Every town needs a cocktail to call its own. New York has the Manhattan (and for a good few years in the late ’90s, the Appletini), New Orleans has the Sazerac, and Milwaukee has, what else? Beer. When it comes to signature cocktails, Austin is no different. Except that instead of claiming just one “cocktail of all time,” this city of creative thought, live music, and generally keeping things weird, likes to name a new signature cocktail every year at the Austin Cocktail Throwdown.
In the past the town has seen the spicy-yet-controversial (long story) “Batini” from Lamberts, and more recently the “Fire In the Hole” from Ranch 616, which was simply a shot taken from a whole jalapeño filled with Tito’s Vodka, Paula’s Texas Orange liqueur, and lime juice, which is then followed by a chaser of Lone Star beer. (It doesn’t get more Austin-y than that!)
This year more than 20 local restaurants and bars entered their best concoctions into the 6th Annual Austin Cocktail Throwdown hosted by the Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau and sponsored by Tito’s Vodka. The mission was simple: design a cocktail that has a distinctive “Austin” feel showcasing local ingredients and capturing the personality of this city. (Oh, and they had to use Tito’s vodka, of course.) The original entries were anonymously judged and narrowed down to a consummate top 5. (The most points were awarded for creativity, feasibility to be made year-round in a busy bar, and menu appeal.)
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