“Show me the way to the next whisky bar,” croons Jim Morrison in the alcohol-drenched lyrics to the Doors’ “Alabama Song.” While Morrison’s liver may have called it quits a while ago, he sure would have loved the Bigfoot West, located in Culver City.  

While the bar has been open for some time, it recently hosted an exclusive reopening that allowed some lucky writers to have the first crack at their unique selection of choice alcohols. The bar itself, however, possesses a kind of style that can only be described as hipster chic. The new location in Culver City doesn’t quite possess the inherent street cred of the Silver Lake location but packs in enough log cabin goodness to please even the most picky of moustache-toting Angeleno hipster.  

Seemingly everything in this modestly sized bar is made of some sort of real or artificial oaky substance. The lights are dim and the bartenders suitably attractive. While it possesses the kind vibe that one may imagine would exist in a bar called Bigfoot Lodge, it fails to impress compared to their other location in San Francisco.

I have visited this location and was immediately impressed by two unique elements. 1) The ability to purchase a 12-pack of Busch Light cans and have the bartender open each with a pocketknife. 2) While I have been told that though they no longer practice this pastime, bartenders used to light the bar on fire each night with some grain alcohol to impress all those currently intoxicated at that time. Unfortunately, Bigfoot West does not believe in either, for better or worse.

Nevertheless, Bigfoot West still represents the core pedigree of the chain and provides a wonderful supply of unique drinks. The extensive and entirely educational whiskey menu breaks down the variations; scotch, bourbon, etc., and the histories behind them. Learning about the deep history behind Morrison’s favorite beverage proved almost as interesting as the drinks itself. Bigfoot is proud of their whiskey menu, highlighting over 80 different varieties and culminating with their $65 19-year-old Willett Bourbon. I sampled this amazing bourbon and immediately cracked a smile worthy of this Don Draper-approved price tag. It was clean, crisp and without even the slightest sting. Life changing? You betcha.

As one may expect, their cocktail menu is similarly Prohibition era, consisting of some tasty and surprising concoctions. I was able to sample the Thirsty Crow, which featured rye whisky, maraschino liqueur, lemon juice and ginger beer. Whether or not the Mason jar that it is served in improved the taste is debatable but damned if it wasn’t one of the tastiest cocktails I’ve ever had the privilege of tasting. The Toasted Marshmallow, another unique cocktail, looked and smelled like your time at overnight bible camp just with more booze. The rest of the menu should please both sexes and any variety of gin, whiskey, vodka and even champagne lovers’ wildest palettes.

One interesting alternative for the sex-driven males (and females) in particular was the Horny Goat Elixir, which tasted something like Jägermeister crossed with a selection of random herbs your buddies tried to sell you as weed. It is described in the menu as the house “performance-enhancing” herbal liquor that combines hand-selected ingredients from herbalist Borna Ilic that (should) work together as an overall sex and energy tonic. At a substantial $25, this foul, yet unique tasting concoction is best left for those who are equal parts gullible and rich.  

The beer selection is surprisingly unique, ranging from the ubiquitous moustache-donning favorite Pabst Blue Ribbon to a variety of rare draft and bottle specials. All sorts of microbrewed Belgians, Hefs, IPAs and even an organic cider cap off this amazing alcoholic menu.

While the prices are indeed above average, other bars like Father’s Office have proven that the Angelenos are ready and willing to pay a premium on exotic cocktails and beers, and I would be hard pressed to find anyone disappointed by the selection at Bigfoot West.

While the bar may have lost some of the hip, log cabin goodness of the original locations, Bigfoot Lodge West is a bar that would make Jim Morrison proud. What more of an endorsement do you need?



For more information, call (310) 287-2200 or visit bigfootlodge.com.