As a Maker's Mark Ambassador, it is my duty to help bring the joy of bourbon to the people across this great land.  My latest self-appointed mission was to introduce a favored highball, the “bourbon & ginger,” to the already magnificent Union Hall of Brooklyn (the one in New York City, people).  A fellow, senior, Ambassador, Mikey Sha Sha, sent me forth from Yen Ha, as part of his Portland/New York exchange program.  And so, after a day of flying eastward, I slept off my jet-lag, then un-commenced slumber for a walk through Prospect Park towards Park Slope, which holds the afore-mentioned bar. 

By the way, there is some gorgeous, historic shit in Brooklyn!  As I approached the Grand Army Plaza at the north end of the park, there arose a magnificent monument to the Union soldiers of the Civil War (or The War of Northern Aggression, as some southerners have decreed it).  This American Arc de Triomphe is replete with . . . Horses!  Sabres!  Yankees!  King Neptune!  Don’t let Manhattan whore all the glory if you ever get to New York - all five of the boroughs hold wonders untold.

Union Hall’s appearance is deceptively small from outside, but holds no less than 5,000 square feet of comfort, class and fun.  The staff lives by what must be the bar’s credo, as it’s posted behind the bar: “It’s nice to be nice – try it!”  I approached the lovely barkeep and asked if Andy, one of the owners, was in.  When Julia asked who was calling, and I mentioned that a friend from Oregon sent me, a lady seated at the bar asked if I meant Mikey Sha Sha.  When I confirmed, she introduced herself as Pam, yet another friend of the senior Ambassador.  She bought me a drink and as we began to swap Mikey and Yen Ha stories (such as The Mysterious Lingering Odor of Yen Ha), more of his friends appeared and joined us. 

 Let me tell you, the owners of this establishment, are all fun, friendly people, even by a southern girl’s standards.  And they were intrigued by this strange new drink I eagerly consumed - the bourbon & ginger.  Apparently nobody within these walls had ever requested a combination of these two beverages, nor had any stumbling happenstance caused the accidental union of the perfect highball (“Way to go, Drunky McStagger - you got bourbon in my ginger ale!” . . . “No – YOU got ginger ale in my bourbon!”).  They had the perfect ingredients, though – naturally, they carried Barfly’s favored bourbon, Makey Make, but they also had fine ginger ale, also imported from Kentucky, and made by the good people of Ale-8-1.  You know, true bourbon really should hail from Kentucky; this ambrosia was invented in Bourbon County.  In fact, my first official ordinance as a Maker’s Ambassador shall be to officially dub said cocktail the GinTucky.  Done and done!

Oftentimes, bars with couches seem to succumb to a hoity-toity feel, as if we are Victorian era aristocrats whom have all retired to the parlor to enjoy a glass of sherry and perhaps some embroidery.  At Union Hall, however, the furniture offers exactly what it should – comfort and a sense of intimacy, whether you are hanging out with friends or being a gross PDA couple. You can also just sit a regular old table if you wish.   Their beautiful bookshelves hold an amazing collection of books.  Mind you, it’s not just some dusty hodgepodge of random thrift store gems (which can also be lovely – see Portland’s own Tugboat Brewery).  For example, their library includes a beautiful series of encyclopedic “Great Books,” if you want to catch up on your Cicero, your Voltaire, or maybe just some seminal writings on human anatomy.  Perhaps the most unique feature of this varied establishment is the dual bocce ball courts.  Folks play on a first come/first serve basis, signing up for casual games in a guest book, or forming teams for competitive tournaments. 

Downstairs boasts perhaps the coolest stage I have ever seen.  It kinda looks like they could shoot tonight’s episode of “Masterpiece Theater” up in there.  I think I could be on that stage passing gas with the Phart-Harmonic Orchestra and feel like a class act – we’d have to bust out the Bach Air.  If you’ve no interest in whatever’s going on down in the basement, you can easily ignore it.  Sitting in the couches by the fireplace, I didn’t even realize the music had started until I ventured to the bathrooms, also downstairs.  And what bathrooms they are - I’ve never seen such privacy in a head!  Each stall is entirely closed off, with its own light switch . . . in case you want to poop in the dark, I guess.  The lowercase bar also has a magnificent natural history display behind it, complete with stuffed critters and human skull.  Bitchin’!

Everything I consumed on my first day in Brooklyn came from Union Hall, and I was satisfied by it all.  The eclectic and well-crafted selection of appetizers includes cabbage rolls, Kentucky beer cheese, flatbread, and wee burgers which Portlanders would call “sliders.”  But the most amazing selection is the Saga Cheese Balls: blue cheese coated in apple cinnamon cheerios and deep fried, then served with pear brandy puree (that’s fancy apple sauce).  It sounds like something you would make when your parents aren’t home, and you throw together a crazy concoction of your disparate favorite household snacks . . . you get in trouble cuz you made a fucking mess of the kitchen, but it’s worth it because it’s the most delicious thing you’ve ever invented.

 It was a strange and wonderful feeling to sit in a bar in Brooklyn, and swap stories about one of my favorite bars in Portland . . . the perfect way to pass the time while I waited for my great friend Caponi to arrive with her fiancé, Paul (I was in town for their wedding).  To give you a visual image of this couple, picture a guy who looks like Ralph Fiennes and speaks like a 40s film noir gangster, whose moll looks like Maggie Gyllenhaal and walks like Jean Harlow.  Stay tuned for the adventures of their wedding day!  Keywords will include "Djoser's Pyramid," “Tim” and “three-way”!