Clancy's Tavern & Whiskey House. Knoxville, TN
- The Drunken Mallard
- 7 hours ago
- 4 min read
602 South Gay Street
Guinness Tag: $7.00 | Overall Rating: 8.80
Today's Dedicated Pint: The guy who invented Golden Tee
Tennessee is a great state, and people should make it more of a point to visit. For years, I've always driven past Knoxville and never thought about getting out of the car to check out the area. For whatever reason, I've always looked at the city as small and uninteresting. As I mapped out my journey down to Charlotte, NC, I made it a point to spend the night in Knoxville. I'm really happy that I did.
I pulled into town at about 8 in the evening. Clancy's is about 4 blocks from where I was staying, so I decided to walk there (while telling my loved ones I drove, of course). I was pleasantly surprised to see many folks over the age of 50 walking around without a care in the world, taking selfies and simply enjoying the sights of downtown, despite it being pitch dark outside. Most of the time, I experience the opposite, where people need to look over their shoulders and walk toward their destination like they're on a mission, in fear of being robbed or heckled at. Downtown Cincinnati, for one (a place I love to death), is increasingly getting more and more dangerous lately (it sucks). I don't think I have to talk about the dangers of places like Chicago and St. Louis when the sun goes down. Knoxville? From what I experienced? It's safer than vodka sitting on the shelf in The Drunken Mallard (I haven't touched a vodka bottle in probably 2+ years). Don't get things twisted, I'm not calling Knoxville a utopia, but you know, it ain't too shabby.
Knoxville created Mountain Dew as a mixer for moonshine. Did you know that? I didn't. It's also known as "The Underwear Capitol of the World," and "The Marble City," for all of the limestone laying around. The city rests along the water of the Tennessee River, and I managed to snag a great photo of the skyline during my departure (check it out below, it's beautiful). The downtown area also has Neyland Stadium in its backyard along the water which is really neat.
Anyways... this article is about an Irish Pub, right? Clancy's Tavern & Whiskey House. First of all, thank you, Clancy's, for introducing me to your awesome little city. Second of all, you guys are awesome.
Clancy's sits next door to the Tennessee Theatre on Gay Street, which is a popular spot with big lights and neat signage. The curb appeal is phenomenal, and the interior provides a perfect touch of both "proper Irish" and American. I could stare at these ceilings for hours, and the craftsmanship is better than the vast majority of every Pub I've been to so far (not quite on the level of The Kerryman in Chicago, of course, but nonetheless, it's impressive as heck). The dim, green lighting throughout the place is easy on the eyes as it glows perfectly on the lacquered-up wood and exposed brick. They have a Guinness Gate on the wall, a cigar box for those who want to puff, and a clean toiletry to plop the potato.
The dining room is a little cramped, making it difficult for standing room. It can also get incredibly loud in here. You'll notice worthy signage and good looking mirrors throughout your panoramic view as you sit on the long, L-shaped bar counter that holds about 30 or so patrons at full capacity.
The draft beer selections are marvelous, giving you Magners, Smithwicks, and some others from across the pond. The Guinness pour is delivered with a friendly interaction from the engaging bartenders, and the pour itself gets the job done. You'll be impressed off their wine selection, but I'm a little disappointed in their whiskey selection if I may be blunt. They don't have many TVs which I like, but they have enough to make sure you aren't missing out on any important games going on. I hate it when Pubs feel the need to put a TV on every inch of wall space.
I really enjoyed my time here. The locals where chatty, the bartenders showed me some love, and I learned a few things. It was a perfect night cap to a long day of Pub crawling throughout Kentucky. This was my 5th Pub visit of the day after starting at The Slainte House in Georgetown. It may not have been my favorite, unfortunately, but it certainly wasn't my least favorite! If they had a steel tip dartboard on the wall, then I probably would have spent a few hours here and given the place a higher rating, but that's not the vibe they want to go for, I guess.
PSA: plastic dartboards are trashy, but you can very easily make a steel tip dartboard area a classy and proper one. (Sorry "soft tip" friends, but it's true)
I'm on my way to Charlotte. Kick some ass in whatever it is you do today. I'll talk to you soon. Slainte!
I wrote a book! Check it out!
