In a small nondescript bar from the outside, has one of the coolest pieces of drinking technology I’ve seen in the Capital Region. You want a REAL smoked cocktail, check out Donnie Magoo’s in Cohoes.
I was spending the day in Cohoes with some friends when we got hungry and all of the places we were hoping to eat were either closed because of COVID or because we didn’t read Google properly. We wanted to stop for a snack so we decided to check out Donnie Magoo’s. Owned by Don Russell, who is also known for Spindles down the street, I see it mentioned a lot as a place for burgers. Should I have ordered a burger? Probably, but I wasn’t that hungry yet. We ended up ordering some bacon dish that had thick slabs of bacon covered with peanut butter, jalapeños, and Granny Smith apples. It was both delicious and weird at the same time but that was not my highlight.
The Times Union posted a great history of Donnie Magoo’s and the place it’s currently located but my focus here was the smokebox. I have to be fair and can’t give you a full “review” when I didn’t really experience much of the space. What fascinated me was what they did with the whiskey drink I ordered.
It was labeled as whiskey with pieces of bacon, smoked with bacon. I had no clue how they intended to do that until they literally put two pieces of bacon in my drink and then smoked it in a box. I’ve seen this done on television before but never in person, never in the Capital Region. I usually shy away from smokier drinks but it wasn’t just ay smoke, it was bacon smoke, it was delicious. So, if you want to try a new drink, check out Donnie Magoo’s and if you order food, let me know!
