#144: Sixth & Waller

The Bar

Sixth & Waller. 1108 E 6th St, Austin, TX 78702

Visited 9/14/19 @ 6pm.

UPDATE: Sixth & Waller has closed.

The Drink

Isla Buck. Vodka, vinho verde, hibiscus, ginger, cucumber, lime. $10.

This was just a really great and inviting cocktail, despite the ominous Shining-esque red tint that the hibiscus gave it. Vodka being a neutral spirit, all of the flavor action came from the other ingredients, which were all tasty and refreshing. Vinho verde is a bubbly Portuguese wine, and though it comes in several different types, the kind that Sixth & Waller uses is the friendlier, more effervescent variety that gives drinks a little carbonation along with the mellow wine flavor. Coupled with the ginger, cucumber, and lime, this was a slightly sweet - but not too sweet - cocktail that left me raring to go for another. As luck would have it, we were waiting around for the rest of our crew to arrive, and our bartender happily helped us kill time by making us about 1 of everything from the rest of the cocktail menu. I highly recommend the Pisco Punch and their version of a sazerac (which uses whiskey AND cognac instead of the traditional either/or), but the Isla Buck is a killer first-round round.

The Crew

Aaron, Travis, Michael.

Notes

Much like the Arrive Hotel just down the street, the similarly just-opened East Austin Hotel has thoughtfully included multiple different bars within its walls, which means that the interested drinker has to put in just about the bare minimum of effort possible to check out another drinking scene should the current one grow stale. Sixth & Waller, conveniently named after the intersection of the hotel's street address, is at the ground floor just off to the left when you walk into the lobby from Sixth Street, like the first level of a pagoda of drinking. It's primarily a diner-ish restaurant with a focus on fusion-y dishes (though don't sleep on their burger), but it also offers a solid cocktail listing. I felt right at home when we sat down - something about the bright lighting from the south-facing windows, the warm wood walls, and even the blue-tiled tabletops felt very comforting. Austin is of course famous for diners, and a newcomer like Sixth & Waller is just a cleaner, nicer version of the old standbys, though it's sadly missing the crucial ingredient of 24-hour migas availability. Maybe someday. In the meantime, it's an excellent place to grab a cocktail and build up a solid food foundation for the next drinking levels.