Canon in Seattle, WA (America’s largest spirit collection)
The Story: I saw this bar on Facebook before flying to Washington to visit friends and could not wait to go! As I’m a huge whiskey lover, I could not wait to go to the restaurant to see the country’s largest spirit collection. I knew it would be the perfect story for my blog because of the extremely high reviews.
Experience: I went out with two friends and we got there around 7:30pm on a Sunday night. There was a wait and we were instructed to go outside. There were three parties in front of us but nothing crazy. To begin with, we missed the host calling our name. He rudely found us, called me by name, told us we missed our name and that we would be next. We accepted this easily because we were one of three parties waiting initially; we didn’t think it would be a much longer wait. When we were finally taken inside we were put at a standing bar where we ordered our drinks. We watched the group in front of us get up and already started to take their seat before the host noticed and told us that we could stay there. We enjoyed the impressive cocktail selection. Some drinks went for a premium; one cost over $700. They had an amazing presentation for the drinks.
This is when the night got fun! We were seated directly in front of the bartender.
We got to watch an array of fire and dry ice drinks prepared in fun glasses. Between myself and my friends, we ordered five of the cocktails. The best part about the cocktails was watching them being prepared. The cocktails were alright but were not good enough to warrant anyone ordering a second. After I explained I write a whiskey blog, I was brought “the Captain’s List.” It is an impressive 173-page liquor list. I was entertained with this for quite sometime before picking an individually selected barrel Willet Rye “Seattle” edition (because I was in Seattle). It was a wonderful pour of whiskey; whoever picked out that barrel did a great job.
Recommendation: If you are a collector seeking a rare pour of whiskey, I recommend that you try Canon. Keep in mind that the more popular whiskies had a large mark up. Some were almost double the prices I have seen across the country. The setup is done in a wonderful old century style with bottles everywhere. It is defiantly a sight to see. Although, we loved the bartender’s presentation, we were not overly excited with any of the cocktails. The service was a bit cold for me, but I am glad I got to experience it once. Though, I probably will not go out of my way to return. With that, I’m off to yoga. Cheers!