Independent Ice, Portland Maine

I haven’t been out to a actual bar in over a year, but this past weekend Trevor, our friend Robbie, and I ventured out to do some research on Maine’s best Whiskey Bars and we really lucked out on our first stop.

Well to be honest Trevor and I had visited Independent Ice once before, so we kind of stacked the deck on our first stop.  

Independent Ice 

52 Wharf Street 

Portland, ME 

207-956-7150

This isn’t just a bar that serves whiskey, this is a true whiskey bar.  They specialize in rare and hard to find whiskeys, and make some of the best whiskey cocktails in town. 

Cole, our bartender was fantastic, personable, and knowledgeable, and as it turns out we have several mutual friends in the Whiskey World. He started us out with a neat Elmer T. Lee which none of us had tried before but we all really enjoyed. Elmer was the master distiller at Buffalo Trace for over 36 years, and was actually the master distiller that brought Blanton’s to the market which helped save Bourbon. After his death in 2013, Elmer T. Lee was honored with the brand that carried his name. If you ever get to try it this is an exceptional bourbon and I encourage you to try it.

After a bit our focus turned to cocktails, and although I judge a whiskey on how It tastes neat, with nothing added, I judge a whiskey bar on the quality and presentation of their cocktails. Cole recommend a smoked Manhattan and when a bartender recommends a cocktail, and says it’s his best that’s what you want to drink. A few mins later Cole brings us out our drinks and they are presented in a Blanton's bottle that he has mixed the cocktail in and added smoke to. The presentation is fantastic and as he uncorked and poured each into a glass the smoke was released and drifted up from the bottle which got in sight watching the show. Cole was right and the cocktail did not disappoint.  Made from a Knob Creek 9yr it was sweet, spicy and full of smoke that blended perfectly and became something totally unique. 
 

We were sitting enjoying our cocktails and chatting among ourselves when we noticed the large rowdy table full of 40-60-year-olds that had been seated next to us got up to leave. One of the guys made a bee line straight for us. Totally inebriated he spent the next 10 mins with his hand on my shoulder patting me and explaining to us that although he was a beer lover he had loved to watch the cocktail being poured. (In a town full of great craft breweries, we were hardly impressed to learn that his favorite beer was Sam Adams Boston Lager.) 

Then, out of nowhere he announced he and the rest of the table were a swingers club from Florida and suggested we join them as they drank there way through Portland. We of course declined and honestly thought he was just drunk and kidding. He left and we paid our tab and headed out, only to run into him and his group plus more friends a few minutes later. Shockingly, they seemed to have stopped to admire a local shop named "Condom Sense."  He made a comment about us deciding to join a group of swingers and started trying to introduce us to everyone. Luckily it was a busy traffic day and we got separated and made a fast getaway! But what a great story, and an exceptional outing. 

Next time you visit Portland, ME I highly recommend you stop by Independent Ice, and ask Cole to make you a smoked Manhattan, just skip the swingers.

Cheers!