Born in Norway in the mid-1800s, Simon Benson worked as a bull-team driver, fry cook, and logger turned philanthropic lumber baron. He donated 20 bronze drinking fountains to Portland, Ore., so his timber cutters wouldn't quench their thirst in the city's saloons. Wishful thinking.
The lifelong teetotaler would be stunned to learn that today the El Gaucho Bar, attached to his elegant namesake hotel, The Benson, is selling $220 cocktails and a snifter of cognac for $750. And these are hard times! Portlanders must have deep pockets.
El Gaucho, (319 S.W. Broadway; 503-227-8794; www.elgaucho.com), with its a swanky 1940s supper club ambiance, has made the bar a destination for discriminating and well-heeled drinkers, not just a waiting room for its signature 24-ounce New York steaks that fetch $96. Indeed, El Gaucho's rich, royal blue walls, cherrywood bar rimmed in black leather and lined with 13 stools is dimly lit and has a film noir feeling with servers in tuxedoes and crisp white shirts. Is that Bogart in the booth or Cary Grant sipping a martini in a corner table?
No. But still, $220 for a libation?
"You just missed The Josephine, which was $500 for a snifter," said Mark Joseph, bar manager. He justifies the tariff by explaining that it was a blend of L'Espirit de Courvoisier that retails for $6,000 a bottle and Grand Marnier 150. "Courvosier claims L'Espirit had traces of Napoleon's personal (cognac) stash dating back to his coronation in 1802." The Josephine is no longer served -- hopefully temporarily -- because El Gaucho Bar had only one bottle and is searching for another.
Fear not cognac lovers. Joseph still has a half bottle of Hardy Perfection, said to be the "world's oldest known unblended cognac." It commands $12,900 for a crystal decanter from the purveyor and $750 a snifter at this bar. Who ponies up for this rare of pleasure? Joseph said a family of four recently was savoring a flaming dessert of bananas Foster and passed one snifter around for everyone to sip.
Lest you think the El Gaucho Bar fancies itself as Portland's version of Monte Carlo's haughty Hotel des Paris, Joseph also creates classic cocktails in the double digits. But his culinary approach to mixology produces some new and impressive taste experiences. His version of the legendary Bellini, for instance, is a blend of house-made, fresh peach puree (not peach juice) and Prosecco, a sparkling Italian wine, $14 a flute.
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