#165: Astoria

The Bar

Astoria. 702 W 6th St, Austin, TX 78701

Visited 12/12/20 @ 9pm.

The Drink

Old-Fashioned. Bulleit bourbon, simple syrup, bitters, orange. $10.

The 12th Old-Fashioned! This is actually quite similar in composition if not in execution to the 11th Old-Fashioned that I got at Verbena, so using that same rating system, let's see how this stacks up:

• Base liquor: 8/10. I have no strong or consistent preference for bourbon over rye, so Bulleit's bourbon gets the same grade as their rye.
• Other ingredients: 8/10. Yup, Angostura bitters again. No complaints about the simple syrup or the orange either. No cherry, which kind of sucks, but on second thought I have gotten a lot of Old-Fashioneds without the cherry, and the bourbon version needs the extra sweetness less than the rye version. According to Wikipedia the cherry didn't start to become expected until about 40 years after the drink was first crafted, but it was a good innovation.
• Preparation: 7/10. Something about getting an Old-Fashioned in a plastic cup feels wrong. The bartender getting getting called off to do other things before he was able to serve me, the center of the universe, and I don't fault him for that at all, but this is undeniably a no-frills rendition. And, after the excessive ice of the last Old-Fashioned, I actually liked the fact that I got the ice you'd expect in a jack and coke. 
• Value: 8/10. $10 is a perfectly fair price of an Old-Fashioned, and if this isn't the most luxe iteration you've ever had, it still does the job nicely.

I would not say this perfectly represents the bar, but an 8/10 is not bad, not bad at all. 

The Crew

Aaron.

Notes

Astoria is directly above, owned by, and operated by the exactly same people as Buford's downstairs, so I struggled a bit with whether to count this as a separate bar or not, especially since they're a bit coy about advertising it as much as Buford's. I was eventually won over by the fact that when you close your tab here, the receipt says Astoria, whereas downstairs it says Buford's. Case closed! Astoria felt like much more of a chill lounge than its more public sibling at the foot of the stairs, even though their Instagram is packed with folks getting lit and loud. I am not actually sure what the disconnect is, because at 9pm on a Saturday, the place was full of folks being comfortable, and in fact if I had to sum up Astoria in a word I'd say it's homey. Attractive wood paneling, great icicle lighting, and a nice balcony - I felt like staying a lot longer. They've been open for 2 years and according to the owner, who I briefly chatted with, have a few ambitious plans for the future, like taking over the Ranch next door and building a 3rd story. It's always nice to see a bar that's looking to the future.