Bar Congress

Quick Information:

• Address: 200 Congress Avenue, Austin, TX 78701
• Phone: (512) 827 2760
• Hours: Tuesday-Saturday 5PM-12AM
• Reservations: No
• WiFi: No
• Website: www.congressaustin.com/bar-congress 
• Twitter: @CongressAustin

Bar Congress is the best place to enjoy a cocktail downtown when you need a break from mayhem, music, heat, and food trucks. The  cozy space– about a dozen seats at the bar and a few small tables– can be accessed by a Congress Avenue entrance or through its sister restaurant, Second Bar + Kitchen. The bar has a small selection of beers, most local, and a notable wine list, but what makes Bar Congress worth a visit are the mixed drinks.

Hurricane Highball and a Backslide

There are an increasing number of locations in Austin to get a fine cocktail, but Bar Congress combines classic techniques and an attention to detail with unique flavors and house made ingredients to create beverages that are unrivaled in taste and quality.  Every time I read the ever evolving house cocktail menu I inevitably have questions. The bar staff is always extremely knowledgeable and friendly and always able to guide a thirsty patron to the right libation.

I would encourage a first time visitor to start by sampling a shift shot or two. These pre-mixed spirituous tasters give you the opportunity to sample some of the flavor combinations that characterize the menu. If you are at all peckish don’t miss out on the bar menu. Bar Congress shares a kitchen with Second Bar+Kitchen and the fries, kale chips, buffalo pickles, and other small plates are some of the best bar food in town.

No. 9 Dream – a zero-proof cocktail

This post is part of the Austin Food Blogger Alliance City Guide 2014

Like the holidays, this is a recipe that just keeps on giving.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup fresh cranberries
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup turbinado sugar

Preparation

1. combine ingredients in a small sauce pan. Cover and heat slowly over low heat.
2. Once the liquid starts to steam uncover and, sirring occasionally, continue to heat to just below simmering for 10 minutes. If the liquid boils, the cranberries will pop which is not optimal for the candied cranberries.
3. Remove from heat and allow to cool at room temperature for about an hour. Transfer to a covered heat-safe bowl and refrigerate over night.
4. Strain the cranberries from the liquid and refrigerated to use in other salads or in holiday baking. Keep liquid in a non-reactive airtight container and use within two weeks.

An old fashioned is a really simple classic cocktail of sweetened bourbon with orange and maraschino cherry garnish. This recipe uses cranberry simple syrup in place of granulated sugar to bring out the holiday flavors and adds some orange juice for some added winter time  vitamin C.

Cranberry Old Fashioned

Ingredients

• 1.5 ounces of straight bourbon whiskey
• .5 ounce cranberry simple syrup
• .5 ounces of fresh orange juice, strained
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• Ice

Preparation

Stir bourbon, cranberry simple syrup, and orange juice. Pour over ice in an old fashioned glass. Add bitters and garnish with fresh cranberries and an orange twist.

Genever, the Dutch precursor to what we know as gin, is an earthy, clear spirit with a flavor somewhere between whiskey and vodka. The earthy tones pair very well with the sweetness of the strawberries in this refreshing drink. Try it out!

Genever Strawberry Smash

Ingredients

• 2 fresh strawberries, sliced
• 1 ounce simple syrup
• 1 1/2 ounces genever (we used Bols)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• soda water
• lemon twist

Preparation

1. In a highball, lightly muddle the strawberries with the simple syrup.
2. Add genever, lemon juice, and enough ice to fill the glass. Stir to combine.
3. Top with soda water and garnish with a lemon twist. Drink with a straw!

Austin, I found the perfect way to use Johnson’s Backyard Garden‘s personal watermelons. You’re welcome.

Watermelon Cachaça Smash

Ingredients

• 1 personal watermelon
• 2 ounces cachaça
• 1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
• 1/2 ounce Grand Marnier
• 1 ounce simple syrup
• crushed ice
• Angostura bitters
• slices of orange and lime

Preparation

1. Start by preparing your watermelon juice and serving vessel. Slice the top inch of the watermelon off to create the top of your glass. If necessary remove a small slice from the bottom to create a level surface, but be careful not to slice too deeply into the flesh. Now, carefully spoon out the watermelon pulp. Place the cup shell in the refrigerator to chill and juice the watermelon pulp with a juicer or by smashing and straining through a fine mesh sieve.
2. Combine cachaça, lime juice, Grand Marnier, simple syrup, and four ounces of the melon juice in a shaker with ice. Shake to chill.
3. Fill the melon glass with crushed ice and strain the cocktail into the melon. Add a dash of Angostura and garnish with orange and lime slices.

Fizzes are a very refreshing class of cocktails for summer. This version uses one of our favorite aperitifs and a brandy, but at your home bar have fun playing with other fortified wines or liqueurs and base spirits.

