drinks at Black Swan Saloon

With only 3 nights in Dallas, I wondered how many bars could I get to? I had a very long list but most decisions were made for me as it was a holiday weekend and some of the bars on said list were closed. Luckily, Black Swan Saloon was open when we wandered in after hitting a few other spots in Uptown. But we decided to end our night in Deep Ellum. With no signage, you might miss the place but luckily we spotted the door guy.

I met the owner Gabriel Sanchez when I asked for the menu and he said they don’t have a menu but would make me anything I wanted. He asked what I had been drinking and since my first drink was actually a dram of Scotch, he didn’t need any further detail.

My friend was presented with a tall frosty glass and when I exclaimed a Queen’s Park Swizzle, Gabe said it wasn’t exactly. No, it was a peach infused bourbon lip-smacking, “gobble it all down in this awful humidity” type of drink. I got an Old Fashioned variation with that same peach infused bourbon. Actually, the Black Swan has a lot of infusions and this one was very well done.

I’m calling this one “Good Times”

The bar was very busy so we didn’t get seats initially at the bar but we had a nice set up on the side. Eventually two bar seats opened up and we snagged them. My next drink was also a delicious whiskey cocktail. Gabe told me what was in it but I decided that if I lived in Dallas, and in particular, Deep Ellum, I didn’t really need to know what I was drinking because I was having a great time. This would be my home bar.

A little gin and juice

It was still pretty freaking muggy even late at night. I kept telling everyone I thought the air was “chewy” because it was thick. The only remedy is a cool refreshing libation. Dylan the other bartender on duty whipped up a gin concoction after I mentioned how much I like grapefruit.

Black Swan Saloon

margarita and Jackie O

Just a bit from Black Swan is Amoury D.E. which stands for Deep Ellum, of course. We wound up there on Independence Day and had drinks before watching fireworks. Although we had eaten, I wondered how small of a snack I could get away with at Amoury. They serve Hungarian food and I love Eastern European food.

My friend had a margarita while I decided on the Jackie O which came out looking like a whiskey and coke. I swear it’s a bit more complicated than that. Although it might as well be the fanciest whiskey and soda. It was deeply flavorful and had that soda zing.

Jackie O – rye whiskey, sarsaparilla, maple syrup, Angostura bitters, black walnut bitters

Last Caress at The Armoury

I’ve been drinking more juicy drinks during the summer so after my “coke,” I switched it up to more… whiskey. Hey, I don’t change that much. The Last Caress caught my eye as you don’t see Zwack in a cocktail much. It could have used a bit more egg white but overall it was refreshing.

Last Caress – rye, Angostura amaro, Zwack, orgeat, egg white, lemon

We didn’t make it to the speakeasy across the street but maybe next time I need a haircut… and a drink. Or I could just go back to Black Swan.

Armoury Deep Ellum

© The Minty 2016

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