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The bar at Victory Lap
Richard Casteel

The 13 Hottest New Cocktail Destinations in Austin Right Now

Where to drink right now this September

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The bar at Victory Lap
| Richard Casteel

Welcome to the latest installment of Eater Austin’s cocktail heatmap, a map of the hottest, buzziest boozing destinations around town. This means the latest bars in town, hot new restaurants offering serious cocktail games, or even older spots mixing it up with a new bar program, all under a year old.

Local bars and restaurants have really stepped up their games to create the best cocktails right now. This September update includes day-glo bar Saturn and sports bar Victory Lap.

For the city’s must-hit essential cocktail bars, Eater has it covered elsewhere, along with the best all-around bars and restaurant bars. And then there are guides to other specific drinks, like refreshing frozen drinks, those other Austin cocktail staples margaritas and Mexican martinis, craft beer, wine, happy hours, bloody marys, and mimosas.

Did Eater miss a recent spot or restaurant with an amazing cocktail program? Show it some love via email.

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Eater maps are curated by editors and aim to reflect a diversity of neighborhoods, cuisines, and prices. Learn more about our editorial process.

Double Trouble

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The new North Loop vegan coffeeshop and taco spot also has a full bar, including two rotating frozen cocktails (currently a paloma and a tropical drink). Double Trouble opened in June with indoor and outdoor dining services, including an ample patio.

Visitant Social Club

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This tiny trailer behind Progress Coffee + Beer opened in May. Visitant serves only four cocktails a night, and guests can reserve for an hour at a time by DMing the bar. Visitant is open for indoor drinking.

A hand holding a red cocktail with a crafted bee on an orange in front of a plant wall
A cocktail from Visitant
Dani Parsons

Bar Toti

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Cherrywood Mexican seafood restaurant Este expanded with an intimate indoor-outdoor bar next door in April. Drinks-wise, this means Mexican cocktails like margaritas and carajillos, alongside aperitivos.

Look for neon colors and fruity cocktails at downtown bar Saturn, which opened in July. Owner Steven Smith describes the cocktails as “playful, extremely neon-colored club drinks...[that] drink like you’re having a fun party.” Think, Mommy & Daddy Time, his version of a Pornstar martini made with guava accompanied by a side pour of sparkling wine.

Sign Bar

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Sign Bar opened in June with cocktails served with a big helping of Austin nostalgia. The main attraction is the various signs from Austin businesses, although cocktails include drinks like a spicy margarita and a blackberry mule. There are indoor and outdoor seating areas.

Estelle's

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The new very large downtown lounge (in the former original Truluck’s space) offers a cocktail menu inspired by its on-site flower shop since opening in May. This means drinks making use of fruits and floral ingredients like the Pastel made with hibiscus or the matcha martini with dragonfruit. There are indoor dine-in services.

Austin Garden & Studio

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The largest of three bars at the new Inn Cahoots, this ground-floor, indoor-outdoor space has music-themed drinks like the Rocket Man with vodka, coffee liqueur, and chocolate.

Bar Mischief

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This small cocktail bar at Inn Cahoots has a loungey vibe and cocktails from beverage director Jorge Viana, like a curried milk punch.

The third bar at Inn Cahoots has indoor/outdoor seating with cabanas, a stage, and lounge seating. All three bars opened in July.

Holiday

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The Govalle bar opened in March, where co-owner Erin Ashford’s bar genius is clearly evident through the cocktail menu. The delightful drinks include fancies such as the savory-ish Virgo’s Groove with a bell pepper-infused sotol or the frozen Mexican martini. There are indoor and outdoor dine-in services.

Hopscotch

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Hopscotch is a wine bar from the Elementary that also serves cocktails. Look for drinks like the the Rhubarb Snaquiri made with a rabarbaro amaro liqueur along with small plates and appetizers made with repurposed food waste from Elementary. It opened in July.

Elementary

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The creative cocktails at Elementary make use of surprising food combinations, much like the food. There’s an Eggo-spresso martini made with Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal milk and a cosmopolitan made with fermented Kool-Aid. It opened in July.

Victory Lap

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This campus-adjacent sports bar, which opened in September, comes from fast-growing hospitality group NoCo, who also own retro bar Skinny’s Off-Track Lounge and bar/flower shop Estelle’s. Victory Lap serves cold beers and spicy margaritas indoors or on the turf-covered patio — which has fans and big screen TVs.

Double Trouble

The new North Loop vegan coffeeshop and taco spot also has a full bar, including two rotating frozen cocktails (currently a paloma and a tropical drink). Double Trouble opened in June with indoor and outdoor dining services, including an ample patio.

Visitant Social Club

This tiny trailer behind Progress Coffee + Beer opened in May. Visitant serves only four cocktails a night, and guests can reserve for an hour at a time by DMing the bar. Visitant is open for indoor drinking.

A hand holding a red cocktail with a crafted bee on an orange in front of a plant wall
A cocktail from Visitant
Dani Parsons

Bar Toti

Cherrywood Mexican seafood restaurant Este expanded with an intimate indoor-outdoor bar next door in April. Drinks-wise, this means Mexican cocktails like margaritas and carajillos, alongside aperitivos.

Saturn

Look for neon colors and fruity cocktails at downtown bar Saturn, which opened in July. Owner Steven Smith describes the cocktails as “playful, extremely neon-colored club drinks...[that] drink like you’re having a fun party.” Think, Mommy & Daddy Time, his version of a Pornstar martini made with guava accompanied by a side pour of sparkling wine.

Sign Bar

Sign Bar opened in June with cocktails served with a big helping of Austin nostalgia. The main attraction is the various signs from Austin businesses, although cocktails include drinks like a spicy margarita and a blackberry mule. There are indoor and outdoor seating areas.

Estelle's

The new very large downtown lounge (in the former original Truluck’s space) offers a cocktail menu inspired by its on-site flower shop since opening in May. This means drinks making use of fruits and floral ingredients like the Pastel made with hibiscus or the matcha martini with dragonfruit. There are indoor dine-in services.

Austin Garden & Studio

The largest of three bars at the new Inn Cahoots, this ground-floor, indoor-outdoor space has music-themed drinks like the Rocket Man with vodka, coffee liqueur, and chocolate.

Bar Mischief

This small cocktail bar at Inn Cahoots has a loungey vibe and cocktails from beverage director Jorge Viana, like a curried milk punch.

IYKYK

The third bar at Inn Cahoots has indoor/outdoor seating with cabanas, a stage, and lounge seating. All three bars opened in July.

Holiday

The Govalle bar opened in March, where co-owner Erin Ashford’s bar genius is clearly evident through the cocktail menu. The delightful drinks include fancies such as the savory-ish Virgo’s Groove with a bell pepper-infused sotol or the frozen Mexican martini. There are indoor and outdoor dine-in services.

Hopscotch

Hopscotch is a wine bar from the Elementary that also serves cocktails. Look for drinks like the the Rhubarb Snaquiri made with a rabarbaro amaro liqueur along with small plates and appetizers made with repurposed food waste from Elementary. It opened in July.

Elementary

The creative cocktails at Elementary make use of surprising food combinations, much like the food. There’s an Eggo-spresso martini made with Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal milk and a cosmopolitan made with fermented Kool-Aid. It opened in July.

Victory Lap

This campus-adjacent sports bar, which opened in September, comes from fast-growing hospitality group NoCo, who also own retro bar Skinny’s Off-Track Lounge and bar/flower shop Estelle’s. Victory Lap serves cold beers and spicy margaritas indoors or on the turf-covered patio — which has fans and big screen TVs.

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