Canon Bar

Address: 928 12th Avenue, (b/t E Spring & E Marion Sts), Seattle, WA , 98122, United States
Tel: +1 206 552 9755
Email: drink@canonseattle.com
Website: view Canon Bar’s website
Door: Go early
Style: Cocktail bar
Food: Tapas/plates & dishes
Established: 2011

Review

Canon is the cocktail bar founded in 2011 by Jamie Boudreau, one of Seattle's most influential bartenders.

The small space is gorgeously appointed in shades of dark brown (the bar and tables were stained using Angostura bitters), with speakeasy design touches like Edison bulbs, framed newspapers announcing the repeal of Prohibition, and a silver pressed tin ceiling. Behind the bar and stretching all the way to that tall ceiling are shelves filled with one of the greatest collections of liquor for sale in any bar in America, including more than 50 spirits dating back to Prohibition and earlier. The "Captain's List" of spirits is found not in an ever-expanding book, but by using a QR code scanned from the cocktail menu with a cell phone, revealing some spirits on offer for prices reaching $950 for an ounce-and-a-half pour.

Despite the huge selection of spirits, the cocktail menu is quite petite, listing a dozen mixed drinks and one punch. Half those cocktails are pre-made, split into barrel-aged cocktails like the La Bicyclette and Hanky Panky that are served in chilled flasks, and carbonated cocktails that are served in soda bottles with a straw. Surely these save both serving time and glassware, decreasing the wait for drinks at this popular new bar. Canon's design and operation are next-level clever.