It's a pretty cool dive bar for college kids. My days of college bars have passed, but since we were visiting I would say it absolutely checked the box of having a few cheap drinks in a pretty cool atmosphere. read more

Whiskey Jacks Saloon - Bars Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

I find it extremely unprofessional that a bar back came up to us in line wearing a Whiskey Jack's sweatshirt and claimed there is a dress code of no sweatpants. He was very adamant that we would not be let in wearing sweatpants and told us to go home and change. He claimed he was a bouncer and would not let us in if we wearing sweatpants. When I got to the door we found no issue getting in with sweatpants on, and when we asked about it, we were like told there is no dress code. This was reinforced when we went inside and saw numerous individuals with sweatpants on including some employees. The interesting part however was this individual who claimed they were a "bouncer" was not at the door, but was in fact behind the bar and grabbing trash around the premises, so we assume they actually a bar back. Our group does not understand why this individual thought it was okay that as a bar back to enforce their own policy that is clearly not a policy of the establishment, but we found it extremely unprofessional and will let everyone we know of this encounter to warn them for the future. No one should be dress coded at a college bar, especially by an individual who has no merit to tell customers what to do and relay a fake policy, and blame the owner so the bar back can keep who they don't want in the bar out. read more

This place was pretty cool. Huge place, but there were only 5-10 other people there when we stopped in for a few beers. I imagine it is a lot busier during the school year. Typical college bar with lots of graffiti in the ladies' room. Pricey, but that is to be expected. No food at all, not even a bag of chips, which was rather odd to us. Nothing but $5 beers and shots. Didn't look at the drink menu. Cool place, though, with lots of space for the students to hang out. read more

See all

One of the best college bars out there! HOWEVER, I've been attending Whiskey Jacks for 3 years now and they have never honored any of their "deals" they advertise all over the walls and social media. For example "$4 sun cruisers and trulys every Friday and Saturday" is posted in every corner, and if you order one, it will be $8 each. You can ask the bartender and point to the sign but it doesn't matter. Not to mention, $8 for any canned seltzer is ridiculous. read more

A dress code... are we deadass???!!!! We are in WISCONSIN let me remind you.... My friends were just having a comfy night out and we were rejected at the door for having sweatpants on. The bouncer told us to "dress up if we're going out"...god forbid a girl just wants to be comfy. (Also apparently the owner hates women) read more

Visited on a Tuesday night during a UW men's basketball game. The place was dead. Took about 5 minutes for the bartender to actually ask me what I wanted. They don't offer any warm beverages (spiked hot cider/Irish coffee etc) and apparently they don't serve food during the weekdays. read more

OK I am going to date myself. This was one of our go to college hangouts when it was The Pub. I was crushed when it closed years ago but I wasn't living here anyway - it was more about the memories (both good and bad) of hanging out at this dive. Though we have been back in Madison for three years I had yet to step inside WJS until this past weekend after the Badger football game. Every place had a line but this one was short so we waited about 10 mins and got in. Better then waiting in traffic after the game. In many regards nothing has changed about this place especially the incredibly sticky floors. Ahh just like the old days. We were surprised that it was not more jammed but I guess that was the purpose of the line controlling the crowd. We could move around easily and order at the bar without much of a wait. No we did not sit in the window, always a prime spot in the past for watching the crowd on State Street. The first bartender we encountered was clueless. Yes they have a ton on draft (not like the old days when Strohs was the beer of choice) but I practically had to walk behind the bar to show her what beer tap to use for my order. Now that I have been here I really have no need to return. We will leave it for the current group of students. read more

Whiskey Jack is a super fun, affordable bar right on State Street. It's definitely a college bar but it's a lot of fun at night time. It's great during the days well if you're wanting to day drink or sit out on their patio. Sure the floors are a little sticky, but you can't beat the prices or the drink options. They have tons of different flavored Long Island pitchers for $10 each and around 100 different shots you can choose from. They all have hilarious names as well. Pre-Covid, there were lots of games you could play at the bar and even live bands that would preform. They have pool tables, basketball pop-a-shot games, darts, and more! It's always a really fun time. If you're looking for a cool, fun place for a drunken night, this is your spot! read more

See all

Cool spot post Badger football games. Could use more wait staff bar had quite the line.

