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Big Whisky Saloon

Not your grandma's hootenanny

Keep an eye on the wheel at Big Whisky Saloon.

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Tonight, I have a hankering for a barn burner. A saucy humdinger. A real part-y.  Because I didn't shine my dancing shoes for nothing.

I'm scheduled to check out The Matador, but I quickly learn it's more of a dinner spot than a real meat market (wood-grained tequila bar aside). Undiscouraged, I follow my columnist's intuition and the subtle chatter of drunken 20-somethings until I stumble across the Big Whisky Saloon.

Oh, how happy I am. 

First off, let me say that I hear your cries. And more sympathetic I cannot be. The Big Whisky has some pitfalls. Excruciatingly long lines at the bar, a two-to-one meathead-to-chick ratio and a volume of noise that's only matched by the DJ occasionally screeching out new drink specials. Did I mention the Big Whisky Saloon plays exclusively country music? Not the Townes Van Zandt kind, either. Think newer. Think Luke Bryan. 

But on a night where I'm craving a party, these eyes have never witnessed a place so beautiful. On most evenings I'd find the younger army guys with tight shirts and cowboy boots intimidating. I'd think the ladies' booty shorts and low-cut tops were lacking class. I'd think the corner make outs were too predictable, the older couples too out of place and the "Spin for the Special" wheel that's stuck on "99 cent PBR" too hokey. Not tonight. Instead of annoying me, the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd warms me like the seat heater in my 1985 Ford Bronco.

My imaginary '85 Bronco, that is.    

I move from the door, pass by the crowded dance floor and line up at the bar. Here, I watch a man sum up the night perfectly with a single drink order. "I'll take a full glass of Jäger," he says to the bartender. "One of your pint cups." The bartender obliges. For $44, the man receives 12 ounces of Jägermeister in a single, large glass.

As he takes his first sip, I make sure to note the time. 10:43 p.m. The exact moment I discover the glory that is the Big Whiskey Saloon.   

Big Whisky Saloon

Open until 2 a.m. Tuesday-Saturday
100 S. Ninth St., Tacoma
253.272.0777

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