#163: Verbena

The Bar

Verbena. 612 W 6th St, Austin, TX 78701

Visited 12/11/20 @ 6:30pm.

The Drink

Old-Fashioned. Bulleit rye whiskey, Angostura bitters, simple syrup, orange. $13.50.

This is the 11th Old-Fashioned I have been served so far, which raises the question of if I need an Old-Fashioned-specific rating system. Let's see:

• Base liquor: 8/10. If you're going the rye route instead of bourbon, Bulleit is a great choice. 
• Other ingredients: 8/10. Since 1824, Angostura remains the undisputed king of bitters, a selection which cannot be improved upon in the context of a by-the-book Old-Fashioned. The simple syrup they had did the job, and the orange was solid and unremarkable.
• Preparation: 8/10. This is not really to fault the bartender's technique, which was perfectly serviceable. Getting the full Cocktail flair would be extremely obnoxious in real life. Only Ruth's Chris would get a 10/10 for their diligent yet spectacular craftsmanship of their Old-Fashioneds).
• Value: 5/10: Normally a single ice cube is the way to go with an Old-Fashioned, as opposed to chips or, god help us, Sonic pellets, but this was just too large, consuming easily 75% of the volume of the glass. It dominated the drink like an iceberg, making me feel like one of the first-class passengers on the RMS Ryetanic every time I took a sip of my overvalued cocktail.

So while perfectly tasty, it gets a 7/10 overall. If someone else is buying, knock it up a full point. I should point out at that they do have a happy hour from 5-7pm with $6 martinis, which in hindsight I should have tried to Jedi mind trick her into making me instead. 

The Crew

Aaron.

Notes

Verbena is a restaurant on the ground floor of the Canopy By Hilton hotel, with is one of the "Upper Upscale" brands in the Hilton portfolio. I have no idea why hotels maintain so many different brand tiers, but just know that if you stay here, you are a better person than someone who slums it at a mere Upscale Hilton property, but lesser than someone who can shell out for a stay at a Luxury Hilton. Choose wisely! If, like me, you're just here for the drinks, you can admire the cool decanter collection by the entrance near the exposed kitchen, and the immaculately arranged bottle collection behind the bar, which was so clean and orderly it reminded me of a science-fictional bar, like Quark's. I didn't eat anything, but the food looked REALLY good. Overall if I were an "upper upscale" individual actually staying here I would have no problem expensing some meals on the company dime at this establishment.