Brass Monkey and a dram of Laphroaig Cairdeas

On our second night in Dallas, we did a mini bar crawl in Uptown starting with Nickle and Rye. On initial inspection, it looked like a sports bar with a trivia game going strong in one corner. But once I looked at the back bar full of whiskies, I felt at home. I immediately decided to have a neat pour instead of a cocktail given the opportunity to try something new. I was introduced to the Laphroaig Cairdeas series and I tried a couple of different years. Cairdeas is a limited edition malt and I liked both the 2013 and 2014 but ultimately decided to have a dram of the 2014.

My friend had the Brass Monkey cocktail which was a little sweet for me but I actually think it would have been nice over crushed ice with soda.

We probably could have stayed for another drink but the night was young.

Brass Monkey – Monkey Shoulder Scotch whisky, blueberries, honey, lemon, mint

Nickle and Rye

drinks at Bowen House

When we asked our bartender at Nickle and Rye what’s a good follow-up, he seemed to prefer Bowen House over Standard Pour so we made our way to Bowen House which is in a cute renovated cottage. Then we found the busiest bar in Dallas that night and eventually we decided to take our drinks out to the hot muggy night and sit on the porch.

The drinks are named by drink style. My friend had a mint julep while I chose the Golden Ratio which is 2-1-1. If you know this ratio, all your stirred drinks will be magnificent (think Manhattans and the like).

Her julep was the saddest I’ve seen with melted ice. She later said the bartender let it die while he made my drink. Sure, it probably didn’t help we were sitting in a 95 degree night but this was unacceptable. On the other hand, my drink was great. If you get a drink with one giant block of ice, it will melt much more slowly than pebble ice.

Golden Ratio – High West Double Rye, Amaro Nonino, dry curacao

Bowen House

Port Allen at Standard Pour

We abandoned the sad julep and headed over to Standard Pour. I smelled a craft cocktail bar immediately upon walking in. I don’t know if it was the twisty mustache painting or the vintage drawings sprinkled throughout the menu that gave it away but I felt strongly we would have good drinks here.

As I puzzled through the menu, I decided on the Port Allen because I was feeling adventurous and I was ready for a juicy drink. No more neat whisky for me! Give me a fun drink and Standard Pour delivered. And in a tiki mug no less!

Uptown for like a college town. While I could drink at Nickle and Rye and Standard Pour, I’m not sure I would hang out in this area in general. Perhaps I’m always a bit more a Downtown girl than an Uptown one.

Port Allen – Avua cachaca, Bols genever, banana liqueur, pistachio coconut orgeat, lime

Standard Pour

Filed under: alcohol education, booze, cocktalian, great cocktails, hot bartenders, minty life, travel Tagged: bowen house, cocktails, dallas, drinkwire, la cocktails, nickle and rye bar, texas, the minty, the standard pour bar, travel