Where Mexico’s Spirits Tell their Story
Words Sandy Reitman | Photos Baptiste Despois
Tucked into a converted craftsman home, Seven Spirits is more than a bar; it’s an education in the soul of Mexican drinking culture. Owner Jose de Loera and David Blauer, managing partner, have built one of Austin’s most distinctive sipping experiences, rooted in over two decades of East Austin history.
Jose de Loera has been on the Eastside since 2000, long before the neighborhood became what it is today. Back then, East 6th Street was lined with cantinas and properties were affordable. Jose, on the other hand, saw the potential this creative side of town held, opening the small Mexican restaurant Takoba. Living in the corner room of the property behind what would eventually become Seven Spirits, he quietly watched the neighborhood shift around him. Artists came first, drawn by low rents and proximity to downtown. Bars followed, converting old houses into gathering spots. Through it all, Jose remained, and the bar he built with David is as much a product of that history as it is a destination in its own right.
Seven Spirits takes its name from the seven regional spirits of Mexico, and its menu is built to honor them all. Four are agave-based: mezcal (the wide-ranging spirit produced across nearly half the country), tequila (its more famous cousin from Jalisco), bacanora (exclusive to Sonora), and raicilla (a highland spirit from the mountains of Jalisco), and nayarit (which was illegal in Mexico until eight years ago). The remaining three come from other plants entirely: pox (a Mayan ceremonial corn spirit from Chiapas), charanda (a sugarcane rum unique to Michoacán), and sotol (made from the desert spoon plant across Northern Mexico and West Texas).
For most guests, mezcal is the entry point. But the spirit’s rise in the United States has been a long time coming. Tequila led the way throughout the 1990s and 2000s, but mezcal followed a different path. In 2009, a New York Times article spotlighted the spirit and its potential, and Jose took notice. At the time, only a handful of mezcal brands existed in the American market, and most consumers had never heard of it. “Once you get into it,” Jose says, “that’s all you want to drink.” The depth is part of the appeal. Where tequila is largely limited to one agave species and one region, mezcal draws from dozens of varieties across vastly different climates and elevations, producing a range of flavors as varied as wine.
That spirit of specificity carries into the food program. Everything is made in-house, including their nixtamalized tortillas. David encourages, “Come for the drinks and stay for the food.” In a neighborhood that has changed almost beyond recognition, Seven Spirits feels like something that was always meant to be.
Contact:
1411 E 7th St., Unit B
sevenspiritsaustin.com
@sevenspiritsaustin
