#170: Low Down Lounge

The Bar

Low Down Lounge. 1412 E 6th St, Austin, TX 78702

Visited 1/6/21 @ 5:30pm.

The Drink

Tropical Depression. Goslings dark rum, passionfruit, lemon, sadness. $9.

An obvious riff on the infamous hurricane cocktail, this drink drops one of the rums and adds the ingredient "sadness". Thankfully the sadness did not affect the taste, which was great. Passion fruit is not a common ingredient for some reason, but it should be - it has an excellent and unique sweet/tart flavor that's different enough from other fruit flavors that it should be a bigger part of the cocktail repertoire. I had thought that it was native to Asia, given its use in Southeast Asian dishes, but as it happens the fruit is actually originally native to Brazil. Sadness on the other hand seems to be endemic everywhere, but a few of these cocktails should take care of that, at least temporarily. 

We stayed here for more rounds discussing the late unpleasantness, and I can vouch that their other craft cocktails are also fantastic.

The Crew

Adrienne, Hans, Aaron.

Notes

Low Down Lounge replaced The Brixton in March, which is unfortunate because I quite liked the former establishment. It's always a drag when you discover that a bar you liked has closed, but one thing this project has taught me is that change is a part of life, and all you can do is cherish the memories of the old place while still trying to give the new place a chance. Low Down makes the transition easy by largely retaining the interior of the old place and adding a neat red-orange-yellow striped color scheme that reminds me of the Houston Astros-themed color palette that 8th Wonder Brewery uses, as well as maintaining a similar laid-back ambience. It makes sense that the new place would would be likeable, as the new owners also own the similarly good Sixth Street bars Shangri-La, The Liberty, and The Grackle, all of which I enjoyed. This early in the evening there were not too many people around, but the bartender had some cheerful banter with the other patrons, which is always a good sign. Next to quick service and low prices, a strong rapport with regulars is one of the best signs that a bar is going to be around for a while to come. 

#169: The Venue

The Bar

The Venue. 516 E 6th St, Austin, TX 78701

Visited 12/12/20 @ 11:30pm.

The Drink

Peach cocktail. Deep Eddy peach vodka, peach schnapps, orange juice, pineapple juice. $8.

This was sort of a cross between a Fuzzy Navel and a Sex on the Beach. Peach is one of Deep Eddy's newer vodka flavors. I am a BIG fan of their lemon vodka, though the lime flavor is also excellent if I'm wanting something less sweet and more tart. You might think that peach vodka + peach Schnapps would be too much, but it was not at all. Back in college I had one of those awful night where all we had to drink was peach schnapps, but it did not lead me to hate the drink the way that the infamous tequila nights did for so many. The more peach the better! Thus this drink, which lives up to its name perfectly.

The Crew

Aaron.

Notes

The Venue ATX replaced Clearport quite a while ago, but I didn't really notice because Clearport was essentially a concert venue that you could walk up to and drink at on off nights, so it wouldn't really be part of a normal person's drinking rotation even though it did fulfill the function of a regular bar. Sadly tonight was not an off night, and I had the choice of either paying a $15 cover for the Rob Knowledge EDM show that was going on or walking away and trying again on a night without a show. Well never let it be said that I don't suffer for my audience, so I opened my wallet and went in (also, they are only open 2 or 3 days a week for some reason and I didn't want to have to figure out the complicated logistics of timing my return right then and there). 

The physical layout of the venue (ha) is essentially identical to how Clearport had it, with upper catwalks overlooking the concert stage and dance floors, so I didn't have much recon to do. Instead I just sat and grooved to the music while I drank my cocktail and people-watched. In high school I listened to a lot of trance/electronica and went to a decent number of raves, and I find the evolution into EDM culture to be pretty interesting, both in how the music has evolved (or not) and in how its greater popularity has pulled in a different crowd. There's plenty of literature on the sociological aspects of techno out there, likewise the economics, but I like that Austin's live music scene has room for everything.

#168: Bijou Lounge

The Bar

Bijou Lounge. 415 E 6th St, Austin, TX 78701

Visited 12/12/20 @ 11pm.

UPDATE: Bijou lounge has closed.

The Drink

Green tea shot. Jameson whiskey, peach schnapps, Sprite, sweet & sour. $8.

