The Darkhorse Tavern

128 E. College Ave., State College, PA 16801

http://www.darkhorsetavern.com/

In order to completely immerse yourself in the Nittany Nation, it is essential to designate a night to partaking in the debauchery that fills the bar-lined streets of Happy Valley.  I myself used to prefer Friday nights, but with age, one realizes that they can’t wake up quite as lively as they used to for the 6 o’clock in the morning tailgating wake-up call.

With more than twenty local watering holes, downtown State College offers a wide variety of pubs, clubs and musical venues all serving up a mix of beer, wine, and local specialties, making your choices for a place to continue the celebration after the game somewhat endless.

Enter the Darkhorse Tavern.  Located prominently on East College Avenue with an alternative entrance most natives know on Calder Way, the Darkhorse is most famously known for its signature drink, Tonto’s Demise.  This $7.50 drink is worth every penny, it packs a punch…and frankly, that’s what it is most commonly compared to, fruit punch.

The story I’ve been told stems from the Darkhorse’s dishwasher whose nickname was “Tonto”.  One evening he was sampling some new drinks the bartender was experimenting with, and one in particular sent Tonto over the edge of sobriety and into the land of inebriation.  It’s left to speculation how many drinks Tonto had that night, but when he ended his evening that night by receiving a citation for public drunkenness, he met his demise. That was just the start of the effects Tonto’s Demise would have on the sleepy town of State College.

On any given night you’ll find the brick-lined walls inside the Darkhorse crowded with college students, locals, and alumni listening to music from acts like Spider Kelly playing a mix of songs from the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s.  The bar lined with cups, pre-iced and ready for their next victim, as the bartenders pour your sweet and tangy demise.  The precise ingredients are still unknown, however we do know a few liquors, fruit juice, and grenadine are the masterminds in the Darkhorse’s famous concoction.

Now the key to enjoying this drink is to just have one…okay, maybe two, but no matter how good it tastes or how warm and fuzzy you feel, don’t go for a third or fourth.  After four, the body gives in and you’ll find yourself wandering through State College, dancing on street corners, talking shop to the guys who park their supped up cars on College Avenue, and possibly making a cameo at an underage apartment party where you proceed to take off your clothes to the song Pour Some Sugar On Me.  Instead, try some of Otto’s delicious microbrews which compliment the Darkhorse’s amazing pazzo’s wings (which are worth a visit to the bar) instead, sparring yourself the paralyzing headache and appearance in the police blotter the next day.