#156: Unbarlievable

The Bar

Unbarlievable. 513 W 6th St, Austin, TX 78701

Visited 5/29/20 @ 8pm.

UPDATE: Unbarlievable has closed.

The Drink

Elephant Mule. Kruto Vodka, Owen's Ginger Mix, lime. $50.

I'll say it: 96 oz of Moscow Mule is too much Moscow Mule. Actually, 96 oz of anything is a great way to ruin a drink for yourself forever, the way people did back in college with the infamous "tequila nights", where for years afterwards they'd physically recoil at the mere mention of the dreaded liquor. There's a famous quote about law school that it's "a pie-eating contest where first prize is more pie", and you'd better have some of that stoic attitude when ordering this drink, because it's less a cocktail than an endurance contest, one so grueling that by the end you're practically begging for a swift drunken death. In terms of drink quality, Unbarlievable's Moscow Mule rendition is decent, though they lean as heavy on the ice as Sonic does, but it becomes more and more hateful by the drop. It took the two of us nearly two hours to drink most of this booze bucket, but eventually we retired in defeat, drunker but sadder, leaving the dregs to rot. 

Incredibly, they also sell an even bigger version: 196 oz, for double the price. The "small" version we got works out to $0.52/oz, so by getting the ludicrous size, which is $0.51/oz, you're saving an incredible $0.01 per fluid ounce. Act now while supplies last! A regular Moscow Mule copper mug is usually 12 oz, and prices for a Moscow Mule on Sixth Street have ranged anywhere from $5 at Maggie Mae's ($0.42/oz) to $10.50 at Austin Ale House ($0.88/oz), so if you're looking for an absurdly-sized but reasonably-priced rendition of the last Moscow Mule that you'll want to drink for years, possibly ever, this place has you covered. Speaking of college memories, if you were thinking of indulging your inner undergrad hooligan and absconding with the admittedly pretty cool gigantic novelty copper mug, just know that they make you give them your ID when you order one for exactly that reason. As for me, it'll be a long time before I can even think of a Moscow Mule again without shuddering in horror, and I used to like Moscow Mules. This is one of the rare occasions where I actually do resent the bartender for their choice.

The Crew

Karen, Aaron.

Notes

Interestingly, this spot was originally supposed to be another location of the Goodnight, but it appears that coronavirus changed those plans. Unbarlievable was originally a Rainey Street bar, and its new outpost on Sixth had only been open for a week when we spotted it on foot as we were trying to go somewhere else. I've never been to the Rainey location (though I have learned of its owner's charming reputation), so I can't speak for it, but the Sixth Street location is... fine. Unbarlievable leans heavily into the circus/carnival theme, so you'll see lots of big knickknacks strategically placed so that people can take selfies with a big elephant and so forth. It's got a solid patio, and an interior that I bet gets really lit around midnight. 

In terms of culture, it was hard to say how "Rainey Street" it was since so few people were there when we were. Rainey has a very distinct reputation in Austin (I've heard it compared to Uptown Dallas more than once), just because of the yuppie/arriviste/new money bro crowd it attracts, though frankly many bars on West Sixth also have those same vibes to me. Rainey Street has mutated spectacularly in an extremely short amount of time (the inimitable Fed Man Walking's 2012 guide makes for a fascinating time capsule), and while most people probably aren't excited about this particular bar planting a colony on Sixth Street, it honestly didn't feel much different than several of the bars near it, although maybe that says something about me as well. Oh god... am I a Rainey Street person?