The Bar
Visited 12/20/18 @ 7:30pm.
The Drink
WTF Old-Fashioned. Nine-Banded whiskey, piloncillo, Angostura bitters, Luxardo cherry. $10.
This was the ninth Old-Fashioned I've been served so far, and it continued a streak of great Old-Fashioneds, with Clearport's version being the only real dud along the way, or maybe the Slow & Low bottled version. You can't win em all, and there's bound to be some stray steps off of the
Golden Path of cocktail evolution, so I don't really mind the misses too much - it just makes the hits all the sweeter, and this was definitely a hit. Speaking of sweet, I really did appreciate WTF's decision to substitute the tradition simple syrup for
piloncillo, AKA "Mexican brown sugar". Piloncillo imparts more of a caramel flavor than simple syrup does; it reminded me of the demerara syrup in the Old-Fashioned I got at Whisler's. It went really well with the whiskey, which I was pleased to see was Nine-Banded. I'm a sucker for anything Austin, Nine-Banded is so Austin it was founded by
former Longhorns: QED. Add Angostura bitters (AKA the best bitters) and Luxardo cherries (AKA the best cherries), and you have a perfectly enjoyable Old-Fashioned, though there was a bit too much ice in this one to keep it from top-tier status. I guess it is West Sixth, after all. You may have heard of the phrase "
premium mediocre"; think of this as "budget luxury", if that makes sense. But you don't really appreciate great ingredients until you don't have them anymore, so I savored it all the same.
The Crew
Kyle, Aaron.
Notes
WTF, as they
like to be known for obvious reasons, replaced the
decrepit shell of a long-dead Mr. Gatti's. This is an unusually clear case of development without gentrification on this street, although longtime Austinites who can still sing the "
dial 459-2222" jingle might still regret the loss of even a single Gatti's outpost. I like the new space a lot - very clean lines, everything you'd expect out of the current wave of modernist interior design that incorporates the brick and stone of the building into a space that subconsciously communicates "you should spend a lot of money here" without also setting off the "
too rich for my blood" alarms. I really liked the gigantic outdoor patio, which shouldn't surprise you. Austinites are stereotypically extremely passionate about patios even (especially?) given our godawful summer weather, and so a haze of "best patio" listicles hangs permanently over our heads. This is a great entry onto the list, since it's huge and open; well-shaped for the throngs of people who no doubt populate it on a night of heavier patronage than when we were there. A fine addition to your West Sixth rotation.
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