Bank Saloon
Worth a visit...
Warning: This post is about alcohol. If you struggle to drink with moderation or suffer from addiction, know that you are not alone. Please skip this post and join us back here next week. We’ll be waiting for you. If you need help, check out this website. May the Lord bless and strengthen you, friend.
Into The Blue is about finding joy in simple pleasures. One of those pleasures is a good cocktail bar.
Among the many emergencies these days, one seems to be a dearth of decent cocktail bars in small town America. Craft spirits and cocktails have become very popular over the last 20 years. I feel like most towns could support a nice bar serving quality classic cocktails at a reasonable price. It would make for date night heaven, and also for much better business meetings.
I mean, at this advanced stage of the craft beer movement, you will find at least one brewery in any given town, which is awesome. You might even find three or four. A few months ago, I stopped at a map dot in Nebraska that had one paved street and four storefronts, and one of them was a very fine-looking brewpub.
In some places, you might also find a local craft distillery serving cocktails. This is very promising and almost always a lot of fun. I absolutely love to visit these. But the quality can be hit or miss. Recently, I had cocktails with a dear friend in one of these establishments. We had a fabulous time, but can you really serve an Old Fashioned on draft? This seems slightly criminal.
No, what we need is a democratization of solid, classic, affordable cocktail bars. This is something that might really make America great again.
Enter the Bank Saloon
It is in this spirit that I want to commend to you the Bank Saloon, an extraordinary cocktail bar in Carson City, Nevada. My wife and I have twice visited this charming, high-desert town near Tahoe. Both times, we were so irresistibly drawn to the Bank Saloon that the bartenders knew our names and order before we left town. This place is that good.
What makes the Bank Saloon so compelling? Three things: the cocktails, the ambiance, and the prices. The Bank Saloon captures the spirit of the global cocktail renaissance and embodies it in local history, architecture, culture, and artisanry. The owners and staff combine attention to detail, commitment to excellence, and love for community. The result is a delightful experience.
The foundation stone of that experience is, of course, quality drinks. The establishment features an extensive menu of classic cocktails, new twists, and original creations, not to mention mocktails and other non-alcoholic offerings. They offer a variety of local, regional, and international base spirits.
We’ve tried everything from traditional whisky cocktails to tiki drinks. Without exception, every drink was superb. Our personal favorites: the French 75, Last Word, Bank Old Fashioned, and Skrewy Root Beer. Yum!
While the drinks are outstanding, this establishment has you at hello. The beautiful exterior signals you are about to step into the Old West. And indeed, the original Bank Saloon opened here in 1899 and survived under different names for over a century before closing and falling into disrepair. Thankfully, a local builders alliance restored to life the historic property, and it reopened under its original name in 2020.
Upon entering, the feel is classy and upscale, with black walnut woodwork, warm lighting, and a gorgeous collection of regional art covering the walls (at least some of which are also for sale). There is also a nice outdoor patio area where local musicians play in the warmer months. History and modernity kiss.
But what really restores the Bank Saloon to life is the staff. There is some danger in a bar this beautiful becoming the province of the pretentious. The bartenders and staff ensure this never happens.
They make you feel welcome immediately. Yes, they are professional, efficient, and committed to their craft. But they are also attentive, engaging, and just plain nice. We found ourselves feeling like family and wanting to return just to chat with them again.
At any establishment of comparable caliber in the big city, you would pay dearly for cocktails of this quality. There are some wonderful bars we adore in nearby Baltimore city, but the cost ensures we only enjoy them on special occasions. Frankly, these days, even your run-of-the-mill restaurant in the burbs is charging ridiculous prices for very mediocre cocktails.
Not so the Bank Saloon. The prices are extremely reasonable, almost shockingly so considering the quality and the ambience. This reflects a true commitment to democratizing the cocktail experience. Here, the cocktail renaissance is accessible to the normal person and not just to the 1%.
In my view, all of this makes the Bank Saloon a template for what is possible in small towns across America. But I’ve rarely seen it outside of superior local craft distilleries, and then you are limited to cocktails made with the house base spirits. Now, I’m excited because we are stopping at a similar place in small-town Ohio during an upcoming road trip. I’ll report back if it pans out.
But in the meantime, thank you, Bank Saloon, for being an extraordinary place. We can’t wait to return to the area so we can visit again.
If you are ever near Carson City and you like or want to try cocktails, I highly recommend stopping in there. I’m sure they will make you feel welcome.
What about you?
What are your thoughts? Am I off base about small-town cocktail bars? Am I just flat-out off base altogether? Have you been to Bank Saloon yourself? Do you know other great cocktail establishments? Please share in the comments so we can all learn and grow.
Cheers!
A Short Meditation
Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever!
Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,
whom he has redeemed from trouble
“In this world you will have trouble,” Jesus taught his followers (John 16:33). You don’t need to be a believer to know that is true. If there is anything you can count on in this world, it is trouble. Hunger, oppression, disease, disaster. Suffering. Death.
Tell me, does trouble plague you? It does me. And it did Jesus too. Mere hours after he uttered these words, this world murdered him in cold blood.
Yet I have told you only the first half of Jesus’ words. “But take heart,” he continued, “I have overcome the world.”
I have overcome the world? How could he say that? The world put him in the ground, the same place it is going to put you and me.
But there are things neither this world nor those under its spell see. You need spiritual eyes to see them.
Jesus came into this world, he lived and suffered, in solidarity with us. He gave himself up unto death, to redeem you and me, to reconcile us to the God we have forsaken, whom we forsake again at the first sign of trouble.
Yes, this world put Jesus in the ground. But it couldn’t keep him there. Why not? Because the Lord is good, his steadfast love endures forever. And so he rose. He rose for you and for me.
When we return Jesus’ embrace of solidarity, we are redeemed. We see life afresh. Yes, we have trouble. But now we see it is but light and momentary affliction (2 Corinthians 4:17). For this world cannot keep us down either.
So take heart! Jesus has overcome the world.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble.