Taproom

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈtæpˌɹum/

Definitions

1. A room or bar where beverages, especially beer or ale, are served directly from casks or taps to customers
2. A casual establishment where various beverages, mainly alcoholic, are served directly from taps for patrons to enjoy in a social atmosphere
3. A venue where patrons can gather to enjoy a variety of drinks, particularly those served from taps, often in a relaxed and communal setting

Etymology: "Taproom" is about as transparent as compounds get: it joins "tap," the fitting that releases liquid from a cask, with "room," the enclosed space where people gather. The sense of "tap" as a spigot or valve on a barrel goes back to Old English, so a taproom is literally the room where the drinks are drawn straight from the barrel rather than poured from bottles. The compound's value lies in what it signals. Before bottling became standard, a taproom was simply where a publican's casks were broken open and served, and the name stuck to the drinking room long after the drinks themselves came in sealed containers. Today it usually names a brewery's own bar or a pub that pours its beers on tap, so the word preserves a picture of a barrel's spigot even in places where no cask is in sight.

Synonyms: pub, tavern