In much the same way that the Flaming Dr Pepper shot contains no actual Dr Pepper, the green tea shot has no green tea in it at all but contrives to synthesize that flavor by the interaction of the actual ingredients. This was the third time I had been served this shot, after Lux and Voodoo Room, and I was curious why all of the renditions contained Jameson whiskey - it turns out that the shot was supposedly invented by Jameson themselves, no doubt trying to help you out by providing you more ways to drink your Jameson. This contained exactly the same ingredients as the other renditions so it tasted exactly the same: namely, like a refreshing dose of green tea that's alcoholic for some reason. Not a bad drink for a whiskey company!

The Crew

Aaron.

Notes

Bijou Lounge quietly replaced Big Bang, one of the chain of TV show-themed bars on this stretch of the street, back in August of last year. In fact, the replacement was so quiet that I only noticed that the bar had changed after the new joint had been open for over a year. I don't know what the deal is there, but the new location struck me as being almost indistinguishable from the old. That might be due to the cramped layout it inherited from its ancestor - there's only so much you can do with a long floor that's essentially the width of a lane of highway - so instead of trying to suss out the minor altered details I will just remark that it was a perfectly fine dance club bar. Even though I myself hardly ever go to those bars by choice because they're inevitably way too loud, I try not to dock them points just for being what they are, which is a very popular way to drink, dance, and look hot to other people, your hearing be damned. For some reason there were not too many people when I was there, so the DJ was merciful on us and was playing at less than maximum Disaster Area volume. Not bad for what it is!

#167: Moonlight

The Bar

Moonlight. 309 E 6th St, Austin, TX 78701

Visited 12/12/20 @ 10:30pm.

The Drink

Sour skittles shot. Vodka, cherry pucker schnapps, pineapple juice, sweet & sour. $7.

"What's your favorite Skittles flavor" is classic listicle bait, but the correct answer, according to the company, is that red is the most preferred while yellow is the least. That's the flavor Nook wisely decided to go for, and I am happy to report that it does in fact taste like a red Skittle: cherry sweetness from the schnapps with a bit of tartness thanks to the pineapple juice. Fancy shots at Dirty Sixth bars are designed to be ripoffs, so this is not a bargain in absolute terms, but in relative terms this is a decent shot at the price you'll be paying anywhere else. In fairness, this does represent the bar fairly well, so a I give it a begrudging thumbs up.

The Crew

Aaron.

Notes

Moonlight used to be Nook, but you'd be forgiven for not really seeing much difference in the new establishment. Interestingly, rather than simply rebranding the property to keep it in the same family as Pop, etc, the ownership sold it off entirely. The new joint now has the same ownership as Thirsty Nickel, Chupacabra, Mooseknuckle, and Jackalope, so it's in solid hands; it's just another example of the business of Sixth Street behind the scenes. In front of the scenes, Moonlight offers a very similar Dirty Sixth experience to the other bars it abuts - loud dance music from the DJ in the corner, muted colorful lighting casting subtly mystifying illumination upon the strangers you might be talking to, people talking to each other everywhere. If you didn't know any better, you might think it had been here forever.

#166: Gnar Bar

The Bar

Gnar Bar. 219 E 6th St, Austin, TX 78701

Visited 12/12/20 @ 9:30pm.

The Drink

Method Mule. Ketel One cucumber mint vodka, ginger beer, lime. $7.

Yet another one of the drinks that I have developed a permanent allergy to ever since the incident at Unbarlievable. As Moscow Mules go this one was done right, but ever since being forced to drink a half-gallon of Mule I just can't bring myself to write much more about this now-hateful cocktail. It's a good value for what it is, so if you like Moscow Mules, you will like this. 

360 Turndown. Dripping Springs gin, blackberry liqueur, lemon juice, agave syrup. $9.

I enjoyed my second drink much more, although I foolishly did not manage to get a picture of it due to all the excitement happening. Lemon and blackberry is a winning flavor combination, and this was the downscale/affordable version of the similar lemon blackberry cocktail I got at Drop Kick, minus the Solerno blood orange liqueur. A little sweet, a little tart, a lot of gin - this is a great drink at a great price.

The Crew

Aaron.

