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.4
“No. 4,” I say, “the Grand Hotel Saloon in Bisbee, Arizona.”
“Almost as excellent a choice as this Anchor champagne I’m having—$8.50 for five dozen pints.” She flings the empty flute into the fireplace.
“The Grand Hotel is elegant,” I say. “Construction began in 1906, and the hotel was restored in the 1980s.”
“And that saloon rocks!” Sherry exclaims. “A great beer and liquor selection, and you have to check out that back bar. It came from the Pony Saloon in Tombstone.”
“Well,” I sigh, “it was just a matter of time before we got to Tombstone.”
No.3
“Of course. I love that town. No. 3, the Crystal Palace in Tombstone, Arizona.”
“Why not the Oriental?” inquires Buckskin Frank Leslie, a Stone Fence (No. 13) in his left hand.
“Who invited you into this conversation?” Sherry shouts. “Bartender! More ale!”
Leslie slinks away to draw a pint of six-month aged beer.
“The Crystal was started as the Golden Eagle Brewery—you could get pigs feet and Limburger cheese at its free lunch,” Sherry tells me. “After the building burned in 1882, Bernhardt Wehrfritz rebuilt it as the Crystal Palace Saloon. It had a goldfish pond and fountain in the center.”
“And,” I say, “I love the slogan today: ‘Still Serving Good Whiskey & Tolerable Water Since 1879.’”
Some new barkeep, who calls himself a “mixologist,” brings a Whiskey Cocktail (No. 1) for Sherry and a lemonade—with a stick, of course—(No. 15) for me.
“Mixologist?” I scoff.
“Don’t knock it,” she says. “A bartender would stock many mixers that would have included mineral waters, soda water, carbonic acid and cider. He also carried a variety of syrups: pineapple, strawberry, raspberry, lemon and orange. He would also have had a variety of wines, champagnes, sherries, ports, brandies and the glasses to match. Some of the most popular selections were: absinthe, vermouth, crème de chocolate, benedictine, Hennessy and Martell brandies, Kirschwasser, anisette, Mint Cordial and crème de cocoa. His list of other liquors included Holland and Old Tom gins, St. Croix or Jamaican rum, blackberry brandy, applejack
and schnapps.”
“That’s why Sam the Bartender was my favorite character on Gunsmoke.”
No.2
“No. 2,” I announce, “the Buckhorn Exchange in Denver, Colorado.”
“Buffalo Bill used to hang out there,” Sherry says. “It opened in 1893 and has been going strong ever since. It has liquor license No. 1 in the state.”
“And I love to hear Bill Barwick sing there on Saturday nights.”
“Saloonkeepers in wealthy mining and cowtowns entertained customers with classical music, brass bands or string ensembles,” Sherry says.
“And the best saloon?” I ask.
No.1
“No. 1, the Bucket of Blood in Virginia City, Nevada.”
“Bucket of blood was a name for a low-grade saloon, right?”
“Yes. Like ‘gin mill,’ ‘whiskey mill,’ ‘whoop-up,’ etc. The term ‘honky-tonk’ really didn’t come about until the 1890s. Virginia City had 72 saloons in the mid-1800s, but the Bucket of Blood today, which was rebuilt after the 1875 fire, is anything but rough and rowdy. I don’t think you found too many Tiffany chandeliers in real buckets of blood.”
John Selman has just come inside and is filling John Wesley Hardin with bullet holes.
“I’ve been in worst bars than this,” Sherry says.
“Yeah, but I’ve never been back to those bars.”
“Maybe you should wake up from this dream.”
Comments (1)
Might want to look into The Brick in Roslyn, WA and the Board of Trade in Nome, AK
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