#193: Eden Cocktail Room

The Bar

Eden Cocktail Room. 214 E 6th St, Austin, TX 78701

Visited 10/27/2023 @ 10:30pm.

The Drink

Water of Life. Jefferson's bourbon, coffee, demerara, salted caramel, chocolate cream. $18.

All of the cocktails here have a "Biblical/sin" naming theme, and while "water of life" is a Biblical metaphor for the Holy Spirit, it also happens to be the literal translation of the word "whiskey" from the original Irish. Indeed, this cocktail is basically a high-end Irish coffee, the conceptual counterpart to the espresso martini, which has been having a moment recently. The basic distinction between an Irish coffee and an espresso martini is that the former is coffee with liquor in it rather than a cocktail with coffee in it, but even if the humble Irish coffee isn't quite as popular as its buzzier sibling, it also benefits from the upscale cocktail treatment. They used basic drip coffee for the base (although unfortunately not my beloved HEB crème brûlée coffee). I had not had the pleasure of trying Jefferson's bourbon before; they also have some funny experimental bourbons, like the ones they age at sea to increase the interactions with the wood or something like that. Where the cocktail really got elevated was in the sugar/caramel/chocolate ingredients, which did a spectacular job of sweeting the drink without tipping it over the line into espresso martini territory. This was a really great drink, truly the classiest way to "Irish up" a coffee. While the Erin Rose frozen Irish coffee in New Orleans will always be my #1 Irish coffee, this was right behind it. I was sorely tempted to order another immediately before I remembered: oh yeah, $18. Worth it though.

The Crew

Aaron, Ishani, Elijah.

Notes

Eden Cocktail Lounge has been open for longer than I thought, having replaced the previous occupant J Stephens all the way back in 2021. I'm not sure what happened to J. Stephens, but given the haunted history of its namesake, perhaps a silent ethereal exit was only appropriate. In my defense, I couldn't have noticed the change from the street, because despite its Sixth Street address the entrance is still via the alley in the rear. This makes Eden Cocktail Lounge one of the rare speakeasies that even comes close to justifying the name (they prefer that you call for a reservation but we simply walked on up, taking advantage of the limited foot traffic on this dreary Friday night). There are not many major changes to the interior from the J Stephens incarnation, the main one being that the space is a bit brighter, which is nice, as well as less red, which is a curious choice given how well it would have worked with Eden's "Biblical/sin" theme. But there's still the same wall decor (and the low-seeming ceiling), so if you liked the cozy expensive speakeasy vibe of J Stephens, you will still find it at Eden.