In Portland’s Central Eastside Industrial District, nestled in a modest 20-seat cocktail bar beside the train tracks, drinks are not simply served—they pose questions. One such offering, provocatively titled This Is Our Dirty Martini, challenges the very definition of its namesake. Absent are the traditional vodka or gin and olive brine; in their place are Mexican rum, sherry vermouth, and a proprietary blend of lactic acid and saline dubbed “pseudo seawater-brine.” Despite the deviations, the result is unmistakably—and intriguingly—reminiscent of a dirty martini.
This avant-garde cocktail is the brainchild of Rick Munro, a former barista-turned-bartender, and the creative force behind Malpractice, a bar that may be Portland’s most daring drinking destination in years. The drink is finished with roasted bay leaf oil and emits a bouquet of pineapple and peach blossom, belying the bracing, saline-forward first sip that follows. It’s an experience as arresting as the Union Pacific freight trains thundering past outside.
Malpractice is less a traditional bar and more a platform for cocktail experimentation, where Munro’s creations playfully interrogate the boundaries of classic recipes. His irreverent yet meticulous approach is exemplified by in-house innovations like “Rick’s Obtuse Chartreuse,” lacto-fermented syrups, powdered acid-adjusted juices, and even goat cheese–fat-washed spirits. “There really is no need to adjust the Negroni, it’s already perfect as is,” Munro remarks. “So everything you’re doing beyond that is just some sort of bastard child.” Yet his inventive variations reveal a deep respect for the craft, each carefully calibrated to provoke curiosity without parody.
Among the bar’s signature drinks is Birds Aren’t Real!, a riff on the Jungle Bird. The reimagined classic includes acid-adjusted citrus—sometimes blood orange, sometimes kumquat—then undergoes milk clarification for a polished mouthfeel. It’s served in a glass bird with a pineapple frond, metal straw, and a generous bouquet of mint. It’s whimsical, but not flippant. “I take myself very, very seriously,” Munro says, “but that kind of thing is tongue-in-cheek funny to me.”
The origins of Birds Aren’t Real! trace back to Munro’s early days mixing drinks at pop-ups. A California native with a background in coffee, he began experimenting with cocktails while working at Portland café-turned-restaurant Fair Weather. Discovering the “modular” nature of cocktails unlocked a new creative outlet. “When it comes to coffee or wine, you’re curating,” he explains. “But with a cocktail, it’s modular. Like, how can I mess with this and make it my own?”
Malpractice first launched as a pop-up in April 2022, showcasing boldly tweaked classics like clarified basil gimlets and a Blood and Sand enhanced with acid-adjusted, lacto-fermented blood orange juice. From that experimental series emerged the “Maladjusted” Negronis—a rotating roster of variations that range from subtle reinterpretations to wild reimaginings. Some hew closely to the original; others, like the aquavit- and dill-laced #6, veer far into uncharted territory. Each version is part of Munro’s ongoing dialogue with tradition and taste.
Since opening its permanent location in December 2024, Malpractice has become a tightly run operation. Munro leads the four-seat bar, often alongside his partner Diana Dominguez, while chef Stephen Malloy, formerly of D.O.C., helms the small kitchen. The food menu is designed to complement the drinks, with items like whipped cheese and chips, hamachi crudo, and ’nduja-Manchego toast.
Every element at Malpractice reflects Munro’s obsessive attention to detail—from prebatched, bottled cocktails to imaginative vessels like ceramic bananas and glass birds. Even the garnishes tell stories, such as the torched shishito pepper that tops Under the Volcano, a mezcal-based cocktail inspired by the sensation of a sunburn.
At Malpractice, cocktails are more than drinks—they’re provocations, experiments, and sometimes jokes told with a straight face. And for Munro, that’s the point.
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