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Back in his Mudslide-slinging, fern bar mixology days of the late 1990s, Mr. Moix, 45, a longtime bartender, began grabbing any intriguing old bottles he saw at liquor stores.

Many women would prefer it otherwise, but in the real world, the tough guy finds himself besieged with female admirers, while the self-effacing friend sadly clutches his glass of Chablis at the fern bar alone.

A massive construction of valves and pipes near the front entrance looks like a prop from a steampunk movie — I can only imagine the architects' delight when they came across the thing — and the dark wood paneling gives the impression of a 1970s fern bar without the Tiffany lamps or the ferns.

If Slick Willy’s helped spawn an unflattering nickname for a president - and it did, with the aid of Arkansas Democrat-Gazette columnist Paul Greenberg - Buster’s was Little Rock’s original “fern bar,” a stylish establishment attracting young professionals - some single, some decidedly not.

When the world’s first fern bar opened its doors in New York City, in March of 1965, most co-ed drinking still took place in the home.