, the Menger Bar in San Antonio, Texas.”
“At the Menger Hotel,” I add, “spitting distance from the Alamo.”
“The Menger opened in 1859,” Sherry says, “and has served a who’s who of Western personalities, including Sam Houston. Cattle barons closed deals there. They even say that Teddy Roosevelt recruited Rough Riders in the Menger Bar. It’s the place to stay, and drink, in San Antone.”
I ask Tom Mix for a Vodka Martini, but he tells me vodka wasn’t consumed in the U.S. until after WW II. I get Old Forester on the rocks instead. Sherry opts for Jameson Neat.
“What brands were they drinking?” I ask after we toast our authentic 1880s whiskeys.
“Thistle Dew, Old Crow, Hermitage, Old Kentucky, Old Reserve, Coronet, Log Cabin No. 1, Cutter OK, Chicken Cock and Old Forester,” she replies. “Imports included Dewar’s Scotch, Jameson Irish Whiskey and Canadian Club Whisky.”
Comments (1)
Might want to look into The Brick in Roslyn, WA and the Board of Trade in Nome, AK
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