27 — Driftwood Room

History by the Glass

Downtown Portland’s Driftwood Room has been shaking up craft cocktails and intimate, dimly lit hotel bar connections since opening in what was then Hotel Mallory (and today Hotel DeLuxe) in 1954. Once a pioneer of the city’s mixology scene, today it remains a beloved, luxurious, unctuous, and, as we can now attest, potent purveyor of spirits.

Yes, we had an AWESOME time at Driftwood Room…and then proceeded to continue having an even awesomer time with overflowing glasses of Canadian Club at the HBTG studio over the course of a jaunty, increasingly slurry, and eventually unintelligible mess of an initial recording.

We just plain kicked the shit out of it folks.

And, after listening to the end result, decided the only way forward was the unprecedented choice to re-record the back half of the episode six days later. We had too much respect for the bar, this project, and, hell, maybe even ourselves(?!) not to take that mulligan. Unorthodox, yes, but without a doubt, a better product.

So here’s to Driftwood Room, Downtown Portland, and hotel bar frequenters everywhere…this episode (and its many MANY drinks) are for you.

Bar visit and initial recording: Thursday, July 20, 2023

Partially re-recorded: Wednesday, July 26, 2023

HBTG theme song: "Frozen Egg" by Lame Drivers

Interlude music: "Right Track" by Lame Drivers