And so I find myself seated at an Austin happy hour during the nerdy, educational portion of SXSW. At least I’m fairly certain it’s the nerdier portion. There are many people walking around in backpacks and lanyards, clogging the elevators in my hotel with their talk of education and team building. I’m not actually here for the conference. I’m here for my sister’s hotel room, the indoor pool and the promise of recovering from a very recent emergency visit to the dentist for a molar extraction.
Happy hour, I think. That’s what I need.
Thankfully the dentist does not call to check in on me while we head to Parkside, a classy and non-touristy restaurant on 6th, where we down a dozen East Coast oysters and a side of tots that come with little foraged mushrooms that are so small and obnoxiously kitten-level cute, my sister and I actually say awww before we devour them.
A sip of the Rose Parade and I know I’ve made the correct choice for my remaining teeth. Here’s a drink that’s barely sweet at all but heavy on the aromatics. This tincture is basically the magical booze form of Smith’s Rosebud Salve. It’s a walk through a rose garden. I sip. I swish. Rinse with diluted mouthwash every four hours, the dentist had said. Close enough.
2 oz. Rose Hendricks
0.25 oz. Noilly Rouge
0.25 oz. Lillet Blanc
2 dashes Orange Bitters
Stir, strain in a Coupe glass.
This article appears in Mar 2-8, 2017.
