Whisky Bar

Published 7:00 am Monday, October 9, 2006

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