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Péché
Location: 208 W. 4th St.
Phone: (512) 495-9669
Cost: $$ ($=Under $10; $$=$11-30, $$$=$31-60, $$$$=$60+, avg cost per person including 1 drink, tax, and tip.)
Website: www.pecheaustin.com
The Informed Drinker is Austinist's new cocktail column. Each week, the city's bartenders tell us what to drink when.
“Absinthe is the holy grail of liquor.”
These are the words of Robert Pate, resident mixologist and co-owner of Austin's first absinthe bar, Péché. Did we mention he likes absinthe?
As students of alcohol history know, the production and importation of absinthe was illegal here in the United States until very recently: December 2007. Thanks to the Prohibitionists (seriously, thanks guys), the stuff had been banned Stateside since 1912, due to health concerns that its high alcohol content and compositional character caused madness. But who's madder than a drunk Austinite? No one, that's who. So when distilleries here in the U.S. slowly started to trickle out homemade absinthe, Pate jumped on-board. He opened Péché with business partner Greg Schnurr in October 2008, building on Pate’s 16-year career in Austin's warehouse district.
If you've never sipped absinthe before, do not be alarmed by its strong resemblance to antifreeze. Absinthe owes it greenish tint to green anise and wormwood, and Péché patrons can watch their drinks made the old-fashioned way as iced water is dripped from a traditional absinthe fountain over a sugar cube into an absinthe glass. It's kind of like being at Hogwarts, watching a potion being mixed. And according to Pate, their absinthe cocktails aren't the only magical menu offering.
“We make our own bitters at Péché, as well as ginger juice for ginger ale, and our own grenadine,” says Pate. “We try to make everything we can, because that's the only way we know it will be great. Anyone can buy this stuff, but we actually make it.”
Speaking of homemade, Péché is also one of the few places in town where an Austinite can feel grown-up ordering a milkshake. We recommend the Grass Hopper, a delightful combination of green and white Crème de Menthe, vodka and vanilla ice cream. That's right, vodka and ice cream: together at last!
Before Péché, Pate spent 12 years as a General Manager for Cedar Street, which he and Schnurr also co-own. He first came to Austin's warehouse district in 1993 however, as bar manager for the Bitter End.
“At Bitter End, we played a lot with old classic drinks,” says Pate of the late, great Colorado St. pub. “It was there I discovered that I needed to know - and love - absinthe. We looked for it forever.”
Now that Pate has found it, and is pulling out all of the old school cocktail stops, The Informed Drinker asked him which three drinks he would recommend for three different scenarios: rebelliousness, gluttony, and heartache.
Absinthe was long-banned here in the States. Similarly, what should we order at Péché when feeling rebellious?
“Definitely the Corpse Reviver #2,” says Pate of the gin-based cocktail, mixed with cointreau, Lillet Blanc, lemon juice, and a splash of absinthe. “This is a drink so good, it will wake the dead.”
Jason Dodge's French menu at Péché has garnered rave reviews. If we're ordering a particularly rich dish, which drink helps clear the palate?
“The Paris Manhattan will help you clean any palate,” says Pate. Made with cognac, sweet vermouth, St. Germain, and those homemade bitters, The Paris Manhattan is a no-nonsense New York drink softened with French flavor sensbilities.
Let's say someone is in the mood to forget. What, we're not sure. What drink should we order if we want to dismiss a bad memory - fast?
“Death in the Afternoon,” says Pate of this deliberately simple drink: a jigger of absinthe, mixed with a touch of iced champagne. “Hemingway loved it.”
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While their cocktails are great, their choice in music was inappropriately mainstream the two times I have been there. It was bad enough for myself and my company to notice. I can not believe the owners would spend the $$$ on such a nice interior and not give the music played there more thought.
That's an excellent point, wfiveash. Some scratchy big band stuff would work nicely, I think. That or something mellow and lo-fi. What would you suggest, if creating Peche's playlist?
Some nice 50's jazz (think MD's Kind of Blue) would be a good start.
Nice article..i like it.have cocktail party with nice music is really amazing..
That's too bad about your music experience. The three times I've been to Péché the music has been outstanding. A mix of low-key, classic jazz instrumentals and mellow vocal standards. I thought it was a nice touch. Anyway, about the cocktails...
So, I'm more of a savory drink lover and must tell you that most of the drinks on Péché's menu are of the SWEET variety. There are many cocktails that call for bar syrup when, I feel, they already include sweet ingredients. For instance, I thought their Sazarac was too sweet as made. I asked for another without the bar syrup and it was nearly perfect. I say nearly because I'm an impossible purist (from NOLA) and like what I like the way I like it.
I did have a great waitress who said "oh, you should try our SERIOUS cocktails" which perked my ears. Next up was the Bronx Bomber (apparently incorrectly listed as the "Black Bomber" on the menu) which contained two of my favorite things: gin and espresso. It was SERIOUS.
I think their decor and style are spot on and the backdrop of bottles is worth forgoing the comfy sofas and sitting at the bar. The barkeeps, with their black vests over rolled-up white sleeves give pretty good conversation, too.