#147: Swedish Hill

The Bar

Swedish Hill. 1120 W 6th St, Austin, TX 78703

Visited 11/20/19 @ 7:30pm.

The Drink

Savoie Shrub 75. Comoz blanc vermouth, lemon, strawberry balsamic shrub, sparkling wine. $10.

At the time we visited, the newly reopened Swedish Hill had not yet gotten their full liquor license up and running due to whatever goofy TABC regulation covers that situation, so all the cocktails were of the fortified wine or less variety: no liquor. They promised they'd have real liquor cocktails very shortly, but in the meantime you can of course make some perfectly passable drinks without getting into the hard stuff. The name of the drink is an obvious nod to the French 75, but without the ability to use gin, Swedish Hill decided to go off-script, as the drink shares only the lemon and sparkling wine with its more famous namesake. The vermouth is an interesting choice; the blanc style (which Comoz evidently pioneered themselves) is about halfway between the dry style you see in martinis, and the sweet style you see in Manhattans. The other ingredient that stood out to me was the shrub, which is a fruit syrup made with sugar and vinegar, and that strawberry balsamic flavor combined with the semi-sweet vermouth made for a pleasant drink. I hope they get their license soon, but this will tide you over well until then.

The Crew

Aaron, Karen, Misty.

Notes

The bakery Sweetish Hill had been around for my entire life at this quaint little "mini downtown" stretch of West Sixth near Blanco Street until very recently, when it was bought, closed, renamed, and reopened just a few months ago by the steadily growing McGuire Moorman empire as a new central bakery hub for their portfolio of interesting restaurants around town. The name change is a bit confusing to me - it could be a reference to the historic Swedish Hill is part of town, even though that's on the east side - but the new bakery is a nicer and fancier upgrade of the original 1975 joint. They've spiffed-up the interior bakery/deli sector right when you walk in with inviting product cases, and the outdoor patio has gotten a tuneup. I know that the the bar/dining area off to the right looks a little under-decorated and over-mood-lighted in the photo, but in person it's not nearly so bleak, just clean. We didn't eat here, but all the food looked fantastic.