#158: La Holly

The Bar

La Holly. 617 W 6th St, Austin, TX 78701

Visited 6/12/20 @ 8:30pm.

The Drink

La Sancha. Del Maguey Vida mezcal, triple sec, hibiscus syrup, lime. $12.

Much as I generally dislike most frozen drinks aside from Violet Crown's excellent iron whips, I do occasionally find one that I begrudgingly approve of. Interestingly, I had almost the polar opposite reaction to this cocktail than to the nearly identical one that I had at the regular location of La Holly further east, even though this is also a house special and in fact is essentially identical to that one (the Jamaica y Mezcal) except for the type of mezcal used and the lack of garnish. One reason for my different reaction might be that mezcal is a base liquor that can defy the usual tendency of frozen drinks to blend flavors into an icy mush. They used Vida mezcal for this one, which is a generally highly rated mezcal that's also affordable enough to be the mezcal of choice for bars. The La Sancha has more more actual liquid and less ice than most frozen drinks (including the Jamaica y Mezcal), which helped to bring out the sweet fruit flavors of the other ingredients as well as the superior taste of the mezcal itself. 

Or maybe I actually just don't hate frozen drinks as much as I think I do, for whatever reason, and you should ignore me when I start to complain about them. In any case, cold + smoky + sweet + tart is a good combination for the end of a typically hot summer afternoon, so I approved of this cocktail, consistency be damned. 

The Crew

Karen, Aaron.

Notes

Your eyes do not deceive you - Key Bar has been rebranded as a new location of the very same La Holly mezcal bar that's all the way down at the other end of Sixth Street. It's a joint project between them and Taco Flats, another very solid local institution which happens to be owned by the very same guy, Simon Madera. I am not sure what sort of deal he worked out with Key Bar, but I was told by the bartender that this was sort of a temporary thing. My guess is that the new Taco Flats food truck that's also on premises is here to both provide additional cash flow as well as get the percentage of revenue from alcohol sales under the magic 51 percent figure which distinguishes a bar from a restaurant in the eyes of the TABC, whose regulations which bring so much joy to all of our lives. Aside from the food truck and the updated signage there is not much to physically distinguish the new arrangement from the old, so time will tell if the addition of a broader array of mezcals to the Key Bar cocktail menu has an effect on its clientele, a few of who were out this evening. One reason for me to refrain from trash-talking the kind of people who go to West Sixth bars is that I have been to literally all of them, technically making me the ultimate West Sixth Person, so all I will say is that I am glad that this bar is open, whatever form it takes.

#157: The Belmont

The Bar

The Belmont. 305 W 6th St, Austin, TX 78701

Visited 6/12/20 @ 7:30pm.

The Drink

Music City Mule. Maker's Mark whiskey, ginger brew, lime. $7.

Of COURSE the very next bar after Unbarlievable would recommend almost exactly the same drink that made me swear off Moscow Mules entirely. Lightning strikes, not once but twice. This gave me a real moral dilemma, since it's one of my rules that I always the bartender which drink best symbolizes the bar - do I ask them to try again, even though they've given me dealer's choice? Or do I gag down another rendition of the horrible concoction that gave me a permanent distaste for ginger beer just 2 weeks ago? Since the bartender had no way of knowing he was triggering the alcoholic equivalent of PTSD, I let it stand and drank what he made me. This version had whiskey instead of vodka, which was different enough that it was merely unpleasant instead of unbearable, and if I hadn't been suffering from booze flashbacks, it would have been a fine Mule variant on its own due to Maker's Mark being a pretty solid bar whiskey. This is the 8th version of a Moscow Mule I've been served so far, and hopefully the last.

The Crew

Aaron.

Notes

I had known The Belmont as an entertainment venue (a friend of mine had their wedding reception there, they do SXSW and regular concert shows, etc) and not as a bar, so I had marked it off my Sixth Street Complete list, since another rule of mine for this project is that you have to be able to wander into a place and just order a drink without having to buy a ticket or something. Well, desperate times make for flexible business models, so The Belmont had just decided to pivot to being a regular bar when we were walking by and saw a chalkboard notice saying that they were open for business. Alright!

I've already talked enough about the perception of West Sixth bars, so I won't rehash those here; given that The Belmont had only been open as a regular bar for like a week, it remains to be seen how it finds its place as a regular nightlife spot. But it has plenty of room to be a real megabar if it wants to be one. since between the interior, outdoor patio, and rooftop area it must have capacity for about a thousand people. We were the only people there at the outset of Friday night, but I can see this venue eventually providing a valuable link between the bar cluster that tapers off after Devil May Care/Maiko and the one that begins around the intersection with Congress.