Play lead guitar in a rock band. Check. Have the best nickname ever. Check. Create your own brand of whiskey, spices and hot sauces. Check. Own Nevada’s oldest operating bar. Check. Meet Stephen Staats, aka Old Man Liver, who purchased the historical destination Pioneer Saloon in Goodsprings, Nev.
“When I stumbled upon the Pioneer Saloon I was like, ‘Oh that’s the place that people were talking about,’” Staats says. “Then it came up for sale during COVID and I thought maybe it wasn’t in the cards for me because there were so many big investment groups after it. But I’ll throw my name in the hat. And strangely ... I’m not a big fate guy, but it picked me in some weird way because I started dreaming about it, and I’d wake up and be like, ‘Man I have to have it.’ Next thing I know I have a 111-year-old fixer-upper.”
Now Staats owns a house in Goodsprings, his band plays at the saloon during live music fests held there, and he uses his whiskey and spices—all under the brand name Old Man Liver—in the cocktails and food. “Everybody knows this bar for different reasons; to some people it’s a biker bar, a whiskey bar, a historical landmark, some people know us for our live music, but one thing I didn’t know when I took it over is that it’s in a video game, Fallout: New Vegas, and that’s turned out to be a huge aspect of our recent history that people come from all over the world to see.”
Libation: Red Menace
The Pioneer Saloon’s Red Menace is one tasty cocktail, made for fans of spice. It combines Old Man Liver American whiskey, Zing Zang cocktail mix, Old Man Liver Red Menace premium spice and is garnished with Gouda, jalapeño, pickle and jalapeño bacon.
Benefit: Check out the Fallout: New Vegas section of the saloon with authentic memorabilia. (You can even play the video game!)
Goodsprings, 310 W. Spring St. pioneersaloonnv.com
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