🟢 Glastonbury's Sneaky-Good Happy Hour

Good Morning Hartford!

I heard The Big E had 17% less attendance this year! Honestly, that doesn’t surprise me, it’s very expensive and it rained the entire time.

I didn’t even make it this year and I wasn’t that upset about it.

$20+ for a donut-burger just doesn’t hit like it used to…

Well, let’s talk about some REALLY fun things to do in and around Hartford this week

In today’s edition of The Hartford Pour, we’ll get into:

— Chris M.
Local Whiskey Nerd, Husband, Dad, Entrepreneur (Fun Tip: I used to be a YouTuber, I gave it up to run this Newsletter, you’re welcome, lol)

Most liquor stores sell you a bottle and send you home.

Worldwide Wine & Spirits (480 Queen St, Southington) would rather pour it for you first and make a friend.

Owner Taylor Deegan runs one of the busiest event calendars at any liquor store. I'm talking blind bourbon showdowns he hosts himself, King of Kentucky seminars, hands-on cocktail classes, Italian wine nights, sake and amaro deep dives, plus a bunch of tastings that raise money for local causes like the Special Olympics Torch Run.

A lot of them sell out, so don't sleep on it.

If you've never met Taylor, imagine a double espresso with a liquor license. This is a man who has purposely dressed up as a piñata (that’s him in the picture above), so you know these aren't stuffy wine-and-cheese nights.

It’s REAL fun!

And when it's over, the shelf prices are so good I genuinely question his sanity.

Check out the upcoming lineup, grab a seat, and tell Taylor THP sent you.

I've been kicking around an idea, and I need your honest gut check.

What if The Hartford Pour hosted a little get-together?

A happy hour, maybe a cocktail class at a local spot, on a sleepy weeknight when the bartender has time to actually chat.

No pressure, no commitment. Just curious if this is your kind of thing.

This week's restaurant highlight goes to Drago's Kitchen, located at 7 Mill Pond Dr. in Granby.

My wife and I visited there recently for the first time and were pleasantly surprised with the customer service and the food.

Before moving to Bloomfield about 14 years ago, I was a southern boy living in Louisiana, and one of my favorite dishes was biscuits and gravy.

Drago’s Kitchen has their own version of biscuits and gravy, and it is delicious. Highly recommend.

As you can see from the picture above, my wife got the French toast with fresh fruit, an omelette, and bacon.

As I said before, one of the best things was the service. As soon as we walked in, we were greeted and seated, and the waitress talked to us for what felt like 3-5 minutes (and it wasn’t awkward, lol)

It was natural conversation with someone genuinely happy to see us. She wasn't forcing it. We were all having a good time since it was our first time there.

We were sold on this place by its reviews, getting 4.7 out of 5 stars on Google.

Click here to check out Drago’s Kitchen in Granby!

I used to think Max Fish was super expensive… but I was wrong.

Mrs. Hartford Pour and I were able to check out the happy hour over at Max Fish in Glastonbury this week.

We sat at the bar next to another couple and struck up a conversation, so it was a good time all around.

What you see in the picture is an Old Fashioned, but not made with bourbon. It's made with Rittenhouse rye.

When I sat down at the bar, I told the bartender that I wanted an Old Fashioned with a whiskey that had at least 100 proof. I was expecting a higher-end bourbon or something, but then she came back with the rye, and I was floored by how amazing it tasted.

After doing a little bit of research, I realized that ryes originally were in Old Fashioneds. Bourbons came later…

The food was good too, we had the clam chowder and fish and chips and because it was happy hour, we didn’t break the bank.

Kudos Max Fish, we will be back!

Check out the Max Fish Happy Hour Menu right here

Tuesday’s game plan is simple: eat well at noon, drink well at 3:30. Respectfully.

Lunch is at the Culinary Arts Center at CT State Manchester (Great Path, Manchester), where the culinary students are serving a Japanese and Korean lunch from noon to 1:30.

Dashi mushroom soup, pork dumplings, a Korean BBQ chicken rice bowl with pickled daikon and a soft-boiled egg, and something called banana sushi dipped in chocolate, which I absolutely need to see with my own eyes.

Grab a ticket on Eventbrite first.

Afterwards, head north to The Yarde Tavern in Enfield (1658 King St) for happy hour, 3:30 to 6. They’re running a lot on tap, and right now one of them is Dogfish Head Punkin Ale (spelling is correct on that one), a 7% brown ale brewed with actual pumpkin and brown sugar. It’s basically pie that knows how to party.

Wednesday’s handing you either a frosting bag or a dance floor. Pick your hustle.

In Berlin, Coles Road Brewing (817 Farmington Ave) is hosting a cookie decorating class from 6:30 to 8 PM. Yes, the cookies are dressed up for Halloween, but nobody’s grading your ghost.

Order their Festbier, a 5.8% Oktoberfest-style lager, and let the steady hand come naturally (or don’t, the cookie still tastes the same).

If you’d rather move than ice, Pratt Street in Hartford turns into a dance party for Salsa Rico on Pratt, 6 to 9 PM, hosted by Rachael Irizarry.

Two left feet are welcome, lol, because I’m all lefts. When you need a breather, duck into Urban Lodge Brewing (88 Pratt St) for a UConn Territory, 5.3%, and get right back out there.

Either way Wednesday just got a lot less boring.

Thursday is easily the busiest night of the week, so here are three ways to play it.

Start at Experience Hartford at 1390 at Parkville Market (1400 Park St, Hartford), 5 to 7 PM, where the Hartford Chamber is packing dozens of the city’s restaurants, coffee shops, and retailers under one roof for one night.

While you’re in the building, The Pint pours the Parkville Landbier, the kellerbier Dead Language brews just for them.

If a paintbrush sounds better than a name tag, Crystal Ridge Winery in Glastonbury (257 Belltown Rd) has a wooden sign paint and sip from 5 to 8 PM. Pair it with a glass of their estate-grown Cabernet Franc, and if the sign comes out crooked, just call it rustic.

Or if you’d rather just wander, Manchester’s Off-Main Experience is back for one more evening on Purnell Place starting at 5. It’s free, with live painting, local bands, and 20-plus vendors, and Urban Lodge Brewing (47 Purnell Pl) is right there pouring their Oktoberfest.

Three options, one Thursday. Honestly, you can’t pick wrong.

Do you know of an AWESOME restaurant or bar? Or something not included in this email you’d like to see?

REPLY to this email and let me know!