Raise a pint to small businesses in Dogtown this Saturday.
Stone Turtle (6335 Clayton Avenue) is bringing a taste of Ireland to Dogtown this weekend for a good cause. On Saturday, March 7, from noon to 4 p.m., the gastropub will sell bottles of St. Louis- and Dogtown-branded bottles of Teeling Whiskey to benefit neighborhood improvement during the Dogtown Small Business Crawl.
While Stone Turtle offers the sipping whiskey year-round, Saturday provides customers with a chance to purchase a special release of the Irish whiskey. The spirit sells for $40 a bottle (plus tax) and Stone Turtle owner Nick Funke says $10 of each sale will be donated back to the Dogtown Neighborhood Association.
Teeling Whiskey distills its small-batch whiskey in Dublin, Ireland. Funke says the whiskey is intended for sipping, not shooting. Funke anticipates all 150 bottles will sell out on Saturday, so customers have to get in early to claim their own bottle of the special Dogtown Whiskey.
“It's got really nice vanilla notes to it, a little bit of citrus and a kind of tropical fruit [flavor], like dates,” Funke says. “It’s just a little bit of a nicer Irish whiskey.”
Saturday’s Small Business Crawl, established by the Dogtown Business Merchants Association, is a community-focused event. While the Dogtown St. Patrick's Day parade draws huge crowds, Funke says the event on Saturday is more low-key.
“It's kind of just a smaller, really fun day where all the local bars are participating,” he says.
Along with selling the special bottles of whiskey, Stone Turtle will be offering drink specials such as $3 Bud Light Seltzers and $6 Ezra Brooks Old Fashioneds. Customers can stay and enjoy an upscale sit-down meal, or hop around to other neighboring bars and restaurants.
Funke says he hopes the event can raise enough money for Dogtown banners to be affixed to light poles in the area, a task he says could cost around $25,000 over the next five years.
Crawlers can visit six other local bars and restaurants during the event.
Try Colombo's Cafe and Tavern for a more laid-back setting to eat pizza, wings and loaded tots. The spot will be offering $3 Bud Light Seltzers and $3.50 Zing Zang Bloody Marys.
Meanwhile, at Tamm Avenue Bar, guests can catch a game on one of twelve flat-screens while sipping a $3 Bud Light Seltzer special or $4 Ezra Brooks cocktails.
To get into the St. Patrick's Day spirit, Seamus McDaniel's is a must. The no-nonsense bar will have multiple Irish drink specials all day to pair with its wings and burgers.
Customers can down $2.50 Anheuser-Busch bottles from Hogtown Smokehouse, as well as $3 Busch cans and $5 Tito's cocktails.
Tito's cocktails are also just $5 during the crawl at Felix's Pizza Pub. If you're looking for a slice of the Big Apple in St. Louis, pair your drink with a New York-style pie. Felix's will also be serving $3 Ezra Brooks cocktails.
The Pat Connolly Tavern, an old-school Irish pub, will be serving its Guinness Float (vanilla ice cream in a pint of Guinness with chocolate bitters) on Saturday, sure to get you feeling lucky. The tavern will also be serving $3 Bud Light Seltzers and $4 Quiet Man cocktails for Saturday's event.
The DBMA’s Facebook page provides a full list of all the local bars and restaurants participating in the crawl. The day’s event also features a scavenger hunt with kids activities and prizes.
