Credit: Photo by John Anderson

Townhouse

303 W. Fifth, 656-9441
Tuesday-Friday, 5pm-2am; Saturday, 7pm-2am
www.infusedhouse.com

Townhouse is a complete 180 from Tigress, set in a large space with plenty of seating – even a patio – in a darkish, old library atmosphere. The wall-to-wall bar shelves are replete with bottles of every spirit imaginable, plus large glass urns filled with house-infused liquors. The staff is well-trained in the art of modern creative cocktailing, their work space resembling an apothecary’s lab with ingredients like herb tinctures, artisanal bitters, and various homemade flavored simple syrups. Highlights from a recent visit: Where Is My Stapler?, made with tomato-infused Tito’s, fresh cucumber, basil, and black pepper simple syrup garnished with a pepper-dusted cucumber spear; the Freshershest: Scarlet Ibis rum, flamed pineapple, lime tincture, Campari, and soda; and French 69, with pink-peppercorn-infused gin, lemon, sparkling wine, and a spray of crème de violet. Townhouse’s version of the margarita, named Cheech or Chong(?), is made with smoked vanilla-infused tequila, pasilla chile syrup, lime, and Cointreau, and rimmed with a house-seasoned salt. Everything we had was to our liking, and the bartenders were more than happy to help us narrow down the menu according to our preferences. All menu drinks are $5 on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

This article appears in September 17 • 2010.

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Mexico City native Claudia Alarcón has made Austin home since 1984. She worked her way through college in the local restaurant industry, graduating from the University of Texas in 1999. She has been a Chronicle contributor for 15 years and presents lectures and workshops on topics related to the foodways of Mexico, both locally and internationally.