Austin’s nonalcoholic scene is bigger with the opening of a new bar. Taano House — a spin-off of Austin-based company Taano Elevated Beverages — opened at 1109 East Sixth Street in East Austin on August 15.
The bar aims to redefine social drinking by incorporating legal psychoactive plants into its drinks. The menu updates standard mocktails by making use of botanicals with rich global histories, such as kava (a plant root that contains sedative-like compounds), kanna (a chewable plant that eases anxiety), amanita muscaria (aka the psychoactive fly agaric mushroom), and blue lotus (a mildly psychoactive flower).
The drinks are supposed to promote relaxation, euphoria, and social connection without the impacts of alcohol. Those ingredients are used in classic-style cocktails with botanical twists. There’s the Egyptian Mule (blue lotus, Amethyst’s cucumber-ginger-serrano nonalcoholic spirit, ginger beer, lime juice, and simple syrup), and Molly Martini (kanna, espresso, Lyre’s nonalcoholic coffee liqueur, Lyre’s nonalcoholic white rum syrup, and vanilla).
Co-owners University of Texas at Austin professor Geoff Smith and Joe Wes formed Taano Elevated Beverages in late 2023, a culmination of their shared passion for exploring alcohol alternatives. They started working on opening Taano House as a way to further share their discoveries with the public. Helping them develop the cocktail menu is Shaun Meglen, who is the director of product education for Texas and mixologist for beverage distributor Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits
“Our goal is to create a familiar yet inviting atmosphere,” Smith and Wes write to Eater over email. “We want people to feel comfortable ordering their favorite cocktails while also exploring the benefits of these sustainable, healthy, and hangover-free plant-based options.”
Taano House operates out of a food truck with ample shaded seating. For those seeking more traditional nonalcoholic options, the bar also offers a selection of beers, wines, and spirits. There are plans to host events as well, ranging from academic lectures to DJ sets.
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