Smoking.

Check Out Parliament, The State Thomas Neighborhood's New Upscale Drinkery.

At this point, one could argue, revered Dallas barkeep Eddie Campbell's nickname of “Lucky” is a little ironic. Because, and let's just be real here, his last few years haven't exactly been charmed.

Some backstory: After rising to prominence behind the bar at departed Bailey's Prime Plus on Park Lane, Campbell seemed to truly come into his own by establishing himself as one of Dallas' finest mixologists while sitting helming at the helm of his now-shuttered downtown drinkery The Chesterfield. But, as other business ventures came and went, then things kind of went haywire at that spot: Long story short, there was drama aplenty and neither the bartop-speech-loving Campbell nor a post-Campbell rebranding attempt could save that place from eventually going under.

Still, Campbell appears to have risen from these ashes mostly unscathed, and, late last month, he cracked open the doors on his latest attempt to run his own place his way. Called Parliament, Campbell's year-in-the-making venture in the old Four Lounge spot withing the State Thomas neighborhood finally opened its doors late last month.

And, just this past weekend, during a Jameson-sponsored whiskey cocktail bartending competition hosted during what would otherwise have been a closed Sunday night at Parliament, we were finally able to scope the place out for ourselves.

For the most part, it's what you'd expect from Campbell: The woods are dark, as is the lighting; the chandeliers are over-the-top, as are the bar's many cocktail garnishing stations; and the bartop itself, of course, is the main attraction, a U-shaped entity that takes up the majority of the room's space.

If anything, Parliament seems a little out of place on this strip, which unfortunately gives the place something of an extravagant hotel-bar feel. But, considering how closely it's located to McKinney Avenue cocktail havens The Standard Pour and Tate's, the plus side here is that Dallas now features a legit Murderer's Row of Mixology between these three businesses.

Another plus? Just that Campbell and his unmistakable gravelly voice are back as fitures in the drink-slinging scene, just as they should be.