A bar is only as good as the person heading it. The Highball knew this when they appointed Ryan Schibi to be the bar manager. The results speak for themselves as The Highball had the highest alcohol sales in Austin for January.

“I was completely floored,” said Schibi. “I have worked at busy bars before but we never made it into the top five. To hear that was awesome. The liquor reps came out full fledged when they saw the numbers we had in January. It’s a testament to the training the bar has gone through. There aren’t a lot of bars that have a 6th Street environment and can still make muddled drinks and use fresh ingredients. I make those poor guys squeeze the citrus by hand. It’s a nice compliment. We’re currently in the top five and that’s great.”

The numbers are enough to be proud of but Schibi prides himself on a combination of quality to go with the quantity. He spoke with us about the road that brought him here, the tasty updates to the bar menu and what makes The Highball special to him.

Though The Highball is relatively a newborn, Schibi’s considerable amount of experience in the Austin service industry helps to give it a strong foundation.

” I started back with Trudy’s back in 1997 and was a bartender there for several years before I was offered the head bar position, and then eventually I was promoted to bar manager,” Schibi explained. “However, I wanted to have a little bit more freedom to nurture my creative side. So I went to South Congress Cafe where I was able to work more with wine, which was a lot of fun because I got to go out and meet the liquor representatives.

Then, I ended up going to the Alamo Drafthouse and ended up at the Alamo Ritz. They had a liquor license so it was a match made in Heaven. I was able to use that creative drive to put what you saw on the screen in a movie into a form of a drink. I liked taking notes on the film and taking note of the regions in the film or what drinks the characters were drinking. When I got the position at The Highball I got to start really flexing my muscle.”

Schibi was able to do that from the beginning, as he was given the task of making a line-up of original cocktails to help separate The Highball from the number of bars in the state capitol.

“For the spring drinks I am focusing on what make a spring in Austin, which gets hot pretty quickly,” said Schibi. “There are some drinks this round that are more of a summer type. I am making a watermelon drink made with the watermelon juice we use every day. We are turning that into a mojito and using cachaca infused liquor with watermelon and ginger, because those two go great together. It also, of course, has mint. It’s a throwback drink and goes down pretty easily.

I’m also working on an old thyme lemonade with thyme infused simple syrup, a little bit of lemongrass and a couple of different types of vodka. That one might get a little dangerous because there are two ounces of alcohol in each drink and you don’t taste much in it at all, which is the sign of a balanced cocktail.

The third comes from my love for elderflower. It is a great complement to several base spirits. It’s called a Tequila Mockingbird. It’s got muddle cucumber, basil, some grapefruit juice and grapefruit infused tequila with some elderflower. That one is very springy.”

High expectations are met with high standards, which Schibi says translate to a better product.

“The specialty drinks are on the forefront and have been really well received. We don’t have a bad spirit in the house, said Schibi. “You won’t find rotgut anything here. Our well drinks are something to be proud of. Our base bourbon is Bulleit, Tanqueray for gin and Tito’s for vodka.

The bartenders’ training also has been a big plus. Each bartender has been trained to make each drink with consistency and were quizzed repeatedly on how to make the top thirty drinks of all-time. Anything from a traditional margarita to a mai tai is going to be done correctly here.

We had a drink on the original menu called The Daisy, which is a margarita made correctly. A correct margarita has lime juice, triple sec and tequila. It’s a bit tart. I like that kind of drink but the public sort of spoke out against it, so we took it off the menu. I’ll definitely bend when it comes to pleasing people but I am ultimately interested in making a correct and classic drink.”

Asked about his favorite drink, Schibi sticks to the classics.

“The Old Fashioned is my favorite when I go out with my wife and friends. I like a stout drink that lets you taste everything in it. I love tasting the spirit in it.”

Schibi’s appreciation of time-honored drinks and commitment to great service are just one of the reasons The Highball is raising the bar in Austin. Drop by and say hey to him. You may be able to twist his arm into making one of his special signature cocktails.

Tags: Ryan Schibi, The Highball