Expertly mixed cocktails are now available in the Cesar Chavez barrio of East Austin. It’s not been many years since that sentence would’ve rung out across Austin as an absurdity.
Not anymore. We’ve been looking forward to Kathryn Weatherup’s entry into the Austin bar world for eons now. We read the reports on her “puritan” take on booze and ice in various New York City media outlets, and have been champing at the bit to get at her goods.
Worth the wait.
We settle in on the patio in hundred degree heat and a cocktail girl appears unbidden, as though dark arts are afoot. We start off with 2 perfectly mixed Dark n Stormy cocktails and they last but a moment. Divine, and properly served with enormous, oblong hunks of gorgeous ice bar-cubes.
Scanning the vast, comprehensive menu we settle in on 2 Velvet Bucks as a 2nd round. Anything that features falernum as an ingredient is always going to see plenty of our booze money. This crucial elixir is so delicious it can be drunk on its own, but it’s normally used sparingly as a flavor enhancer in a variety of drinks, most notably: Corn and Oil and the Captain’s Blood.
The barkeep knocks us out of the park with round 2. Perfectly blended and nice and boozy, the only thing that could’ve made them better would’ve been a shot of falernum as a chaser.
Special note must be made of the service as our cocktail girl was on point. Friendly, fast with the drinks and an overall pro. A rare commodity in this modern Austin.
We’ll be hitting Weatherup good and hard over the next couple weeks as this bar is certain to attract heavy crowds and attract them sooner rather than later.
We filed a separate report over on the scrumptiouschef site. It’s here: http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/6/10/Austin-Daily-Photo-Weather-Up-Is-The-Real-Deal-For-Craft-Cocktails-And-Ice-Fetishism
Debate firing over Weatherup’s place in historic East Austin http://www.scrumptiouschef.com/food/index.cfm/2012/6/12/RL-Reeves-Jr-Taken-To-Task-By-Austin-Scribe-Alan-Sudo-Over-East-Austin-Weatherup-Cocktail-Bar-Review
