Portuguese Bend Distillery

Downtown Long Beach’s Portuguese Bend Distillery is a full-blown restaurant, but the best reason to come here is for the house-made gin and vodka. They make good cocktails with them - our favorite is the Moonlighter, with their vodka, falernum, and ancho chili - but if you really want something that showcases their gin, order Smoke Bay in a martini. It’s a classic London-style dry gin, and it’s great. No matter what, drink them out on the patio that looks onto 3rd St. And if you do get hungry, get the pastrami chili cheese fries to snack on.