Notes

I found out about this place due to an insider tip from the bartender at Devil May Care. Gnar Bar replaced Chuggin' Monkey fairly recently; they'd been open barely a month when I visited. Despite Austin's strict rules for historical preservation limiting what they could do with the layout of the interior, I was very impressed with how they'd spruced up the place: the grime of 15 years of college students been sandblasted away and replaced with skateboards everywhere, in keeping with the new owners' "Ride Eat Drink Destroy" BMX/action sports aesthetic (the first word of the bar's name is of course short for "gnarly"). The multiple levels still offer plenty of room to gather with your drinking crew, and the outdoor patio is still the same old quasi-oasis, where you can escape the noise of the inside yet never be too far from your next round. The highlight of my visit was watching the incredible end of LSU @ Florida (I've been watching college football my whole life and I've never seen a game changed so dramatically by a shoe) and doing a round of shots with the owner to celebrate. 

#165: Astoria

The Bar

Astoria. 702 W 6th St, Austin, TX 78701

Visited 12/12/20 @ 9pm.

The Drink

Old-Fashioned. Bulleit bourbon, simple syrup, bitters, orange. $10.

The 14th Old-Fashioned! This is actually quite similar in composition if not in execution to the 13th Old-Fashioned that I got at Verbena, so using that same rating system, let's see how this stacks up:

• Base liquor: 8/10. I have no strong or consistent preference for bourbon over rye, so Bulleit's bourbon gets the same grade as their rye.
• Other ingredients: 8/10. Yup, Angostura bitters again. No complaints about the simple syrup or the orange either. No cherry, which kind of sucks, but on second thought I have gotten a lot of Old-Fashioneds without the cherry, and the bourbon version needs the extra sweetness less than the rye version. According to Wikipedia the cherry didn't start to become expected until about 40 years after the drink was first crafted, but it was a good innovation.
• Preparation: 7/10. Something about getting an Old-Fashioned in a plastic cup feels wrong. The bartender getting getting called off to do other things before he was able to serve me, the center of the universe, and I don't fault him for that at all, but this is undeniably a no-frills rendition. And, after the excessive ice of the last Old-Fashioned, I actually liked the fact that I got the ice you'd expect in a jack and coke. 
• Value: 8/10. $10 is a perfectly fair price of an Old-Fashioned, and if this isn't the most luxe iteration you've ever had, it still does the job nicely.

I would not say this perfectly represents the bar, but an 8/10 is not bad, not bad at all. 

The Crew

Aaron.

Notes

Astoria is directly above, owned by, and operated by the exactly same people as Buford's downstairs, so I struggled a bit with whether to count this as a separate bar or not, especially since they're a bit coy about advertising it as much as Buford's. I was eventually won over by the fact that when you close your tab here, the receipt says Astoria, whereas downstairs it says Buford's. Case closed! Astoria felt like much more of a chill lounge than its more public sibling at the foot of the stairs, even though their Instagram is packed with folks getting lit and loud. I am not actually sure what the disconnect is, because at 9pm on a Saturday, the place was full of folks being comfortable, and in fact if I had to sum up Astoria in a word I'd say it's homey. Attractive wood paneling, great icicle lighting, and a nice balcony - I felt like staying a lot longer. They've been open for 2 years and according to the owner, who I briefly chatted with, have a few ambitious plans for the future, like taking over the Ranch next door and building a 3rd story. It's always nice to see a bar that's looking to the future.

#164: Devil May Care

The Bar

Devil May Care. 500 W 6th St, Austin, TX 78701

Visited 12/11/20 @ 6:30pm.

The Drink

Espresso martini. Absolut Elyx vodka, Licor 43, chai, cardamom, well cold brew coffee, whipped cream, chocolate chips. $16 ($8 at happy hour).

I know that this is basically a dessert in a glass, which is kind of cheating, but it was absolutely delicious, one of the best cocktails I've had. Cocktail purists are correct to note that this is really not a martini at all, given the absence of both gin and vermouth as well as the presence of a whole raft of extra ingredients, but allowing for a certain bit of linguistic and conceptual flexibility, surely we can agree that something this tasty is a natural post-dinner cocktail. Some notes on the alcoholic main ingredients:

• I hadn't heard of Licor 43 before, but it has an amusing and surely fraudulent history of being a 20th century descendent of a 3rd century BC Carthaginian alcohol called "liquor mirabilis" that was banned by the Romans for being too powerful. Over 2 millennia later it is now Spain's most popular liqueur.
• Absolut Elyx (Elixir + lyx, which is Swedish for "luxury") is a newish vodka with some chocolaty flavors.