Ingredients

• 2 ounces brandy 
• 3/4 ounce Cardamaro
• 1 ounce lemon juice
• 1 ounce simple syrup
• 1 dash Angostura bitters
• Carbonated water
• Lemon twist

Preparation

1. shake brandy, cardamaro, lemon juice, simple syrup, and bitters with ice. 
2. Poor in to a collins glass filled with ice. Top with carbonated water, stir, and garnish with a lemon twist.

The Keeneland Breeze was developed by Makers Mark and is a staple at the track in Lexington.

Ingredients

Keeneland Breeze

• 1 1/2 ounces straight bourbon
• 1 1/2 ounces fresh orange juice
• 1 teaspoon orange liqueur
• Ginger beer
• Pineapple and a Maraschino Cherry to garnish

Preparation

1. Stir bourbon, juice, and orange liqueur together in a shaker with ice.
2. Fill a tumbler with fresh ice and add chilled bourbon mixture.
3. Top with ginger beer and garnish with pineapple and cherry.

There is some controversy in the mint julep community about whether the mint should be muddled or served as a garnish.  To maximize the potency of the mint (and make sure no one is happy) this recipe does both and uses mint simple syrup.

Mint Julep

Ingredients

• 3, 2-3 inch fresh sprigs of mint
• 1 ounce mint simple syrup
• crushed ice
• 2.5 ounces of straight bourbon whiskey

Preparation

1. In the bottom of a julep cup or collins glass, muddle two sprigs of mint and simple syrup. 
2. Fill the glass with crushed ice and add the bourbon.
3. Garnish with remaining sprigs of mint and serve with a straw.

Flavored simple syrup require some foresight to prepare ahead of time. While it is tempting to make and store large quantities, it is best to make it in small batches since the flavors

Mint simple syrup pre-boil.

will degrade quickly.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
• 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
• 1/2 cup water

Preparation

1. Bring sugar, water, and mint to a boil over medium-high heat.
2. Once the mixture boils, simmer and stir until sugar dissolves, about two minutes.
3. Cool at room temperature then strain into a non-reactive sealable container.
4. Refrigerate until ready to use.  Makes about 6 ounces of simple syrup.

Manhattans are an extremely easy and delicious drink, and happen to be my favorite class of cocktail. The typical Manhattan is some ratio of whiskey – bourbon or rye – with a similar measure of vermouth. I say similar because, while I prefer a 1:1 ratio of whiskey to vermouth, if you like a sweeter drink feel free to favor the vermouth. Or, as many do, if you want a stronger kick go for a stronger pour of spirits or a higher proofed whiskey. As a spiritus drink, meaning one that is not adulterated with additional juices or waters, any adjustments in the ingredients quality or proportion will produce discernible results. The best Manhattan is the one you like, so start with a basic recipe, make the tweaks you need, and find your Manhattan. The “Old Standard” Manhattan, as reported by David Wondrich in Imbibe!, is one part whiskey, one part vermouth, two dashes of gum syrup, and a couple dashes of Peruvian Bitters. Thanks David, you had me up until the gum syrup. We hope to write more later on the somewhat obscure ingredients, but I am here to tell you that you can make a fantastic classic Manhattan without them.

Classic Manhattan

Classic Manhattan

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 ounces good whiskey – bourbon or rye
• 1 1/2 ounces sweet (rouge) vermouth
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• 1 Maraschino cherry (a real one – not those hot pink blobs) or a twist of orange

Preparation

1. Fill a shaker with ice and stir ingredients until the cocktail is well-chilled, about 40 seconds. 
2. Strain in to a pretty glass, garnish as you like, and serve.

So, once you get the Classic Manhattan the way you like it is fun to play with the vermouth. Vermouth is a fortified wine, most commonly Italian (Martini & Rossi) or French (Noilly Prat), red or dry. The base wine may be made from a variety of wines or blends that are then sweetened and flavored with botanicals and spices. Vermouths typically come in under 20% alcohol by volume and they are all different. Playing around with a variety of vermouths is a fun way tinker with the Manhattan, but it can also be fun to try other fortified wines. There are a lot of new and exciting fortified wines coming on the market now and many are very affordable. It is my recommendation to go to your favorite local liquor store, check out their liquor selection, see if there is any new under 20% ABV fortified wine that sounds fun, then take it home then play with a whole new type of Manhattan. The following recipe uses Cocchi Americano, a fortified wine flavored with cinchona, the same bittering agent in tonic water (that is, the same medicinal bark delivered through tonic water).

Cocchi Manhattan

Cocchi Americano Manhattan

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 ounces good rye
• 1 1/2 ounces Cocchi Americano
• Peychaud’s Bitters
• Grapefruit twist

Preparation

1. Fill a shaker with ice and mix ingredients well until the cocktail is chilled, about 40 seconds.
2. Strain into a pretty glass, garnish with the twist, and serve.