The Bar
X Crèm. 1614 E 6th St #112, Austin, TX 78702
Visited 5/12/2023 @ 10pm.
The Drink
Espresso martini. Cappuccino crunch, chocolate swirl, vanilla vodka. $16.
It seems like only yesterday that I was musing in my review of Howards about how espresso martinis often walk a fine line between "cocktail with something sweet" and "milkshake with booze". Well, as you might expect a cocktail from an ice cream parlor to do, this version just went straight for the jugular and transformed fully into a dessert with an ABV. Using their cappuccino crunch ice cream flavor as a base and some vanilla vodka and a swirl of chocolate on top, this rich and flavorful rendition was easily the best espresso martini I've ever had. If it were just a bit more caffeinated (yes, most coffee ice creams do have
a bit of caffeine), it would rank among the greatest post-final course aperitifs of all time, the kind the guests at your fancy dinner party would beg for. As it was, I had to withstand the urge to lick the glass after I was done; it was just that tasty. Ashley got the strawberry cheesecake cocktail and she said it was really good as well, so it seems like the milkshake cocktail folks were on to something after all. Even though I had the nagging thought that it must surely be cheaper to just do a shot of vanilla vodka followed by a waffle cone, this was one of the most enjoyable high-end/premium cocktails I've had so far.
The Crew
Aaron, Geoff, Rome, Ashley.
Notes
X Crèm (rhymes with "stem" and not "steam", with a French flair) is one of those welcome sights, a new bar opened by a single person (in this case a couple) rather than by a chain or one of the established Sixth Street incumbents. It's a fairly new ice cream parlor that decided to get its alcohol license in order to serve booze along with its desserts, which allowed it to take advantage of the market niche that was recently opened up by the untimely closures of Gelateria Gemelli and Prohibition Creamery nearby. Despite branding itself as an "
ice cream speakeasy", it almost could not have been less like the stereotypical cramped, dimly-lit archetype of a speakeasy; instead it was almost like walking into one of your college friends' apartment, with a living room-style lounge room immediately to the left, a case of ice cream flavors to the right, and the bar/kitchen directly ahead, accompanied by house party-ish music blasting from discreetly-placed speakers. According to the owner Alexander, this relaxed club vibe was exactly what he wanted, and I have to say, even though some Sixth Street bars do offer beer pong, this was one of the ones where it felt most appropriate. But we had just come from Via 313 and were full of pizza, so rather than cajole him to start up a few rounds of flip cup or quarters, I requested he play my favorite beer pong jam from his iPad (Skee-Lo's magisterial 1995 hit
I Wish), and once we had finished our drinks we peaceably departed.
