Anvil
1424 Westheimer, Ste. B, 77006
www.anvilhouston.com
Anvil bar & refuge has already made an impression on the local Houston crowd, serving cocktails featuring hand-pressed juices, house-made bitters, simple syrups, ginger beer and herbal infusions, each poured over perfectly made Kold-draft ice into beautiful vintage glassware you might find in your mother or grandmother’s china cabinet.
The three managing partners who man the bar are equally at ease shaking a cocktail as they are telling you exactly why the egg white that’s dropped into the shaker is the classic preparation of any good “Fizz” cocktail, the history of the bourbon they’re pouring, or the lore surrounding a drink’s origins. Don’t see anything on their always-changing list of cocktails that piques your interest (and that would be hard to believe) -- just tell them what kind of mood you are in and the perfect cocktail appears. Beer aficionados need not worry as they can choose from a list of over 100 bottles of American micro-brews or from one of a dozen perfectly-drafted pints of hard-to-find and limited quantity micros and cask beers, each one drawn through custom-regulated pressure valves to ensure it’s served exactly as the brewer intended.
Sounds fussy? But it’s not. While managing partners Robert Heugel, Kevin Floyd and Justin Burrow, all recognized bar talents from well-known Houston establishments that include Monica Pope’s Beaver’s Barbecue, Scott Tycer’s Textile and Gravitas, and Benjy’s, are dead serious about their craft, the equipment and techniques they use and the products they serve, they have created a bar that is lively, warm, and approachable and attracts guests who cross all age groups and lifestyles. Designed and built by the partners, Anvil is housed in a 1950’s building that was once a tire store; the modern industrial design is softened by the rich, recycled natural materials used to furnish the bar and reflects the same respect for history, elegant simplicity, and raw ingredients as the cocktails that are served there.
Signature cocktails include:
The signature Border Storm, Anvil’s riff on the traditional Caribbean Dark in Stormy, uses blackstrap rum and house-fermented Texas ginger beer that’s been spiked with some chile pepper for a slight kick; a drop of chile tincture for a bit more heat and some fresh lime juice are added, and the drink is served over a mound of crushed ice for a deeply flavored, soulful drink.
The Vanishing Act is a refreshing marriage of two classics – the Violet Fizz and the Bee’s Knees – that balances the delicate flavors of violet and honey in a base of gin, lemon and bitters. Add an egg white, shake and a delightfully light, slightly sweet and perfumed cocktail appears.
Take two parts of chamomile-infused Pisco, one part of the more obscure Bianco Vermouth, and a dash of orange bitters and you have the Peruvian Riddle, showcasing the trend of lighter flavors and infusions that are appearing in cocktails this summer.
Ask Heugel which is the most innovative on the menu and it would be The Brave, a mix of mezcal, sotol, amaro, Curacao and bitters. “You won’t find anything like this in any bar anywhere, and it’s really for the bravest of cocktail enthusiasts,” notes Heugel. “I like it because it features Mexican spirits, which have a strong tradition in Southern Texas and which I’ve been mixing in cocktails for years. The drink is intensely aromatic because I serve it in a wine glass to capture the nose of the spirits as well as the aromatics from the flamed orange zest and the bitters.”
Called the Finicky Quill, this innovation blends the classic summer combo of gin and campari with house-made grapefruit beer. Sounds delicious already? Heugel adds a more complex layer of flavors by first muddling locally-grown kaffir lime leaf in the glass with a bit of honey and lemon for a drink that is more than the sum of its ingredients. This refreshing mix of delicate pink is served over a snow-cone mound of crushed ice, adding a wonderful childhood flashback to this very adult concoction.
Named after a Mayan calendar, The Haab mixes tequila with the esoteric xtabentun, a traditional Mayan liqueur made from rum, honey and anis. This drink is the perfect example of the Anvil philosophy of introducing customers to new spirits by combining them with accessible flavors like pineapple juice and the vanilla-lavender bitters that are added to this drink.