It's hard to give tasting notes on those two alcohols specifically since they were dunked in a bath of coffee and chai and then swathed in chocolate and whipped cream, but trust me, the overall effect is quite nice, if a little nectarous. I would have loved it even at full price; at happy hour it's a steal, even if one of them is plenty.

The Crew

Aaron.

Notes

Devil May Care replaced Sophia's late in 2019. The new joint is an upscale lounge/club/restaurant concept that has a reputation for excellent seafood. As much subterranean as Mediterranean, I really liked the interior vibe: the cool blue and electric pink lighting is intimate without being gloomy, with stout brick pillars subdividing the dining areas into cozy but not cramped nooks. Every time I looked around I kept thinking that this would make for a terrific date night spot, since everyone loves high-end food and live music in a setting like this. They have an open-air patio upstairs as well, but underground is clearly where it's at. The staff was really helpful as well; when I explained why I was scribbling notes like a weirdo they cheerfully recommended me other new places that I had not heard of, complete with names of the owners. This place is great, with far less insouciance than its name implies.

#163: Verbena

The Bar

Verbena. 612 W 6th St, Austin, TX 78701

Visited 12/11/20 @ 6:30pm.

The Drink

Old-Fashioned. Bulleit rye whiskey, Angostura bitters, simple syrup, orange. $13.50.

This is the 13th Old-Fashioned I have been served so far, which raises the question of if I need an Old-Fashioned-specific rating system. Let's see:

• Base liquor: 8/10. If you're going the rye route instead of bourbon, Bulleit is a great choice. 
• Other ingredients: 8/10. Since 1824, Angostura remains the undisputed king of bitters, a selection which cannot be improved upon in the context of a by-the-book Old-Fashioned. The simple syrup they had did the job, and the orange was solid and unremarkable.
• Preparation: 8/10. This is not really to fault the bartender's technique, which was perfectly serviceable. Getting the full Cocktail flair would be extremely obnoxious in real life. Only Ruth's Chris would get a 10/10 for their diligent yet spectacular craftsmanship of their Old-Fashioneds).
• Value: 5/10: Normally a single ice cube is the way to go with an Old-Fashioned, as opposed to chips or, god help us, Sonic pellets, but this was just too large, consuming easily 75% of the volume of the glass. It dominated the drink like an iceberg, making me feel like one of the first-class passengers on the RMS Ryetanic every time I took a sip of my overvalued cocktail.

So while perfectly tasty, it gets a 7/10 overall. If someone else is buying, knock it up a full point. I should point out at that they do have a happy hour from 5-7pm with $6 martinis, which in hindsight I should have tried to Jedi mind trick her into making me instead. 

The Crew

Aaron.

Notes

Verbena is a restaurant on the ground floor of the Canopy By Hilton hotel, with is one of the "Upper Upscale" brands in the Hilton portfolio. I have no idea why hotels maintain so many different brand tiers, but just know that if you stay here, you are a better and more virtuous person than someone who slums it at a mere Upscale Hilton property, but lesser than someone who can shell out for a stay at a Luxury Hilton. Choose wisely! If, like me, you're just here for the drinks, you can admire the cool decanter collection by the entrance near the exposed kitchen, and the immaculately arranged bottle collection behind the bar, which was so clean and orderly it reminded me of a science-fictional bar, like Quark's. I didn't eat anything, but the food looked REALLY good. Overall if I were an "upper upscale" individual actually staying here I would have no problem expensing some meals on the company dime at this establishment. 

#162: Play On West 6th

The Bar

Play On West 6th. 620 W 6th St, Austin, TX 78701

Visited 11/22/20 @ 6:30pm.

The Drink

Playdialyte shot. Vodka, sweet & sour, lime juice, Sprite, Pedialyte. $9.

I had just consumed a shot at WYLD only a block away merely a few minutes prior, but I drink what they tell me to. As the bartender was telling me about the ingredients in the shot she mentioned that there's been a trend of including Pedialyte in cocktails to get ahead of the game on hangovers, which Pedialyte is supposed a big cure for. There is no such thing as curing an existing hangover, as we know, but it never hurts to hydrate while you're drinking, and to that end I'm sure the splash of Pedialyte in my shot didn't hurt. The shot itself was fine; she mixed it over ice, which I appreciated, and she tried to comp it when I told her I was blogging it, which I appreciated even more.

The Crew

Aaron.

