#83: Flamingo Cantina

The Bar

Flamingo Cantina. 515 E 6th St, Austin, TX 78701

Visited 5/3/17 @ 10pm.

The Drink

Caribbean hurricane. Myers rum, J Wray rum, pineapple juice, cranberry juice, sour. $9.

Every time I see the word "hurricane" in a drinking context, my liver involuntarily spasms at the memory of too many hurricanes in New Orleans. I have a lasting distrust of those brightly colored hangover machines, smuggling bleary mornings in under a cover of sweet sapidities and flashy glassware. My heart skipped a beat when the bartender recommended the Caribbean hurricane, but I'm firmly committed to the principle of dealer's choice, so I forced my rebellious stomach into calm and agreed to consume one. The Caribbean version is much like the New Orleans version: a delicious medley of tropical flavors that conceals a great crime of liquor. Myers and J Wray are both venerable members of the Caribbean rum family, with the former dating back to 1879 and the latter even farther back, to 1825. Our one-and-done discipline was a great help to me here, as the sweetness of the pineapple juice balanced out the tartness of the cranberry juice so neatly, betraying no hint of the rum beneath, that I would have certainly had another. When it comes to hangovers, your own greatest enemy is yourself twelve hours ago, and a piece of knowledge that memories alone can't seem to turn into wisdom.

The Crew

Kyle, Travis, Hannah, Aaron, Karen, Chris.

Notes

As a mere mortal, there are many, many things I don't know, but I'm still somewhat surprised that a bar on Sixth can have been around for 26 years without me having any knowledge of its existence whatsoever. Especially given its unique status as an independent woman-owned/operated bar, which is a true rarity on Sixth Street (the proprietress is named Angela); you'd think I would have at least seen it on a list or something. Regardless, this is a heavily Rastafarian environment, both in the general aesthetic of the bar/lounge areas and in the particular types of music they play in their capacity as a concert venue for reggae/dub/ska/Latin/hip hop/electronica acts. When we visited, there was a DJ spinning some background tunes - not to criticize him, but that's the non-impression his sonic wallpaper left on me. There's a sort of concert pit on the ground floor once you enter, with a ziggurat of seating ringing the two walls facing the stage. Upstairs is a smoking area with a kind of treehouse vibe to it, a giant oak shading a deck that overlooks the alley between Sixth and Fifth. The view from outside isn't so great, unless you're a connoisseur of leaf-obscured parking lot vistas; the real action is inside, where the people-watching offers a better chance of entertainment.