In-Between the Honky-Tonks and Dives

TECHNIQUE

Feb 11

Three bartenders share their approaches to tending bar in Austin.

Bars in Austin look to the past, present, and future: classic cocktails are upheld and evolved, locally sourced product shines in house-made ingredients, and technique and technology help streamline service. Whether the vibe is lively cocktail lounge, cozy industry bar, or bustling neighborhood eatery, there’s a little something for everyone.

Fast & Furious

At In Plain Sight, cocktails aim for sessionable sippers that can be churned out quickly; the intimate 8-seat bar acts as a bridge between the chaotic throngs of Downtown Austin and Here Nor There, the group’s reservation-only cocktail lounge downstairs. “We have seen 150 people in a night here, so speed is key,” says Beverage Director Conor O'Reilly. But rather than relying on cocktails with simple builds like highballs and martinis, the bar invests in their prep time to ultimately achieve drinks that are speedy for service, but still dynamic and nuanced. Take the Poppy Lou Paloma, a mezcal paloma riff that packs in flavors of coconut, lemongrass, cilantro, lime leaf, ginger, and Thai green chiles by way of sous vide infusion. It’s batched with lemon and grapefruit juices, pamplemousse rosé, simple syrup, and a touch of elderflower liqueur before it’s clarified, diluted, carbonated, and kegged for easy on-tap service. “Because of its size, this bar is one where you are overly engaging. We make the drinks fast so we can make sure everyone is having a good time.”

Poppy Lou Paloma: Mezcal, Coconut Rum, Lemongrass, Thai Green Chile, Grapefruit Juice, Elderflower Liqueur, Rosé Pamplemousse

The minimalist, walk-in only approach contrasts Here Nor There, which uses an app-based reservation system and offers a frequently changing conceptual menu. It also provides the ample space needed for the bar’s extensive prep list. “It’s getting tough to get a last minute drink here,” says O’Reilly. “So part of the idea with In Plain Sight was to give an extra space that’s easier to access.”

While the bar is built to turn and burn, the team doesn’t cut corners on quality. Tools like their Avantco glass chiller and crystal-clear block ice streamline built-to-order cocktails like the Open Sesame, a highball with coconut milk-washed Japanese whisky infused with toasted sesame and combined with Fino Sherry, citric acid, and soda.

Classically Concise

On 7th street, Small Victory spotlights historical and classic cocktails, revamped by Bar Manager-Owner Laura Maddox. The concept was developed by founders Josh Loving and Brian Stubbs, and together, the team has built an arsenal of classics made the Small Victory way. “We have a recipe compendium,” says Maddox. ”Josh has been mining old recipes and R&Ding them for years. When we opened this space we went through and tweaked them and decided what to put on [the menu].” Drinks like the Singapore Sling have become signatures of the bar by pulling inspiration from a few predecessors to create an original recipe. Their version of the tropical gin cocktail is juicy and complex with fresh pineapple and lime juices, grenadine, Angostura bitters, and for a one-touch liqueur addition, Maddox batches Cherry Heering, Cointreau, and Benedictine to add spiced fruit that’s not too cloying. The Sling is finished with lively soda poured from a glass charger—“whenever we can, we try to do things classic-style.”

Singapore Sling: Gin, Pineapple, Lime, Grenadine, Cherry Heering, Cointreau, Benedictine, Angostura Bitters, Soda

The menu covers classics in all categories from stirred to sour, and also lists a Bartender’s Choice option, which allows Maddox to pull recipes straight from the compendium—“it's probably like 30-percent of sales. It’s a good way to prove your stacks.” When she gets a request for a margarita, she pulls out the Tequila Daisy with Cointreau, lemon juice, and a sugar rim. And when asked for an Old Fashioned, it’s cocktails like the Evans Cocktail with rye whiskey, Curaçao, apricot liqueur, and Angostura.

“I like the precedent and the history,” says Maddox. “Learning traditional cocktail production helps standardize your palate. It calibrates your skills based on a standard.” The bar pulls recipes from the early 20th century like the Star Cocktail, a Calvados Manhattan with orange bitters. Maddox tweaks the recipe on a micro scale to maintain the essence of the original. Careful selection of spirits—Domaine de Manoir de Montreuil Calvados and Cocchi Vermouth di Torino—and the bar’s Clinebell ice machine keep flavors clean and nuanced. Maddox uses a 3:1 build to make the cocktail “a little drier,” and gives it a particularly long stir to achieve “the perfect dilution and 22 degree temperature.”

House Made

At L’Oca d’Oro, the Mueller trattoria from Chef Fiore Tedesco, Beverage Director Eva Suter carries the torch of handmade product through to the beverage program. “When I came on, we were making some amari and a vermouth, and over time we bought fewer finished products.” The crafty approach came naturally to Suter, who is a hobby forager and has been “making liqueur and some rustic stuff at home forever.” For the bar at L’Oca d’Oro, which leans heavily on Italian drinking traditions like spritzes and bitter-based cocktails, Suter started turning over the backbar one bottle at a time. First, she developed a dry, French-style vermouth, aiming for a more vegetal profile with lots of lemongrass and peppercorn. It fits the traditional style of fortified wine while bringing distinct character to the house martini, a 2:1 build with Austin Reserve gin. The house vermouth line expanded with Suter’s Vermut Roselle, a red wine-based vermouth that highlights roselle hibiscus from New Leaf Farms. It brings juicy flavor and tannin to cocktails like the Loosen Up (Yr Collar) with Scotch, Canadian-style whiskey, lemon, orange creme cordial, and cucumber.

Magic Word: Cherry Pit and Strawberry Top-Infused Gin, Yaupon Syrup, Fortified Herb Syrup, Madeira, Lemon Juice, Cava, Aromatic Bitters, Basil

The bar’s library of amari was kickstarted by Tedesco with a few Italian-style botanical liqueurs, and Suter added to the canon with a mint-heavy alpine amaro dubbed Amaro Octavia. Then, it was time to tackle aromatic bitters. “My partner would catch me at home in the kitchen with my nose in a bottle of Angostura,” says Suter. After some trial and error, she landed on the L’Oca Bitters with gentian, fennel, ginger, and cherry bark. They lend “really beautiful brown flavors” to cocktails like the Magic Word, a punch with fruit scrap-infused gin, yaupon syrup, Madeira, lemon, Cava, and Suter’s Herb Melange, “a wine-reinforced herb syrup based on whatever herbs we have on hand.”

But Suter’s from-scratch approach is perhaps best displayed in the Trend Piece, an espresso martini that combines a few post-dinner beverage favorites into one with almost all house-made components. The frothy cocktail layers Cafe d’Oro, a rum-based coffee liqueur (”the oldest of my recipes”) with Goodnight Loving vodka, espresso, and freshly made hazelnut milk. Then, Suter incorporates ½ ounce of her limoncello (a blend of Eureka and Meyer lemons with a touch of vanilla), a spoon of the house anisette, sous vide-pasteurized egg white, and a pinch of sea salt.

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