A Night of Jazz music and Tongue Cut Sparrow Classics
with refuge events
My weekends aren’t complete without a check-in with my girls over good food, cocktails and great vibes and one of my favorite cocktail bars, Refuge (formally known as Tongue Cut Sparrow) reprised some of the TCS Cocktail favorites accompanied with Jazz music in their gorgeous new event space for a perfectly curated night. This is one of the first events Refuge has thrown since opening this year, and they did not disappoint. Check out my experience below.
Before we get into this experience, one thing you should know about me? If there's two things I'll spend my money on, it's a craft cocktail, and a well curated experience. This gave me that and so much more. Now, I didn’t always understand the value in a good drink experience. Frankly in college, I just needed something to get the job done, that didn’t taste too bad going down. Back then, my go-to drink was either a sex on the beach (how cute), or something simple like rum and pineapple juice.. (And I’m not going to talk about the days we were drinking Burnetts vodka).
But since I’ve grown up (Laughs in adulting is ghetto), and moved to Houston, my taste has changed. Now, don’t get me wrong, rum and pineapple juice still does the trick (though, I prefer my juice freshly squeezed now), but when it comes to a crafted cocktail, the dive bars in Houston know what they’re doing. They’ve opened me up to a whole new world, and now there’s nothing that'll stop me from spending $15 on a balanced, boozy drink in a coupe glass; why? Because to me, its’ more than the drink. Do you understand the level of skill, patience, creativity and audacity it takes to consistently create a unique, delicious, drink along with a vibe that perfectly compliments it? From the presentation, the music, interior, overall concept, and the knowledge of the servers, it all matters, and it all adds value to the experience. These bartenders and bar owners are artists and I have immense respect and admiration for the people who work in this industry. But, no one, and I mean no one does it better than Refuge (this is a challenge to prove me wrong, btw.)
So, let's get into it. We enter the building. We’re greeted by the one and only, owner, restaurateur, and ultimate creative genius in the hospitality industry, Bobby Huegel, who not only is the co-founder for Refuge, Anvil , Tongue Cut Sparrow (now Refuge), but he’s also the reason why places like Squabble, Better Luck Tomorrow, and if you remember Pastry War, exist. But more on him and the rest of his businesses another time.
We’re given a warm towel to clean our hands with, and a menu. As mentioned, this night is a ode to Tongue Cut Sparrow and their most popular drinks, so with a glass of champagne to start, we are also given 3 cocktails each to select and try from the menu. There’s four of us, so we decide to each choose a different cocktail,giving us a good taste of the menu for each round. First round, The Hotel Nacional, Shiso Gimlet, and The Dot and Line, a romance between primary colors.
make your own
Hotel Nacional
I ordered the Hotel Nacional to start. Now if you’re a rum and pineapple girl like myself, this is something you’d also enjoy. This classic cocktail originated from Cuba and is named after the Hotel Nacional, and is said to be crafted by Will P. Taylor.
Now, again, this is a simple cocktail and a fairly safe option for any dive bar you go to, as this is a staple all bartenders should know. The ingredients are simple. Pineapple juice (fresh), rum, fresh lime juice, simple syrup, and the razzle dazzle, apricot liquor. It’s balanced, its boozy, its tart, but sweet, and so good. Two of us actually ordered this, and we enjoyed it. But what elevates this drink in particular? Well, aside from fresh ingredients, and good rum, its presentation. This drink is traditionally served in a coupe glass, with a lime wheel, but here? Coupe glass, yes, but the typical lime wheel has been substituted for a cocktail cherry wrapped in dried apricot with a metal cocktail pick through it. For me, that level of intention and detail for something so subtle makes a difference. You can learn more about the history of this cocktail and make your own at home here.
The Dot and the Line - A Romance between primary colors
The next drink was The Dot and the Line - A Romance between primary colors, which was a fun take on the classic Gin Sour. Another classic, and delicious cocktail. As mentioned, presentation will always elevate a cocktail, but along with that, you need creativity. They could've just called it a simple gin sour, but they named it The Dot and the Line - A Romance between primary colors, adding a blue line and red dot atop the cocktail. Which is actually a nod to the academy winning short animated film, The Dot and the Line - A Romance between lower mathematics. An added layer of detail that took something simple and made it into something very cool and memorable. Along with serving it in a deep sour glass, this was a perfect twist on a classic cocktail. Make your own gin sour at home here. And watch the short film here, (it’s actually really cute).
shiso gimlet
So we’ve discussed presentation, and creativity, but this cocktail wraps it up, leaving our 3rd element that elevates a cocktail: Taste. To me, this cocktail was the perfect combination of all elements, why? Let's start with the ingredients. Served in a Nick and Nora glass, topped with a shiso leaf, and the perfect shade of green (my favorite color), the presentation was elegant and simple. Keeping the look of the cocktail minimalistic, yet tasteful was perfect, because the ingredients spoke for themselves. Now, when it comes to creativity, rather than looking at the presentation of the cocktail, this time we’re going to discuss the ingredients. Gin, shiso, lime and wait for it… aloe. An interesting combination of ingredients that work so well together, but not something you’d typically see at every cocktail bar. I even googled the recipe, and there are so many variations of a “Shiso gimlet”, but none that have these exact ingredients. And I’ll mention again, when it comes to ingredients, FRESH squeezed juices, and homemade simple syrups and mixes will be the thing that takes the drink to the next level. But the level of creativity it takes to make a perfectly balanced cocktail like this, try out different variations and land on such a drink is a form of genius and I know it came from someone with a trained palate. Which leads me to of course, taste. Shiso, which is an herb within the mint family, gave the cocktail a bite that paired perfectly with the refreshing taste of the lime and aloe. And the gin, which is typically more on the floral side when it comes to spirits, brought out all of those flavors beautifully. We could have drank these all night and would have been ridiculously happy.. And drunk. Make your gimlet here, and maybe put your own spin on it.
With us all having the shiso gimlet for our second round (I promise, it was the good), we ended the night ordering espresso martinis, another Hotel Nacional, and another gimlet (surprise), rounding off a perfect cocktail experience.
When it comes to presentation, creativity, and taste, Refuge, (or in this case, Tongue Cut Sparrow) has it all . Though these drinks were only reprised for one night only, Refuge continues to flex its skill with its unique cocktail menu in their upstairs bar that’s open weekly. And with this new event space, they’ve been hosting great cocktail events for their guests that will continue through the year (Check out my experience at their mezcal tasting here!). Follow Refuge on Instagram, for the most up to date information on future events, and book your reservations for a night at Refuge, here. Who knows, you may see me there too, begging the bartenders for another gimlet.
