The first prerequisite for a great bar is an owner and staff that are serious about drinks. Beware of a place that tries to distract you from the serious purpose at hand — drinking. While researching this story, I found a bar where all the waitstaff and bartenders were female, young, gorgeous, and wearing tightly cinched bustiers. The place was jammed with our elected officials and the lobbyists that follow them everywhere. The pretty staff distracted the politicos from the pretty awful drinks. I should have known the second I walked in, but I was optimistic.

You don’t always have to go to a dedicated bar for a great drink. As a matter of fact, a high-end restaurant, where attention to detail is paramount, can frequently make great drinks. Most steak houses make good drinks. The high-end hotels (Four Seasons, Driskill, Stephen F. Austin) all know how to make a great drink. There are even a few good-drink places in town where the real purpose is sports, music, strippers, or finding a casual-sex partner. But just a few. If you are lucky enough to discover one, you can count your blessings.

See “Second Helpings” for some of the best.

This article appears in June 27 • 2003.

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Wes Marshall is the author of What's a Wine Lover To Do? (Artisan) and The Wine Roads of Texas (Maverick), as well as the Executive Producer of the PBS television series of the same name. Wes has written for The Austin Chronicle since 1999, covering wine, cocktails, food, and travel.