Portland, Maine is a vacation destination that serves up beautiful views and great whisky bars. Independent Ice Co. (outdoor seating area pictured here) is one that offers an extensive whisky list.
Portland, Maine is home to some of America's best summer vacationing. Nestled on Casco Bay in Southern Maine, this city's access to beaches, coastal islands, charming lighthouses, and gorgeous hikes make the city a New England destination. Portland is full of exciting restaurants, excellent cafes and bakeries—including James Beard Award winners—and bars with solid whisky lists and cocktails.
Portland's cuisine includes classic coastal fare—oysters, scallops, fish and chips, lobster rolls, you name it, but the city also boasts an international cuisine with plenty of Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai, Italian, and Mexican restaurants that pair whisky cocktails beautifully with their dishes. For whisky lovers visiting Portland, exploring the bottles on offer means sampling neat or diving into the regional cuisine and creative cocktails at a local restaurant.
Bar Futo
Whisky Highballs are the name of the game at Bar Futo, a Japanese restaurant highlighting yakitori—grilled and skewered bites of chicken, fish, and vegetables. In keeping with Japanese drinking culture that centers on the fizzy and bright tall drink, popular in the Japanese bar scene since the 1920s, three options of whisky Highballs are available at Bar Futo: One made with Suntory Toki ($14), another with Hibiki Harmony ($19), and a must-try version made with a blend of Japanese, scotch, Irish, and American whiskey. Want to spring for something extra special? Try the Yamazaki 12 year old 100th anniversary pour, neat ($45), or in a Highball. They're perfectly paired with the restaurant's signature saucy and smoky dishes including skewered Maine bluefin toro, pork belly, and crispy eggplant.
Blyth & Burrows
A maritime-inspired bar in the heart of the Old Port, Blyth & Burrows features over 100 bottles of bourbon, scotch, and rye including Old Fitzgerald, Heaven Hill, Michter's, Weller Antique, and Willet Family Estate 9 year old Rare Release bourbon ($250/2 oz.). The lively bar highlights its whiskies in beautifully crafted nautical-inspired cocktails, like The Enterprise, an Old Fashioned made with Blyth & Burrows private barrel of Ezra Brooks bourbon ($20), whose proceeds often go to charity. In June, they supported Equality Maine.
Visitors can go all-in on the Portland coastal theme here, with seafood towers like The Schooner featuring crab claws, oysters, shrimp, and mussels, or hit the raw bar for octopus or shrimp cocktail. Vegetarians have options too—the pretzel bites are absolutely craveable. Sit at the bar to watch the bartenders do their thing, bring your group back to the dining room, or take the party to the ship-inspired outdoor patio.
Bramhall
Venture into this speakeasy-style cocktail bar in a basement across the street from Portland's new Longfellow Hotel for mozzarella sticks, local beers, and yes—interesting whiskies. The dark candle-lit space used to be an actual speakeasy during Prohibition.
Wednesday nights are crowned "the peoples' pour," where high-end and interesting whiskies are shared with customers at cost, bringing regulars and newbies in for the rotating selection—one ounce per customer. Last week's pour was Penelope Bourbon Rosé Cask Finished bourbon priced at $2.75. The lively scotch and bourbon selections are diverse, yet approachable and show up in several cocktails, including the bartender's weekly, a rotating offer that keeps patrons coming back. Feel like breathing fresh air? Take your drinks and your group back to the outdoor patio.
Independent Ice Co.
A classic whisky bar, Independent Ice is a must-visit for any brown spirits enthusiast. Located in the city's charming cobblestone-lined Old Port, the cozy bar boasts 500 beautifully displayed bottles of whisky and an inspiring cocktail program that highlights heritage cocktails. The Penicillin, for example, is made with Orphan Barrel Muckety Muck 24 year old single grain scotch topped off with a smoky Lagavulin 8 year old Islay scotch float ($125/2 oz.), and Remember The Maine ($60) features Kentucky Owl rye, Cherry Heering, and absinthe. There are reasonably priced options as well, like a smoked Manhattan ($16) and cocktails that incorporate local ingredients, try the Maple Cider Mule ($14) made with Old Grand-Dad Bottled in Bond, Maine apple cider, Maine maple syrup, and Maine ginger beer.
