Sandra M.
Yelp
What can I say? It's the sister bar to Jet Setter so you know the cocktails will be excellent! Think of Pastiche as the charming french sister of the international, upscale brother bar (Jet Setter). Located within a neighborhood on the East Side (similar to Austin's Cherry/2nd street set up of bars within East Side neighborhoods) you'll find this quaint and un-bar like house. Parking is limited you'll need to find street parking or in front of one of the homes behind the bar. Similar to the Modernist, other than a placard that says "Pastiche" there is no way to tell that this is a bar, which i find absolutely lovely and appealing. As the name indicates it's a French themed bar they focus on french influenced cocktails, french wine, and French decor inside but if you aren't into the french "stuff" you'll be fine as they have regular cocktails, beer, and wine available as well to the debbie downers. I understand that they are trying to really support their local community and will be serving small bites and food options from nearby restaurants soon.
I love attending yelp events and I'm usually expecting small samples or tastes of the food/drinks so I was pleasantly surprised that they were providing us with full size cocktails- wow, that is awesome and I greatly appreciate the time, effort, and detail that Pastiche provided us and, most importantly, the quality of the cocktails! Here's what we got to try:
Bread Wine: Grape Brandy, Genever Gin, Rancio Sec, Byrrh, Rye bread, Raisins
Refresco de Limão e Cereja - Vodka, Kirschwasser, Ginja, Lime Cordial, Fresh Lemon, Sparkling Water
Tokaji Cobbler - Late Harvest Tokaji, Raspberry Brandy, Brown Sugar, Fresh Orange
Lemon Meringue Pie - Blanche Armagnac, Sauternes, Lemon Curd, Egg White
Bløødless Mary - Aquavit, Kümmel, Basil eau-de-vie, tomato consommé
I have to preface my review of the drinks with the fact that I am a whiskey gal so my palate and comments are based on my preference for that style of liquor.
Bread Wine: Not my jam in terms of flavor profile, I find gin to be too botanical for my taste. This one was very boozy with a very clean finish. Definitely an acquired taste.
-Refresco de Limão e Cereja - I'm not a big vodka fan but this was a fun cocktail and unexpectedly one of my favorites on the menu. Light, refreshing, and balanced. The lime cordial really gave this a nice punch of tart and sweet. I am now in love with lime cordial which, by the way, they make fresh in house! They make almost all their syrups and cordials fresh and in house (yay, for that. I am not a fan of cheap and chemical syrups so glad to see they use fresh ingredients).
-Tokaji Cobbler - this was probably the sweetest cocktail we had. Tokaji is a (Hungarian?) Sweet Wine and mixed with the brandy and sugar it was a tad too sweet for my taste but it was delicious! I would definitely order this again but maybe ask for a punch of citrus to brighten it up (like lime or lemon).
-Lemon Meringue Pie - I was fortunate enough to sit at the bar and was able to watch them make this drink. They spent a lot of time and love painstakingly making each one. Served in a tea cup and topped with a meringue cookie this was a lovely cocktail from presentation to taste. Looks can be deceiving it looked like a sweet drink but had little to no sweetness at all, it actually caught me off guard. My only recommendation is more meringue (it was so good! Crunchy on the outside and super soft and chewy on the inside).
-Bløødless Mary - I was surprised by how much I liked this drink! The tomato consomme is clear so you get this flavorful punch of tomato in a completely clear drink (like crystal clear Pepsi, remember those?). It was herby, it had great salinity, and just had wonderful layers of flavors that i couldn't stop sipping on this. Everytime I took a sip another flavor popped up.. wow. This is why I love cocktails, experiencing the "unexpected" and trying new flavors that have surprising depth with interesting combinations! I saw several reviews mention a pickle juice taste but I didn't get that at all - there was a lot of salt as in salinity and mixed with the kummel maybe it tasted that way for them. Kummel has caraway seed, fennel, and cumin.
Thank you, Pastiche, for your hospitality and amazing cocktails. I am definitely coming back soon and I plan to try your whole menu!!!