Whisky Bar

As you might expect from its name, there's nothing subtle about Whisky Bar (the front window sports the Scotch spelling, sans "e"). The paintings recently adorning its blood-red walls depicted scantily clad women holding guns; the establishment's various whiskeys, ordered neat or on the rocks or in a Whiskey Sour, accomplish what whiskey has always been good at: getting you drunk in a Frank Sinatra kind of way. The bracing mix of people at the bar—shiny yupsters, unapologetic goths, and the occasional mother-daughter drinking team—is likely due to its location on the border between upscale Belltown and a divey part of downtown. (The 100-year-old Nitelite Restaurant, with its hangover-fighting Reubens and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas atmosphere, is conveniently located right down the block.) Happy hour at Whisky Bar is insane: It lasts from 3 to 9 p.m. daily (not a typo) and features $2 well drinks and, currently, no food, though plans are afoot to make pizza. Until then, the bar's tacit mission statement echoes that of barkeep Nick Martini in It's a Wonderful Life: "We serve hard liquor for guys that wanna get drunk fast." 2000 Second Ave., 206-443-4490. DOWNTOWN/BELLTOWN