Get the traditional fresh-cut Kennebec fries with bourbon ketchup and a Maine lobster roll—you'll want to stay a while to look through their lengthy book of whiskies from around the world.
Ironside Whiskey Bar
Unless you knew about Ironside, you likely wouldn't stumble upon it. There is no sign on the door. In fact, there's not even a door to one of the best whisky bars in the city. Ironside is located in the Portland Regency Hotel, a bright 10-seat bar with pages and pages of bottles from around the world, with both affordable options and pricier rarer pours. You're here for the excellently crafted classic cocktails, pours of eyebrow-raising bottles like Old Forester Birthday Bourbon ($180/2 oz.) or Jack Daniel's Sinatra ($36), and the flights, which they're happy to customize per guest. Ask for the "Age Is Just A Number" flight ($88) to sample Old Forrester 1870 bourbon, Calumet Farm 15 year old bourbon, Glenfiddich Grand Cru 23 year old scotch single malt, and Lock Stock and Barrel 20 year old rye.
Chat with passionate bourbon steward Liz Pelletier, whose hospitality and care for her work is palpable. Pelletier keeps notecards for every returning guest with what they've tried, so she can recommend new options they might want to taste when they return. Eating at the Regency restaurant? Let them know you're a whisky fan and Liz will spin up pairings for your meal. The restaurant also hosts special whisky dinners where meals are made with pairings in mind.
Miyake
Classic Japanese cuisine is Miyake's strong suit, crafting some of the city's finest and highest-quality nigiri, sushi, and shareable plates. The refined omakase dishes often highlight the incredible seafood Maine has access to, like freshwater eel, lobster, scallops, tuna, and crab.
The restaurant's whisky list focuses on Japanese brands like Nikka, Fuyu, and Nobushi, which show up in three creative cocktails perfectly paired with the fresh and umami-forward dishes the restaurant specializes in. Try the Nikka Manhattan ($18), which features Nikka Coffey Grain, vermouth, and sakura bitters, or the Chinatsu Sour ($14) with Tenjaku blended, lemon, blackberry shrub, egg white, and a wasabi rim ($14). This small but upscale restaurant, next door to the Portland Harbor Hotel, is the perfect place for dinner.
Woodford Food and Beverage
A James Beard-nominated and family-friendly restaurant, the casual Woodford F&B is known for its comfort, hospitality, and classic New England fare. Burgers, perfectly spiced skinny fries, mussels, and heaps of oysters pair beautifully with their thoughtfully crafted whisky list. You'll find bottles of Old Overholt Bonded rye ($10), Russell's Reserve 13 year old ($25), George Dickel Sour Mash 9 year old ($20), Knob Creek 9 year old ($12), and Weller Full Proof ($20/2 oz.), as well as a private barrel Elijah Craig 8 year old ($25).
Cocktails are largely unfussy, focusing on post-Prohibition spirit-forward options. They also use a private barrel Woodford Reserve in their Old Fashioned ($15) made with house-made fruity bitters concocted from over 27 ingredients. The menu includes other whisky-based cocktails like a riff on a Manhattan called the Oakdale Special using Dickel rye, vermouth, Cynar, and double oak bitters. The bitters in the Oakdale Special are handmade and go through a smoked oak immersion from local oak trees, not dissimilar to barrel charring.
Beyond what's on the shelf, Woodford F&B is constantly experimenting. Teaming up with Vermont's Bar Hill Distillery, they're aging Tom Cat gin in their private Elijah Craig barrel, which will be ready for release at the end of the summer.