Whiskey Jacks Saloon is a large country bar in downtown Madison. They have live music, pool tables, and many other games. The staff behind the bar is quick and humorous as most of the shots have risky names. They offer a full bar, but they are know for their wide array of shots. I would recommend this bar for young adults in the area. read more

A fake western bar made to hawk as much alcohol as possible to undergrads. A sad embarrassment compared to the old place - The Pub - which was at least an authentic shabby mess. read more

Love it shit ton of fun Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah it's ding dong blah blah yes read more

Cal was bartending the night we came in and totally made the experience. We had a pretty rough day, but she was immediately inviting. The bouncer on Wednesday was also super sweet. The bingo game seemed fun. We would totally frequent this bar if we were locals. read more

Ambiance is fine, there's is no food, half the bar is women and they're only serving to men- EXTREMELY SEXIST- do not come if you're with your girls- they clearly only serve to men- service is horrible read more

This is a very nice place after 10:00 to get lost in dance. The only thing that I don't like is they don't serve food but who cares when you can get a tag, go out, eat and come back with no charge. Do visit on Friday or Saturday. I went there once on Sunday and it was dead empty. Also, you can ride the bull for $5 which is pretty cool. I didn't do it but made my friends take the bumpy ride Couldn't figure out how to post videos though so settling for a picture.. read more

Whiskey Jacks Saloon - Tequila shots - Bars Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

Now I cannot speak for their daily food services here but I will talk about their night life. I went here with some Madison Alumni's and it was very fun just because we usually don't go for this super crazy college vibe anymore. It was super crowded by the front with the music but we stayed back being out of college and created our own fun. The drinks were what you'd expect but they have a huge shot menu which was unique and interesting. read more

Fun! We went for drinks and the shot menu is super fun. Good atmosphere to just hang out with friends.

The service at whiskey jacks saloon is absurd and comes off as racist. I was told off and called slurs for wearing joggers and being told I could not enter with sweatpants which I was not wearing. After me and my group left it was audible that they were saying racial and derogatory slurs to me and my group of acquaintances. The other complaint I have is seeing high schoolers and underage drinkers in the bar I could identify them as underage as they go to school with my nieces and nephews at Madison east high school. read more

Emo Night on May 19th was pretty cool and left me liking Whiskey's a lot, however, the negative reviews here also seem reasonable. If the possible drink-water-down-ing could be a bummer, go to Mondays, pregame at home, or brink a flask to bump up the drinks. ;) read more

See all

Cal is the best bartender ever. She has been hustling all day for her customers and she is legit the best. Even after the manager gives her grief, she is still smiling and serving her customers!!!! Thank you, Cal! I know we had the largest bar bill ever and we tipped the highest for that girl, so I truly hope the owner and manager understand how good they have it!!!! read more

Great modern college bar with sports decor and a western theme. Live music on Fridays and Saturdays. Makes you relive your college days. Quite busy for a Monday night read more

Huge bar on State Street Madison that is packed on Friday and Saturday nights. You can even ride a mechanical bull for free which will definitely check your blood alcohol content! Friendly and fun bar staff. read more

Whiskey Jacks Saloon - Bars Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

If you just want to drink and watch a game, Whisky Jacks may be a good place to go. It's large and has A LOT of TVs. No matter where you are in the bar, you'll be able to watch a game. Your may not be able to hear it with the music cranked up, but at least you can see it. Whiskey Jacks also has dozens and dozens of shots to chose from. If shots are your thing, they have shots for you. I will also give kudos to the security guys who were efficiently running around cleaning up tables. However, do NOT eat here. Although the fried cheese curds were good, the hamburger and the chicken sandwich were both way overcooked. I ordered the burger medium, this was beyond well-done. The chicken was just as bad. The fries portions were also measly. To make matters worse, our waitress was terrible. If you just want someone pretty who is able to twirl her hair, she's great, but beyond that? When we asked what kind of dark beers they had, she suggested an IPA. After ordering a beer, it took her over 20 minutes to deliver it. No, they were not that busy at the time. I hope it was her first day, but even so, wow that was bad! read more

