Blind Donkey

Ryan Sweeney, who also runs Verdugo Bar and the Surly Goat, opened the Blind Donkey in 2012 and handed the whiskey program to partner John Bower, a Pasadena native who wanted something refined and casual rather than pretentious. Bottles can be ordered as a one- or two-ounce taste as well as a full pour, and flights of whiskey, scotch or rye come three pours to a flight. The seasonal Old Fashioned rotates through a different Robin's Nest jam every couple of months. Food runs to grilled cheese on a stick, fried pickles and a bacon-cheddar cowboy burger, and a Street Fighter arcade machine and checkered tables for chess sit in the corner.