McMenamin’s Edgefield

I spent last night at the Edgefield, a McMenamin’s complex in Troutdale, Oregon.

And by complex I mean an estate covered with pub/restaurants and teeny hidden bars and a “spa” heated mineral pool, with a huge lodge style hotel in the center. It’s often described as an adult theme park because their liquor license covers the whole property, so you can wander from bar to bar (to poolroom to soaking pool) with drink in hand, gorging yourself on local beers, semi-local food, and occasionally creative cocktails.

I had a delectable artisanal cheese platter during happy hour at the Black Rabbit bar in the lodge, and that was the only interesting eating experience. (The mesquite salmon Caesar at the Power Station pub was inoffensively blah.) That’s ok, we were there to get drunk, and we did – slowly. They mix their drinks extra-weak, which by my 8th or 9th seemed like a pretty smart idea.

The beer is McMenamin’s, which translates to decent but nothing standout in the modern world of microbrews and exotic beers. Some of the liquor was from the McMenamin’s distiller, and insofar as I could taste the liquor itself, it also seemed… fine.

I had two standout cocktails: The Bourbon Furnace, made up of bourbon, hot apple cider, honey, and a cinnamon stick. They managed to make this barely sweet and very bourbon-licious, in spite of not being terribly strong. The other was the Screwhound, a mix of a Greyhound (grapefruit + vodka) and Screwdriver (orange + vodka). What made this amazing? All the juice was fresh-squeezed in front of me right into the mixer.

My conclusion? Like most McMenamin’s, go for the company, and consume the food and drink while you’re there. It’s nothing to write home about.