Unless you’re a bartender, a barfly, or someone like the late Jimmy Buffett, walking into a bar on a weekday morning before 10 a.m. looks a bit questionable. But at Missoula’s Montgomery Distillery, things aren’t always what they seem. The popular distillery at 129 W. Front Street is known for its artisan cocktails and is usually a place you’d go for an afternoon or early evening drink, but on a recent Wednesday at 9:30 a.m., I arrived for something else. Because during the day, Montgomery Distillery moonlights as a coffee shop called Mama Tried, named after the distillery’s bourbon.
Walking through the doors, there’s the robust smell of coffee beans, low-key rock plays in the background, and natural light pours through the towering windows looking out on Front Street. A large screen on the wall plays a scene of a campfire by an autumnal lake — kind of like a modern take on the yule log fire. Aside from a couple of people on their laptops, the space is empty.
If you ask Hannah Mavis what to order, she’ll recommend a breve early in the morning, or a Bloody Mary after 10 a.m.
Mama Tried is essentially a coffee cart nestled in the back corner at the edge of the bar. Its menu includes classic coffee and tea items as well as weekly specials. The morning I arrive, the special is a lilac matcha — a twist on what has apparently become the breakfast of champions for the Gen-Z TikTok crowd. The flavor matches the signature cocktail of the week, the Lilac Thier, which mixes gin, lemon, and homemade lilac syrup, and which will be available later to the cocktail crowd, who might arrive as early as noon.
If you ask Hannah Mavis — a barista by day and bartender by night — what to order, she will recommend a breve early in the morning, or a Bloody Mary after 10 a.m. The Bloody Mary mix is made in house and is thick with vegetables and “lots of fiber.” Depending on who is bartending, you might be able to order an off-menu morning cocktail, like the Greek Martini. The Greek Martini uses pepperoncini juice and the distillery’s aquavit, Skadi, which is named after the Norse goddess and giantess associated with bowhunting, skiing, and snow-capped mountains. It features the aromas of caraway seed, licorice root, milled black pepper, and sea spray.
Mama Tried started with a partnership between Montgomery Distillery owners Ryan and Jenny Montgomery and Brew X Coffee Roasting founder Derek Bennington in the fall of last year. In November, Montgomery Distillery took over management of the cart and has plans to expand the menu with more coffee cocktails and trade the cart in for a more permanent coffee shop setup.
Mama Tried is, of course, paying homage to the iconic 1968 Merle Haggard song, later covered by the Grateful Dead. Ryan Montgomery, who hails from central Montana — or as he calls it, “cow country” — says the name unites fans of both versions. After all, he says, “Montana is full of cowboys and hippies.”
The Mama Tried Cafe, at 129 W. Front Street, is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