Totally a college scene. Crowded, fun dancing, next to qdoba to satisfy your late night drinking munchies. The shots menu is posted on the wall over their bar so you can see what goes into the delicious shooters (note-- you have to order at least 2). Music was not bad when I went on a Saturday night. Don't wear anything too nice, as someone will probably spill a drink or two on you. read more

I am very hurt to find out I have been banned from Whiskey Jacks, solely because of some online posts, that had absolutely NOTHING TO DO with Whiskey Jacks themselves! Most of the people that come to that place don't even know my name! They have even saved my life once, when I had too much to drink!. They were my family! I learned to overcome my social isolationism because of them! In the 3 1/2 years that I have been going there, I have easily spent well over $10,000 there, been a regular karaoke singer there, even had my own little bunch of "groupies" there! Then even named a shot after me, (which I'm sure is going to be changed back!) I loved them more than I can say. They were my family and my home! I hurt more than anyone can even believe. I have Never been critical of them, but only had words of praise for them. I really just want to die. What family does this to it's members. At least I start working again tomorrow. But it is going to take a VERY, VERY long time for me to deal with this! read more

Good atmosphere on the weekends usually sometimes not so much, drink prices are in line or a little bit higher than surround state street bars, food is meh read more

Whiskey Jacks: the poor man's Red Rock. One of your average college bars, but on the country side and much larger than most. However, the crowd here always seems more rowdy and obnoxious than any other bar around. There always seems to be a police presence later at night, and for good reasons. There are dartboards and multiple pool tables, but good luck with those when the place gets busy. The last time I went there they were asking for a cover charge...a cover charge for Whiskey Jacks? C'mon! I decided then I would never pay a single cent just to get into that dump. Went down to Monday's afterwards and got drunk off of two drinks with what I would've spent on cover. HA! read more

A bit... sticky? Decent for a daytime stop if you're making a tour of State St. or if you're looking for live music.

Do not come here, I have never had worse service in my life. I came in from out of town hoping to have a good time at a Wisconsin bar. Came here and was greeted to sub-bar music. Did not know the place closed at 2 because the person working the bar said it closed at 2:30. One of the staff told me and my buddy we had to leave which we were okay with at 1:50. We asked if we could finish our drinks because the bar closed at 2 and we just got a new round. The server proceeded to grab our drinks out of our hands,m. After getting our drinks back we approached the door because we wanted to make things easy on the staff that were trying to close early, another staff member told us we had 5 second before he was going to take our drinks away from us. Keep in mind it's 1:55 at this point and they close at 2:00. This place has no idea what time they operate and how to communicate. I have never written a review on here before but this bar was so bad I felt inclined to. read more

My best friend came to visit from Mexico, and wanted to go out. A couple of friends said that a band was going to play at Whiskey River so we decided to head over there. there was a line and we only waited around 15 mins to get in. The man at the door checked our id's and my friend presented his Mexican Passport to prove age. This bouncer, started going through the passport pages and I told him the age was in main page of the passport. He said he needed to find the "Visa" to let him in because he wasn't a US Citizen. This upset me because it is none of his business to look for the visa stamp, I can understand if it is and police officer, TSA, government official, but not this "bouncer" who gets paid to check ages. Very unprofessional and just plain racist from his part. After finally going in, the music was good and the band was great! until someone vomited in the middle of the dance floor (not the place's fault). it was cleaned right away. Drink prices were reasonable and the place is big. But the bouncer ruined our experience and I will not be back to Whiskey River. Incident happened 01/16/2011 around 11pm. read more

