#164: Devil May Care

The Bar

Devil May Care. 500 W 6th St, Austin, TX 78701

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

The Drink

Espresso martini. Absolut Elyx vodka, Licor 43, chai, cardamom, well cold brew coffee, whipped cream, chocolate chips. $16 ($8 at happy hour).

I know that this is basically a dessert in a glass, which is kind of cheating, but it was absolutely delicious, one of the best cocktails I've had. Cocktail purists are correct to note that this is really not a martini at all, given the absence of both gin and vermouth as well as the presence of a whole raft of extra ingredients, but allowing for a certain bit of linguistic and conceptual flexibility, surely we can agree that something this tasty is a natural post-dinner cocktail. Some notes on the alcoholic main ingredients:

• I hadn't heard of Licor 43 before, but it has an amusing and surely fraudulent history of being a 20th century descendent of a 3rd century BC Carthaginian alcohol called "liquor mirabilis" that was banned by the Romans for being too powerful. Over 2 millennia later it is now Spain's most popular liqueur.
• Absolut Elyx (Elixir + lyx, which is Swedish for "luxury") is a newish vodka with some chocolaty flavors.

It's hard to give tasting notes on those two alcohols specifically since they were dunked in a bath of coffee and chai and then swathed in chocolate and whipped cream, but trust me, the overall effect is quite nice, if a little nectarous. I would have loved it even at full price; at happy hour it's a steal, even if one of them is plenty.

The Crew

Aaron.

Notes

Devil May Care replaced Sophia's late in 2019. The new joint is an upscale lounge/club/restaurant concept that has a reputation for excellent seafood. As much subterranean as Mediterranean, I really liked the interior vibe: the cool blue and electric pink lighting is intimate without being gloomy, with stout brick pillars subdividing the dining areas into cozy but not cramped nooks. Every time I looked around I kept thinking that this would make for a terrific date night spot, since everyone loves high-end food and live music in a setting like this. They have an open-air patio upstairs as well, but underground is clearly where it's at. The staff was really helpful as well; when I explained why I was scribbling notes like a weirdo they cheerfully recommended me other new places that I had not heard of, complete with names of the owners. This place is great, with far less insouciance than its name implies.