Craft Cocktails in Arlington, TX

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The list, with prices

Seventeen cocktails make up the house list at Mercury Chophouse – Arlington. Nothing on it is under $16 or over $20, and the book names the spirit behind most of them.

The printed book is on the site’s cocktails and spirits page, and it notes that selections are subject to availability and that seasonal drinks rotate through.

The two whiskey drinks the bar is known for

The Steakhouse Old-Fashioned, $19, is the drink that tells you where you are. The Knob Creek bourbon and rye are washed with beef tallow, which gives the spirit a rounder, savory weight, and a measure of Fonseca port takes the place of plain syrup. It is a cocktail designed to be drunk beside a Hand-Cut Ribeye at $75, and it is the one guests photograph.

The MCA Smoked Manhattan, $18, is stirred with Old Bardstown bourbon, Dolin sweet vermouth and Angostura, then finished with smoke. Between the two, the Manhattan is drier and the Old-Fashioned is richer; order the Manhattan before dinner and the Old-Fashioned with the steak. The whiskey page lists the roughly 60 bottles behind them.

Texas, agave and citrus

Six drinks lean toward citrus and agave. The Margarita on the Rock, $20, is the most expensive cocktail on the list and the most stripped down: Wild Common blanco tequila, lime and agave, nothing else. The Hibiscus Ranchwater, $17, is the Texas highball with a floral turn. The Naked & Famous, $19, is the mezcal drink, equal parts Banhez mezcal, Aperol, yellow Chartreuse and lime.

The Cowboy Daiquiri, $17, and the Arlington Cosmopolitan, $17, with St George citrus vodka and Ferrand dry curaçao, carry local names on classic frames. The Paper Plane, $18, is the whiskey option in this group for guests who want citrus without tequila.

Bubbles, gin and the lighter end

The $16 and $17 tier is where the lighter drinks live. Ladies First, $16, combines Wheatley vodka, lemon, berry coulis and rosé bubbles. The MCA French 75, $17, is the sparkling classic, and the Bubbly Husband, $17, carries its bubbles in the name. Flight Delay, $16, is built on Citadelle gin with maraschino, violette and lemon, and the Strawberry Negroni, $17, is the bitter one.

The 2017 Sidecar, $17, uses Ferrand 1840 Cognac and Ferrand dry curaçao with lemon, and it is the pre-dinner drink for guests who want brown spirit without whiskey. The Jaffar, $16, with Malibu, Midori and pineapple, is the sweetest drink on the list. The Mandarin Smash, $17, and the Dauphine, $16, round it out; the book does not print their builds, so ask.

After dinner

The cocktail list continues past the entrées. The Espresso Martini, $17, is made classic or contemporary, the Chocolate Martini, $16, uses house-made vanilla vodka and Mozart, and the Carajillo, $17, comes layered or shaken. Five shaken ice cream cocktails, from the Grasshopper at $17 to the Brandy Alexander and the Apple Pie à la Mode at $18, are dessert in a glass. The martini page has the details.

Beer, and where you drink all of this

Three drafts come from a Dallas brewery: Manhattan Project Half Life hazy IPA at $8, Peacekeeper blonde at $7 and Necessary Evil pilsner at $7. The bottle list, $6 to $14, covers Shiner Bock, Stella, Modelo, Heineken, a Heineken 0.0 for the designated driver, and Chimay.

The bar is marble-topped with a full back bar and TVs, and a grand piano stands beside the windows a few steps away. It opens with the dining room at 11:00 AM on weekdays and at 4:00 PM on Saturday, closes at 9:00 PM Monday through Thursday and 10:00 PM Friday and Saturday, and is closed on Sunday. There is no published happy hour, so the prices above are the prices at any hour. Dress is business casual; ball caps and hoodies are on the prohibited list. The bar page describes the room and the view.