Creeps on creeps on creeps. Whiskey Jacks (or Whiskey River if you refuse to acknowledge the change like myself) is a great bar in concept. It's big open space that can literally accommodate hundreds of people, and yet there is usually still a line if you get here past 11:30. They have two bars along the right and left walls so your line to the tapper shouldn't be very long. If you are into games at the bar they have quite a few billiard tables, darts and even some basketball hoops games. They do have a dress code (essentially you can't be wearing workout attire) which helps limit the creeps in the summer - they usually travel in hordes and one of them has to mess up, but in the winter everyone's so bundled up that anything goes. The dance area is the best (if not the only real dance floor) on campus, and they have live music or a DJ every weekend. If you're here during live music you are bound to have a ton of fun, apparently a pop country sing along is not the scene for a creep. You're in the clear until after the last set when the DJ takes over, then ladies you gotta watch your back (no really, that's where they come from, try to make it as inaccessible as possible). There are lots of cute guys here, make sure you pick one to dance with, don't get prayed on. If you do, you're going to turn around to a mustached Adidas tank top that smells intensely of Indian food or body odor, you won't be able to tell which. You can have a great time at Whiskey Jacks, just make sure you go in with a big group, your big strong boyfriend or incredibly low standards. read more

Whiskey Jacks Saloon is good at providing three things here in Madison: enough space to support 3+ bachelorette parties at a time, men who enjoy ogling at the members of 3+ bachelorette parties in hopes a stray will separate from the pack, and cover bands that will transition seamlessly from "Mr. Jones" to "Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy". If any of those three things are appealing to you, then you've stumbled upon a gold mine, my friend. Personally, it's not my everyday cup o' tea but that doesn't mean I haven't found myself waiting in line to get in after a long night out with the girlfriends. All you need is one of them to yell out, "I just wanna dance" to know you're either in for somebody pulling up a YouTube clip of Dane Cook on their smartphone or a cover-free trip to Whiskey Jacks. At that point, I'm usually only intoxicated enough to tolerate the latter. One of my last trips to WJ lead me out onto the dance floor where I watched a gentleman make his way through the swaying crowd with a glass of wine held above his head. A young lady inevitably collided with him, causing the glass to fall to the floor. The wine glass maintained it's shape (plastic is a miracle material) but the wine was not so lucky and the man cried out, "Damnit! Not again!" Hello, hilarity and a few takeaways: 1. A place named "Whiskey Jacks Saloon" is going to disappoint you if you go there for the whiskey, let alone a glass of wine. 2. Never underestimate the breadth of movement people are capable of when Hootie & the Blowfish makes it into a live band's repertoire. 3. If you're a straight, single man, getting upset at one of the 10 girls in a crowd of 50 guys means you'll probably only be going home with a souvenir plastic wine glass at the end of the night. Service and drinks are sub-par. Atmosphere is cheesy. Maintain reasonable expectations or move along, cowboy. read more

It's been a long, depressing winter in Wisconsin and a few of us decided to go downtown. I would not go here again, let's just say that. I've lived in Scottsdale, Arizona with BIG name clubs and even those places didn't have cover chargers! Whiskey Jacks wanted a $5 cover charge .... for what? No band . Just a college bar with music. If you're going to charge people, have something to offer. It's not a concept of money here, I just didn't think this bar was that great? read more

In the location of what was once the terrible "Pub" on state street, some entrepreneurial gentlemen created a fantastic new bar. I'm actually amazed that no one has reviewed this yet, despite the fact that it's still fairly new. I was really blown away by how good a bar this is, and part of that is due to the fact that it's something Madison has been missing for a long time. Chicago and Milwaukee both have these niche bars that provide quality live bands, lights, atmosphere, and good drinks while at the same time garnering a happy medium of customers to occupancy limits. Madison, on the other hand, has some nice bars but not anything like this. They don't have good clubs (none I would even consider a club because Scatz doesn't count), and they don't have bars that are inbetween. This is precisely what Whiskey River Saloon is. They kick things off right by having an actual "Wild West Atmosphere" that is created by the customers and not forced by some sort of corporate campaign. I walked in (after waiting in line for 20 min) and was treated to laughing, hooting and hollering, and a band that was playing fantastic music to a small throng of Friday night party-goers. One of the best parts of the place is the space; there's a lot of room to move around despite the crowds, there's a numerous amount of tables setup for groups (and in good locations that are not in the way), and there's a long bar for when it gets crowded. The best part is easily the stage though. It's to the far back of the bar and takes up most of the back wall. The band that night was playing classic hits from Sublime, Dave Matthews, Jack Johnson, and others who while normally have subdued music they covered it in a way that really got the crowd engaged (even singing along), and the light show helped accentuate the atmosphere. Part of the hype may be due to it being new and some good advertising, but I know that this bar is going to have no trouble staying afloat if they keep doing what they're doing. My group also had obtained a beer tube complete with a tap which was a nice way to avoid being at the bar forever waiting for a drink (even though the bartenders were fun), and they seemed to all be enjoying themselves. The only true drawback was the line at the door (which I waited in twice after forgetting my wallet), but honestly I'd wait in it again and again for a good experience like the one I had. Couldn't recommend more, so glad the Pub is gone. read more

