gastown, the trinity, and rogue

Two weeks ago, my cousin Law and I decided to go drinking. Originally the idea was to go to Guilt and Co. in Gastown, and we did. Unfortunately it was raining that night, but oh well, we’d be inside, savouring well-mixed, old-school cocktails. I won’t be listing prices in this post. They’re drinks. Assume 8-10 dollars. All the drinks I had that night were doubles.

Well, we were let into Guilt and Co. pretty much right away, although all the seats were filled. It was also hot. Like stifling hot. Unfazed, we went to the bar and ordered. Law had an Old-Fashioned (whisky, sugar, bitters), and I had one of Guilt’s specialty drinks, a Jailbreak (tequila, Triple Sec, and citrus). Man, Guilt mixes some stiff drinks! The booze taste was quite strong, even though I wasn’t expecting it from a drink that included citrus in the ingredients list. Despite the heat, Guilt has an amazing space. Almost feels like a real speakeasy; the barkeeps’ Prohibition-era outfits didn’t hurt things either! Anyways, after being underwhelmed by Guilt’s live music, being bored of standing, and being overwhelmed by the heat, we left Guilt to go to the Diamond.

The Diamond was full, so we left to go to Six Acres.
Six Acres was full, so we left to go to Rogue.

Rogue was not full, and we got a table near the bar.

It was pretty busy inside, although not crazy busy like the Trinity were (the Trinity are Guilt, Six Acres, and the Diamond, seeing as they form a triangle across the intersection of Water St., Carrall St., and Powell St.) Anyways, getting down to business, Law had a Manhattan (whisky, sweet vermouth, bitters), while I had a Sidecar (brandy, Cointreau, lemon juice). These drinks weren’t as strong as the ones at Guilt, although they were still doubles. Wonder why? In any case, I didn’t like the Sidecar. It was too lemony, and I realized I’m not a fan of brandy. After about an hour, Law’s friend Gomez arrived, and we ordered nachos.

I don’t remember much about the nachos. Probably because they were only average. Unfortunately, Rogue’s site is broken, so I can’t describe exactly what’s in the nachos (although they look to contain olives, tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, cheese, and green onions), or how much they were (although I think they were around $16). At this time, Law ordered another Old-Fashioned, I had a Vesper (gin, vodka, lillet), and Gomez ordered a Gin & Tonic (what do you think is in a gin & tonic?). Drink, eat, and the fourth and final round, Law and I just ordered the same drinks as our third, while Gomez ordered some strange lemonade-y drink. Once again, Rogue’s website is broken, so I can’t say exactly what it was, but it was sweet and lemony.

All in all, I think the night was pretty good. Rogue isn’t bad, although I think the Diamond is still tops when it comes to bars in Gastown. Furthermore, I would have enjoyed Guilt and Co. far more if we got to sit down, and it was less burning hot. No thoughts on Six Acres so far, but I’ll try to visit in the future!

guilt&company@urbanspoon

rogue@urbanspoon