Notes

Play replaced Lux at the start of the year. At first when I walked in the two seemed identical in my memory, but then I just realized how drunk I must have been, since the two aren't very similar in decor or vibe at all. Yes they both cater to more of a high-roller clientele, but whereas Lux was a reserved lounge with understated decor, Play is an "upscale sports bar". I would personally consider that phrase an oxymoron, but they were really dedicated to it - one the one hand, the staff were conflicted about me just walking in and wanted me to make a reservation so they could have me spend a lot of money on bottle service and so forth; on the other hand, they were all dressed in sexy referee uniforms, which made it hard to feel too threatened. I've already discussed how weird the breastaurant market niche is, but it has its upsides - after they'd decided I was on the level thanks to my noble vocation of freelance  alcohol blogging, they tried to comp my shot and insisted I take my standard drink consumption picture on the gilt throne you see above. So I take it all back! I am not sure what the ownership situation is but it doesn't seem like it's the same as Lux.

#161: Wyld

The Bar

Wyld. 706 W 6th St, Austin, TX 78701

Visited 11/22/20 @ 6pm.

The Drink

Gummy bear shot. Vodka, sweet & sour, DeKuyper Razzmatazz liqueur, Sprite. $5.

The bartender had some good patter about what a good cocktail bar WYLD is, but what she ended up making me was a shot. You can probably guess how it tasted. Not that I'm complaining: when it comes to shots, short and sweet is the way to go. I have been a regular patron of DeKuyper products since college, both for good and for ill - one of the lowest points in my drinking career, and quite possibly the entire 326 year history of the DeKuyper brand, was splitting nothing but a handle of their peach schnapps with a friend when we didn't have any other alcohol on hand. If nothing else, you can always rely on DeKuyper to add some sugar to your drink. 

The Crew

Aaron.

Notes

In June WYLD replaced Brew Exchange, whose business model of constantly fluctuating beer prices was perhaps better suited to a less results-oriented drinking culture, or at least an environment where patrons are more willing to play minigames to order a beer. In contrast, WYLD is a more straightforward West Sixth bar, with the added twist that it's 18+, which is an interesting choice for a bar in this part of Sixth Street. There didn't seem to be any underage patrons when I was there, which is perhaps for the best: what would you even do at a bar if you couldn't drink? WYLD has a mechanical bull in the middle of the bar, which could be entertaining if you've never seen it before, and aren't into the poker lounge in the back. For myself, I watched the unexpectedly entertaining end of Cowboys @ Vikings along with the bar staff after finishing my shot, buying another round in celebration with them. 

#160: Qi Austin

The Bar

Qi Austin. 835 W 6th St Unit 114, Austin, TX 78703

Visited 11/22/20 @ 4:30pm.

The Drink

Wild Orchid. Gin, beet and lemon simple syrup, Cointreau, coconut cream, Sichuan peppercorns, lime zest. $13.

"Balance" is a subjective but valuable quality in a cocktail, whether it's the result of distinct flavors harmonizing with each other or the individual voices blending smoothly together. The Wild Orchid leans more to the first tendency, with multiple discrete sweet ingredients counterposed against the botanicals in the gin and the Sichuan peppercorns. In a town like Austin jalapeños are the typical go-to source for adding heat to a drink, but naturally the bar of a scrupulous restaurant like Qi would lean on something a little closer to home, even in a drink like this. Sichuan peppercorns, which have been used in cuisine for millennia, are genetically unrelated from chili peppers like the jalapeño, and so its distinctive numbing effect on the mouth works via a completely different mechanism from capsaicin's heat. I appreciated when that familiar tingle appeared as I drank this cocktail at the same time as the rest of the ingredients cooled and sweetened against it, the different tendencies working perfectly together. Even a simple gin and tonic fan such as myself can enjoy a cocktail like this. It looks great too.

The Crew

Aaron.

Notes

Qi is a new restaurant in the shadow of Whole Foods from the same folks who brought us Lin Asian Bar further west down the street. Much like its older sibling, Qi serves excellent Chinese food, but while Lin is focused on dim sum, Qi is more high-end, so expect to see more truffle fried rice and scallop caviar than egg tarts and fried bao, though Qi also does dim sum as well. I had salt and pepper tofu at the bar and it was fantastic. In terms of ambience Qi feels exactly like a nice Asian restaurant, with clean exposed wood cross-braces amid attractive red and yellow floral patterns everywhere. I wouldn't go here to get drunk, but I will definitely come back for more drinks when I eat.