Whiskey River Saloon is really spacious and offers a great selection of hard alcohol and beers on tap. The beers are also cheap (or maybe $3 a pint is standard for Madison). For entertainment, there are pool tables, some arcade games, foosball and these really lame electronic dart boards. The music selection is pretty sub-par, but I'd put up with it for the cheap beers. It was pretty empty both nights that I went, though it was Sunday and Monday night of finals week so it might be more crowded on other nights. The bartenders were nice and let us stay past closing to finish our pool game. read more

Why be open during lunch hours if you're going to serve horrible food? Chicken sandwich patties are all microwaveable and can only be "made" one at a time. Better to get rid of food menu and just focus on drinks! read more

Ok people, seriously? You're in a college town filled with young people, and you go to a college bar, obviously you'll meet some creeps. There's no reason why this place should lose out on points for living up to that stereotype. This place is spacious, so you'll have room for all of your "bump & grind" and whatever it is that young kids (LOL) do these days. The drinks are strong and cheap, which definitely seems to be a trend in Madison. The only problem I had with this place was the sticky floors and the clientele. There's nothing wrong with getting trashed and having some fun, but most people here are a bit too drunk. Expect to be bumped into a lot, mostly by obnoxious bros who don't have sorry in their vocabulary. read more

Come here all the time! Great music but terrible food. I had nachos that were drier than arizona.. like it literally had no cheese on it. Could be so much more than it is. Thursday are great tho because I can get drunk for $3. read more

It's a loud and annoying college bar. High prices, loud annoying music. However, that is not the reason I'm giving it a low rating. The service I received on two different occasions were both bad, and the same. First off, coverage charge on some nights. Immediate no for me. However my friend wanted to go in so she paid the cover charges on both occasions. I ordered a single beer as I wanted it to enjoy, then be done, as I would be driving home later that night. Went to get my card back and they said I needed to spend $10 minimum on the card. Something they did not inform me of at the time of purchasing my beer. Thankfully my friend had cash to give me. That same night my friends also said they just wanted some water. The bartender gave us a dead stare and said water is $1 and he was serious. We were like... what? And he got the water for us and didn't charge. We were confused. The second time, same issue. I had forgotten about the stupid/silly/idiotic $10 minimum on a card rule. However, this time no cash. I literrally had to leave, I told the bartender (shouting, since the bar was too loud) literally charge something on it to make it $10 or over, I didn't care. He said no he can't do it. I was irritated and walked away and waited. I really needed to leave. I waited for another bartender to come over and asked him to close it again, he said "sure, no problem." got my card and closed it for me. He was nice. That was simple. Why couldn't the other guy do that. Never coming here again. read more

Visiting Madison for the first time, 2 friends and I checked out the State street area upon the advice of others. It was a Friday night, the place wasn't crazy busy yet (we we warned that it would get busy around 10 p.m.) The service was horrible. I asked for a beer list and was told, "We don't have one", which was a shocker given that they have roughly 30 taps. I asked about a particular beer and she knew nothing about it but did offer me a sample which I took. I didn't like it so I asked about another and her response, "I don't know but I can't keep giving you free samples". I told her to give me something Amber and I couldn't finish it, it smelled horrible. It wasn't the beer that smelled, it was the glass it was poured into I believe. My friend ordered a vodka cranberry which tasted like water a splash of Cranberry juice. My guess is this bar's target audience is college kids who just want to get drunk. read more