Magpie's Taproom
March 2010
So I walk in to Magpie's Taproom and order a whisky...
Many of you may not know of the Taproom at Magpies because of the weird hours they keep. With the exception of Fridays, they are only open until two in the afternoon Monday through Saturday.
The Taproom is located in the basement of Magpies. As I made my way down the stairs, I was greeted by clean, modern interior design. With walls painted crisp white, the Taproom reminds me of a high-class speakeasy back in New York. But who wants to hear all this crap about décor... Let's get drinking!
Once again I was met with a high-end whiskey-challenged bar. I would love to find another bar or two here in Pueblo that get a little more creative than the Macallan 12 year. Don't get me wrong; Macallan is a fine whisky. But with over 90 single malt Scotch makers, you'd think you might see something more interesting than Macallan or Glenlivet. The Taproom, however, did have one of my favorite Bourbons: Buffalo Trace.
Imagine the joy that swelled in my heart when the bartender thunked down a grown man-sized rocks glass as opposed to the glorified shot glasses I've drunk out of in so many places. When I ordered my drink the bartender explained to me that it was her first day behind the bar, the real bartender was upstairs doing dishes, and if I could point out the drink I wanted, she would appreciate it.
Imagine now if you will my grave disappointment when she measured out a one ounce shot and poured it into my glass. Sacrilege! This pour barely formed a film at the bottom of my glass. It was more reminiscent of the dry remains that I find in the morning at the bottom of my whisky glass from the night before. I didn't call attention to it as it was the bartender's first day, she was really nice and I didn't want to seem like a dick.
BARFLY TIP: Whisky drinkers don't drink shots of whisky. They drink drinks of whisky. A good form of measurement is the two-finger method. If you have two fingers worth of whisky (as measured from the bottom of the glass), you've got a good pour. It might average an inch to an inch and a half, depending on the glass. An eighth of an inch pour? Not so much. Don't worry bar owners: we whisky drinkers will pay for a good pour.
So I take my glass of whisky film back to my table and join my friends. Even they are amused and dismayed by the pour. I figure I'll wait until the real bartender returns before I order another drink.
The Taproom boasts a "huge" selection of micro-brews. They do have quite a few taps. I must say that my date, an avid beer enjoyer, was not very impressed with the selection. They did not have an IPA (India Pale Ale), which in any self-respecting "tap room" theses days, should be a staple. They did have Murphy's which in my opinion is one of the best stouts, but is by no means a microbrew. The one true microbrew they offered was out.
Finally someone new got behind the bar and I ventured over for a new drink. Unfortunately, this girl used the one ounce shot measure as well. She did, however, throw a couple of more drops in my glass. Oh, yay-that made all the difference!
Despite the poor pours and lack of an IPA, I really did enjoy my visit to the Taproom. Our waitress was incredibly friendly and tried really hard to make everyone in our party happy. Looks like it would be a great place to have a party! As long as it's before 2pm or on a Friday.
So I walk in to Magpie's Taproom and order a whisky...
Many of you may not know of the Taproom at Magpies because of the weird hours they keep. With the exception of Fridays, they are only open until two in the afternoon Monday through Saturday.
The Taproom is located in the basement of Magpies. As I made my way down the stairs, I was greeted by clean, modern interior design. With walls painted crisp white, the Taproom reminds me of a high-class speakeasy back in New York. But who wants to hear all this crap about décor... Let's get drinking!
Once again I was met with a high-end whiskey-challenged bar. I would love to find another bar or two here in Pueblo that get a little more creative than the Macallan 12 year. Don't get me wrong; Macallan is a fine whisky. But with over 90 single malt Scotch makers, you'd think you might see something more interesting than Macallan or Glenlivet. The Taproom, however, did have one of my favorite Bourbons: Buffalo Trace.
Imagine the joy that swelled in my heart when the bartender thunked down a grown man-sized rocks glass as opposed to the glorified shot glasses I've drunk out of in so many places. When I ordered my drink the bartender explained to me that it was her first day behind the bar, the real bartender was upstairs doing dishes, and if I could point out the drink I wanted, she would appreciate it.
Imagine now if you will my grave disappointment when she measured out a one ounce shot and poured it into my glass. Sacrilege! This pour barely formed a film at the bottom of my glass. It was more reminiscent of the dry remains that I find in the morning at the bottom of my whisky glass from the night before. I didn't call attention to it as it was the bartender's first day, she was really nice and I didn't want to seem like a dick.
BARFLY TIP: Whisky drinkers don't drink shots of whisky. They drink drinks of whisky. A good form of measurement is the two-finger method. If you have two fingers worth of whisky (as measured from the bottom of the glass), you've got a good pour. It might average an inch to an inch and a half, depending on the glass. An eighth of an inch pour? Not so much. Don't worry bar owners: we whisky drinkers will pay for a good pour.
So I take my glass of whisky film back to my table and join my friends. Even they are amused and dismayed by the pour. I figure I'll wait until the real bartender returns before I order another drink.
The Taproom boasts a "huge" selection of micro-brews. They do have quite a few taps. I must say that my date, an avid beer enjoyer, was not very impressed with the selection. They did not have an IPA (India Pale Ale), which in any self-respecting "tap room" theses days, should be a staple. They did have Murphy's which in my opinion is one of the best stouts, but is by no means a microbrew. The one true microbrew they offered was out.
Finally someone new got behind the bar and I ventured over for a new drink. Unfortunately, this girl used the one ounce shot measure as well. She did, however, throw a couple of more drops in my glass. Oh, yay-that made all the difference!
Despite the poor pours and lack of an IPA, I really did enjoy my visit to the Taproom. Our waitress was incredibly friendly and tried really hard to make everyone in our party happy. Looks like it would be a great place to have a party! As long as it's before 2pm or on a Friday.
posted by Altered Egoist at 7:06 PM
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