Friday, October 3, 2025

#218: Marfa Lights

The Bar


Marfa Lights. 718 W 6th St, Austin, TX 78701

Visited 10/3/2025 @ 7:30pm.

The Drink



Mr. Pickle. Bacardi spiced rum, amaretto, lots of pickles, Dr. Pepper. $11.50.

Despite its name, appearance, and ingredient list, this is not QUITE a prank drink in the same way that the "blue wave shot" at Cheers is. Although the bartender cheerfully admitted that their instructions were to be "obnoxious" with the amount of pickles they put in the drink, it's really only about half full of pickle slices, the rest being the actual cocktail and crushed ice. In terms of taste, it lands about halfway in between the sweetness of a (non-flammable?) Flaming Dr. Pepper and the harshness of a pickleback shot. As I was steadily munching my seemingly endless supply of pickle slices (this rivaled a bloody Mary as the most snackable cocktail you can get), it occurred me that this would be a big hit at the State Fair, maybe especially if some of the pickle slices were fried. As our bartender was recommending it as "actually good" he claimed that this was their top seller basically every night, although I don't know if their relentless promotion of it causes a sort of "most photographed barn in America" effect, where people order it just because they've been told that it's ordered. I enjoyed it, but its extreme pickleosity puts it squarely in the "glad I had it once" category. Since the prices were actually fairly reasonable here, we had not one but two additional rounds:


Mole espresso martini. Mezcal AmarĂ¡s, Kahlua, cold brew coffee, creme de cacao, mole bitters. $15.50.

I've been served a number of espresso martinis so far, but this was the first to have mezcal in it, versus the more common neutral vodka base of the others. I thought it worked out fantastically: the slight smokiness of the mezcal was an appropriate counterpoint to the sweetness of the Kahlua and the bitterness of the cold brew. As I've mentioned, most espresso martinis lean heavily towards the "alcoholic milkshake" end of the spectrum, so it was nice to see one that would actually both wake you up and get you drunk, rather than just accelerate your diabetes. 

Desert Rose. Ford's Gin, prickly pear syrup, hibiscus water, lime. $13. 

This take on a Tom Collins was the clear consensus winner of the "I would drink several of these" award. They gave us a strong pour, which the prickly pear and hibiscus made not a problem at all, and if we didn't have to leave so soon, we almost certainly would have gotten into trouble with more rounds of these. Its price point made it especially copacetic - as I never tire of remarking on, $13 in October 2025 would be $9.75 in January 2017 when I started this blog, and it definitely had the feeling of "a great affordable cocktail". 

The Crew


Ashley, Lars, Aaron.


Notes


Marfa Lights is a literal side project of Kung Fu Saloon next door. The two bars are very different from each other - whereas Kung Fu Saloon has a reputation for broitude (fairly deserved or not), Marfa Lights is a dim, divey, laid-back tribute to the infamous paranormal phenomenon out in West Texas, with a lot of hybrid alien/cowboy decor on the walls and a vibe that attempts to replicate the unpretentious atmosphere of a rural Texas saloon. It's a lot nicer than an authentic small town saloon and much more conducive to sitting and drinking cocktails than Kung Fu Saloon, so props to their owners for having such flexible management capabilities - maintaining even a single successful bar business model can be a surprisingly difficult challenge, so having multiple thriving properties is to be applauded. Despite it being a Friday night we were having a great time, but unfortunately we had to run, as the Modest Mouse show was beginning soon. This is one of the bars I would voluntarily return to, although I've had enough pickles for a while.

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