Imbibe 75 Place to Watch: The Danforth

Story: Al Culliton

February 07, 2023

The Danforth Hyperion Old Fashioned — The Hyperion Old Fashioned is made with bourbon, mezcal, corn, strawberry, and molé bitters. | Photo by Nicole Wolf

The Danforth's Martini: The Monorail — The Monorail cocktail combines coconut gin, dry vermouth, sweet vermouth, and absinthe. | Photo by Nicole Wolf

The Danforth bar Imbibe 75 — The Danforth bar was designed by Aamp Studio. | Photo by Alex Day

Booths and drinks — The Danforth has two happy hours: one after work and another for late night. | Photo by Nicole Wolf

The West End mixes together rye whiskey, rainwater madeira, sweet vermouth, and apricot. | Photo by Nicole Wolf

The Danforth food items — The Danforth's menu offerings include beef tartare, griddled shrimp, and bread with salted chive butter. | Photo by Nicole Wolf

Oysters and wine make the perfect pairing. | Photo by Nicole Wolf

Golden Slumbers cocktail with apple and pear brandies, blanc vermouth, aperitivo bianco, and verjus. | Photo by Nicole Wolf

The Danforth Imbibe 75 — The bar's menu and interior combine the best of hi-lo vibes. Photo by Jamie Mercurio

The Danforth Jukebox Highball — The Jukebox Highball is made with scotch, cherry, and toasted oat soda. | Photo by Nicole Wolf

Bar exterior — The bar is located in Portland, Maine's West End neighborhood. | Photo by Alex Day

Tucked away in a residential neighborhood in Portland, Maine’s West End, The Danforth is a modern New English restaurant and bar from Gin & Luck, the group behind the Death & Co empire. Cocktails are, unsurprisingly, a central focus, with a list that eschews the once de rigueur hyper seasonality for a more evergreen list. Standouts include the Golden Slumbers (a White Negroni variation with pear eau de vie, Calvados, blanc vermouth, aperitivo bianco, and verjus), and the Jukebox Highball (scotch, maraschino, kirsch, and toasted oat soda), and bubbly cocktails a reserved on draft for optimal dizziness.

There are a lot of great small plates (big ones, too) to accompany the drinks, and the space—designed by longtime Gin & Luck collaborator AAmp Studio—has a kind of hip elegance. The company’s COO, Alex Day, says they hope the mix of casual and fancy, both in the bar’s design and in the menu offerings, will foster the idea that the Danforth is “the kind of bar and restaurant casual enough for a stop by, but meaningful enough for a special celebration.”

Click here to read more about some of 2023’s other Imbibe 75 People and Places to Watch.

Al Culliton

Al Culliton is a writer, historian, and bartender based in the hilltowns of western Massachusetts. Their work focuses on the intersection of the American cocktail, food, and culture from the age of punch through the 1960s and, sometimes, the 21st century. They write regularly for Punch; their work has also appeared in Saveur, The Boston Globe, and Bon Appétit.