"Make it a double" has taken on new meaning recently at the Goat Lounge in Coeur d'Alene, which doubly impressed Inlander readers in this year's Best of the Inland Northwest poll. Readers voted the stylish Fourth Street spot as North Idaho's best place both for craft cocktails in general and for the amber-colored cocktail known as the old fashioned in particular.
"We take care in what we do," says head bartender and general manager Armando Garcia, who has been with the Goat Lounge since owner Dave Pulis and his late wife, Janet, launched it in 2022.
Located adjacent to the Pulises' other downtown Coeur d'Alene drinking establishment, The Moose Lounge, the Goat has an upscale vibe compared to its occasionally raucous and considerably larger neighbor. Its tagline is "crafty cocktails, tasty tapas and fine wine," Pulis says.
At the Goat, tuck into a spot by the fireplace or snag an outdoor seat in warm weather. Perch along the cozy bar, groove to the nonstop jazz, and tell Garcia what he's heard more often than he can count: "Make me something I'll enjoy."
Garcia says that no matter who's behind the bar, the priority is the same: "You have to make a drink that the person is going to like."
That means using fresh-pressed juices, employing meaningful techniques and choosing ingredients with care.
For example, like other artisan drink outlets, the Goat serves its old fashioned over an oversized square ice cube — a gentleman's cube, notes Garcia.
"It doesn't water down the drink as quickly as smaller cubes," he explains.
Yet the Goat's old fashioned features subtle differences from others, such as the complex flavors of a classic Kentucky bourbon, Four Roses. The Goat uses both angostura and walnut bitters. And in addition to the standard garnish of a peeled orange, the bar gussies up its Bordeaux cherries with rye whiskey, cognac and Luxardo liqueur for a not-too-sweet finish.
If you're not a fan of the old fashioned, the Goat has plenty of other cocktails, like the one Garcia is fond of: the white Manhattan with rye, Lillet aperitif and vanilla bean. It's one of the many newfangled specials Garcia and the Goat's team of mixologists have devised that has grown the Coeur d'Alene's reputation as a go-to for craft cocktails well beyond the confines of North Idaho.
"That one's going to put us on the map," says Garcia, who also heard someone tried to order a white Manhattan while in Seattle. "They didn't realize it's our drink."
