Big Whisky Saloon Olympia

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  Great spot for a girls/guys night out.
  
  The DJ does a pretty good job of keeping the dance floor full, especially if line dancing is your thing. Seems like there is a line dance for almost every song played in this place. Don't worry, if you're not good at line dancing, they offer free lessons so you can at least put yourself in the middle of the crowd and fake it with the rest of us.  
  
  There is a bar on both floors, but not enough bartenders for such a large place so be prepared to wait in line.  
  
  For those that are brave, there is a mechanical bull for you to showcase your skills...or maybe a little foreplay for couples. No, this is not a free ride.
  
  The restrooms are small and each time I've visited, the 1st floor restroom is questionable because the floors are always wet. I prefer going to the upper level, if I must go.
  
  Enjoy the staff here, everyone seems fun and friendly.
  
  Definitely a cover charge. Definitely a meat market.

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  Posted on 11.30.12 Yvette A.

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  having written a review for the other big whisky saloon i figured i'd add one for here as well.
  
  Alright so 5 dollar cover charge to get in, you also have to sign a waiver for the bull whether you ride it or not. Has two bars, one up and one down stairs with a beer stand as well.the crowd here ranges from 21 to i will just say olderish, but mostly 20's and 30's
  
  Dancing: there is a vast array of dance styles here. you have people who texas 2 step, triple step, cowboy cha cha, west coast swing, country hustle( basically a country style of swing), and of course line dancing. best part of that is, is that for the most part anyone who does any of those styles will teach you and they have line dancing lessons. check facebook for the times. they do play rock songs that you can skake it to as well if thats your thing
  
  song selection is country and some rock. obviously this being a country bar stands to reason they would play country music. the country stuff is mostly newer although they do play a smattering of older stuff like george strait. i would say a down fall here is they play several line dances 3 or 4 times a night which does get old. the dj also takes requests.
  
  Drinks: drink prices are average for the type of bar that it is. its not a dive bar so you arent going to get drive prices. that being said  i think its close to 5 or something like that for a jack and coke.  
  
  Service: the staff are an all around good solid group of people, the bar tenders are friendly and make good drinks. the bar does tend to get packed and getting a drink can be difficult times. its not the fault of the bartending since they only have two hands and can only go as fast they can.
  
  all said and done its a good spot to go if you like to dance and have fun

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  Posted on 10.12.12 john s.

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  We headed up to Oly for a wedding a few weeks back.  After the reception, the party migrated to Big Whisky Saloon.  Considering I love Whisky, this sounded right up my alley!  We got here around 10pm.  This place was packed!
  
  I wasn't expecting a bar that specialized in Country everything to be honest.  Mechanical bull, line dancing, twang to the max!  The place is dark, the music is loud, and there's booze all over the place.  It's difficult getting a drink with so many people here, and there's a $10 minimum for debit/credit cards.
  
  We all enjoyed ourselves and had a hell of a time.  It was a little awkward going up stairs to get a drink and standing in line to talk to a shirtless dude.  The fact he was a dude has nothing to do with it, the fact i'm WAITING for a shirtless dude to wait on me? yeah...that's where shit got weird(Shouldn't that be happening at Jakes?)
  
  Over all, service was good (down stairs), I didn't brave the bull (learned that mistake in high school), and I would go back to try and line dance while making a fool of myself since I dont know how.
  
  On another note, they did have a huge selection of whisky, which made me happy.  I love the beautiful brown bottles filled full of goodness.

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  Posted on 10.05.12 Josh W.

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  I have been here several times and each time have had a great time! This weekend I planned a bachelorette party there and Rachel was really helpful and got us VIP tables upstairs! The bartender upstairs was great and made the night memorable! He even went downstairs and brought liquor we asked for upstairs! We all had an amazing time, a night we won't soon forget!

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  Posted on 07.23.12 Katie S.

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  I went in here to apply for a job posting for Bar Back which I thought was to help back up the bar but instead it is to mop up puke so hike up your jeans and don't wear your good boots! When I told them which position I was applying for they immediately told me that they don't hire women for that position because only a man can mop up puke and run around doing odd stuff which is what they said the job description was. I was appalled at this! I have a great work ethic, participate in manly sports and have loads of energy from running everyday. They constantly post Jobs Wanted ads via facebook and craigslist so they must go through quite the staff seeing as how small the establishment is. While waiting for my interview, I noticed that the dance floor is very small and there is barely any seating downstairs while I waited for nearly an hour to be seen. I have been trying to get people to go to the line dancing lessons for quite some time but now I won't step foot in there again and after seeing the dance floor, realize it's so small it would be easy to be groped due to so many people being on the floor at once. They have impressive promotions but upon entry you will be disapointed.

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  Posted on 06.26.12 Blair E.

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  This place is kinda hit or miss.  There isn't much seating, mostly there is the four inch wide little "table" on each side of the railing of the dance floor to put drinks on, and otherwise besides about two benches back behind a pool table on the downstairs, no seating... :( there are lights right above where you'd stand on the edge of that railing, and they are waaaay bright for a bar, I really wish they were set back in the walkway between that and the bar, more because then I wouldn't be blasted with light while I"m trying to drink something on the outside of the dance floor, but could see better where i'm walking in the inbetween area.  Upstairs there are a few tables on the edge of the railing where you can sit and watch the mech bull or downstairs, but not near enough seating if you ask me.  When I got there at almost 10pm this sat.... there was barely anyone on the dance floor and it appeared barely anyone there at all.. well... that changes when there is a line dance song, but then there is not enough room on the dance floor to accommodate tipsy people like me who don't quite have the dance down yet... you just feel you are "in the way" and end up giving up and going back to the railing or something so that you don't feel like you're tripping on your neighbors.  I ended up leaving when I'd only been there for an hour... that's kinda sad.  Two weeks ago, the music` was good, and I danced and danced by myself, no problem, but tonight they didn't play nearly enough decent music.  It probably would've been ok if I'd brought a dance partner with me, but if you go alone or just a large group of same sex people.... it's not that fun.  You really need to bring your dance partner, or quickly find one to be able to make it worth the cover charge usually 5$.  thank goodness, THIS night I got in free with my military ID so I don't feel so much like I wasted my money on a yawn night.  So one out of two isn't terrible.  I'll visit again in two weeks I suppose and if they don't live up to the fun I had the first night I tried them out, I probably just won't go back.  It's too bad... they are one of the only places I've found in the area where you could 'go dancin' and i don't wanna have to drive all the way up to tacoma or seattle to find something like that.  oh well.   try again next time...

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  Posted on 05.27.12 Samantha S.

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  $5 cover charge..
  
  I have been here several times and I have to say they don't hit the mark, I have been to some great western bars in my travels and this one is too small, too expensive and too cheesy.
  
  The dance floor is so small. It is awkward because you have this odd railing/running table where people creepily stare at the people on the dance floor.
  
  It is cheesy because they play only the cliche country songs and don't really play what the people want to hear. One night the dj was asked by several people, several times to play a certain song and refused to play it. He said he had to play a slow song, so instead of making 50 people happy he cleared the dance floor for 4 minutes.
  
  The drinks are way too expensive 7.50 for a shooter that is mostly pineapple juice is crazy. They charge DDs for soda or juice, I was charged 3.00 for 7up no refills!!
  
  They did recently put in a mechanical bull so that is good :) This place could be much better if their goal was to make the customer happy.

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  Posted on 03.03.12 Tiffany M.

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