"Bar Month" at OnMilwaukee.com is back for another round! The whole month of February, we're serving up intoxicatingly fun articles on bars and clubs -- including guides, the latest trends, rapid bar reviews and more. Grab a designated driver and dive in!
The votes are in and the winners have been selected for OnMilwaukee's Best: Bars & Clubs, 2010. Find readers' results in 50 categories, including an editors' pick, in this series of articles that run daily in the Bars and Clubs section of OnMilwaukee.com.
Most people know that the term "happy hour" refers to a period of time, usually at the end of the standard work day on Monday through Thursday and usually more than one hour, when bars offer discounts on cocktails and appetizers.
But, did you know that the term has a nautical origin?
Legend has it (and Wikipedia agrees) that the term began with the United States Navy. In the 1920s, "happy hour" was slang for a scheduled entertainment period aboard a ship that allowed sailors to relax during long periods at sea. A Saturday Evening Post article on military life in 1959 brought the term into civilian use in the 1960s.
It's fitting then, that in an extremely close competition, OnMilwaukee.com readers chose Duke's on Water as the best happy hour in town.
Duke's, which is located at the corner of North Water Street and East Juneau Avenue, offers a $1 happy hour every day of the week and it lasts until 9 p.m.
The bar, formerly Mel's, features 15 tap beers and 31 bottles and also offers an array of nightly specials to keep the good times flowing.
OnMilwaukee.com editors selected Rascals, 2311 N. Murray Ave., as its choice. In addition to being the winner in this category in 2009 and top runner-up this time around, Rascal's has the advantage of being next door to OnMilwaukee.com headquarters.
OnMilwaukee.com editors' choice: Rascal's
Runners-up:
2. Rascals
3. Palomino
4. Mo's Irish Pub
5. Nomad World Pub
6. Hooligan's
7. The Harp
8. Comet Cafe
9. Vitucci's
10. Taylor's
11. Hi-Hat
12. Flannery's
13. Art Bar
14. Blackbird
15. Rosie's
16. Bootlegger's
17. The Highbury Pub
18. Miller Time Pub
19. Redroom
20. Club Charlies
