Sean Henry has already made a name for himself in the coffee world. Now he's ready to try his hand at cocktails.
Jettison, an espresso shot of a bar at the flourishing Sylvan Thirty complex in West Dallas, will specialize in two undersung heroes of the backbar, sherry and mezcal - while still showcasing the drink (coffee) that got Henry this far in the first place.
Currently in soft opening, the subtly chic digs adjoin Houndstooth Coffee, the fourth and most recent of Henry's Austin-based coffeehouse locations. The space is accessible both from the café and from a second entrance from outside.
The bar program is headed by George Kaiho, a veteran of both Tei-An and Parliament, with cocktails featuring fresh takes on both mezcal, the smoky spirit derived from Mexican agave, and sherry, the Spanish fortified wine.
Take the Red-Headed Oaxacan, Kaiho's play on the modern classic Penicillin, which subs mezcal and tequila for base Scotch (with a crafty float of Caol Ila 12), honeys up the ginger syrup and caps it with a rim of Himalayan salt, a common sidekick to agave spirits.
Or the sublime Good Morning Jerez, an addictively peppy blend of sweet East India Solera sherry, cold brew and cinnamon syrup that'll have you wishing you'd started ordering it earlier in the evening.
The mezcal Negroni ups the spirit and switches dry vermouth for sweet, while another twist on a classic, the BLVD, is a wake-up call of rye, espresso vermouth and two Italian bitter liqueurs, Campari and Averna.
Jettison, which will mark its grand opening on Oct. 21, isn't looking to be the premier carrier of either mezcal or sherry, just to have a solid and well-curated supply of each.
And a series of intimate Monday-night, drink-paired "pop-up suppers" kicked off last week with a mezcal-themed event, with several more to come - a French-themed wine dinner featuring chef Julien Eelsen of Whisk Crepes Cafe this Monday (Oct. 10), an Italian vermouth dinner on Oct. 17 with former Filament chef Cody Sharp; and a Spanish sherry dinner, also chef'd by Sharp, on Oct. 24.
Tickets are available here.
Jettison will no doubt draw a good part of its clientele from the Sylvan Thirty apartment complex just across the parking lot and from nearby neighbors like Teresa, an Oxford, England-born patron who praised the vibe of the place.
"It's bloody good," she told Henry. "I like the aesthetic here. You've got what they call 'a keen eye.' "
But if those of you further flung need another bullet point to make the drive down I-30, consider Henry's bar snack, doughnut segments - not only a playful alternative to nuts but a perfect complement to coffee that Henry may or may not continue.
"I don't see why not," he says.
