BAR REVIEW: Botøníca

There are a lot of cocktail bars in Houston, but outside of a few Asian and Tiki-inspired outliers, there isn't exactly a ton of thematic variety. So when a heavily Latin-influenced spot popped up on the west side, you know I had to check it out.

Botøníca is the brainchild of Alexis Mijares, who was part of the James Beard Award-winning team at Julep (my #2 cocktail bar in Houston) in 2022 and also apparently created the drink menu at ChòpnBlọk, where I had coincidentally eaten just the night before. This spot opened a few months ago on the ground floor of SkyHouse River Oaks, which is in fact not in River Oaks, but near Uptown/Highland Village. It took the place of Aero Cocktail Co., which closed before I could check it out. Somewhat worryingly, it was not very busy during prime Saturday night drinking hours, so let's hope they avoid the same fate.

The space is quite dark and moody, with some plush couches and chairs at the front along with a curved bar in one corner and some greenery scattered throughout. It seemed as if there were some other seating areas further back that I couldn't see, and apparently there are plans to open a second-floor space with another bar in the future. Drinks are, as you might expect, made largely from Latin American spirits. The menu includes a selection of quite interesting house cocktails (Cocteles de la Casa), a page devoted to different types of margaritas (El Camino de la Margarita), and a massive section featuring classic Latin-inspired cocktails (La Huella Liquida) with both the place of origin and year of invention, which was quite titillating for me.

If you're in the mood for something boozy, the "Zocolo" is the way to go. Perhaps a misspelling or derivation of the Mexican word for town square/plaza, this drink consists of rye and corn whiskey, aged cachaca, sweet vermouth, campari, cuarenta y tres, and tonka bean for some warm spicy notes. As you can probably tell from the six different alcoholic ingredients, this is not for the faint of heart. But it was surprisingly smooth and balanced, with vanilla and cinnamon flavors tempering the fiery liquors.

On the other end of the spectrum is another house cocktail, the "Mōlli Margarita", which is somewhat confusingly not in the previously referenced El Camino de la Margarita section. Comprised of tequila and mezcal, Nixta licor de elote, mole xica, mango, cacao, and lime, this concoction is milk-washed to soften up the astringency of the spirits. If you're not familiar with this process, basically it entails adding whole milk to the drink, then some acid to break down the milk, and straining out the curds, leaving the whey component to add an interesting texture to the final product. This one was quite sweet and mango-forward, with a hint of nuttiness from the corn liquor, and garnished with a corn husk to bring it all together.

I wanted to try something from the endless listings of classic Latin cocktails, but it was a bit difficult to narrow them down, so I opted for a beverage from an upcoming travel destination. The "Cynar Julep" was born in the early 2000's in Buenos Aires, and consists of everyone's favorite artichoke amaro (which I only just learned is pronounced "chin-ar" and not "sigh-nar"), grapefruit, lemon, mint, and soda. This was a pretty funky mixture, very herbaceous from the Cynar yet tangy and bitter from the grapefruit. The lemon and mint tried their best to level things out a bit, but I wouldn't recommend this one unless you are into really weird drinks.

A few others of note: the "Chamuyera" is a beautifully-presented dessert-esque cocktail with rum, banana, dulce de leche, and coconut milk, and the "Nocturna", which utilizes sotol, chicha morada (an Andean purple corn beverage with which I was not familiar), blueberry, lemon, Thai basil, and some chile. The latter is available in a zero-proof version if you are the designated driver for the evening. There's food as well, and while I was still too full from dinner at Musaafer to order anything, I tried a bite of a pretty nice ceviche, with sweet potato puree and leche de tigre, served with fried plantain chips.

In summary, Botøníca is an exciting young cocktail bar that is different than almost anything else in Houston with its heavily Latin roots and flavors. I'm hoping that it succeeds, though I am a bit concerned about the location. If you enjoy tequila, mezcal, and beyond, or just want to try some new drinks, it's worth a visit.

RANKING UPDATE: This debuts at #17 on my Best Cocktail Bars in Houston list.

NEXT UP: The debut of my Best Bakery rankings!