Batch — Restaurant in Tucson

The other day I was burnt out from the monotonous routine and drudgery of modern life. And its in those fine moments between the soul shadows of destitution that one finds solace in the strangest of delights. It could be a hummingbird outside the window, a kind, passing smile from a stranger or seeing your ex doing horrible in life on social media. For me, I was doomscrolling on TikTok wondering why I’m still going through the humiliation ritual of showing up to a job when all these youths are making 6 figures doing dances and illegal street racing videos. This spiraled me into further depression up until, UP UNTIL, I came across a video using a song from yesteryear some of you are probably familiar with. Tubthumping by a band called Chumbawumba. The one hit wonder other one hit wonders wish they could be. I couldn’t name any other song by Chumbawumba. I do not know the name of the lead singer or that female backup let alone the other band members (who I hope are getting healthy royalties).

All I know is that that song is a saving grace when I get knocked down and need to get up again. I really feel like it should be federally mandated that all radio stations keep that in rotation at least 5 times a day to keep citizen morale at a healthy and non-mutinous level. Rock 102.1 KFMA has my main number blocked, but that won’t stop me from buying shady burner phones and cycling through my 10 favorite aliases——top two favorite being: Dirk Thunderpunch and Randy Pickles—-and continue getting through the lines to demand that this sonic gift from the heavens be played. Anyway, those familiar lyrics hit hard this time around:

“He drinks a whiskey drink, He drinks a Vodka drink, He drinks a Lager drink, He drinks a cider drink

He sings the songs that remind him of the good times. He sings the songs that remind him of the better times.” Now my liver was still recovering from a vodka, lager and cider drinks in the past month. Don’t ask me about the cider. I was hanging out with one of those tarot card, witchcraft and knife collection type girls recently and she was all about cider. That left whiskey drink on my OCD completionist card and I wanted to do some poetic justice as a silent nod to the song that has gotten me through some dark times in my past. You play that song and Mr. Brightside after a breakup, all the lessons I learned from red flags will be wiped clean and i’ll be back in the field in no time.

Now, there are plenty of watering holes here in the Old Pueblo, but there’s one spot I was meaning to return to after I had a great experience alongside a friend who was a whiskey snob. I absorbed some of the whiskey connoisseur aura from him and wanted to flex and get a little whiskey risky myself so I made my way over to Congress and entered BATCH. Now this is a place that also makes their own donuts and little did I know what a good pairing whiskey and donuts would be because usually when I get cowboy drunk, I end up assaulting a fat, slightly undercooked, overly processed cheese and meat burrito with my mouth and wake up with my shirt missing and rice and lettuce all over my chest and then pray for forgiveness. But getting buzzed on some high quality hooch from the highlands and enjoying a craft donut would keep my dignity in tact. I sat in a stool and marveled at this high rise, narrow alley of a bar with a respectable collection of walled whiskeys stacked like a holy display of distilled debauchary. I says to the barkeep: “something that's been aged longer than most modern relationships. Preferably something kissed by the mist of a Highland morning and stirred twice by a Scotsman's broken heart. And if it doesn’t have at least three confusing flavor notes like 'barn wood,' 'leather boots,' and 'the distant memory of fire,' honestly, is it even worth sipping?” He smiled and pulled out a bottle of Lagavulin 16 Year Old and said “here’s to the best times” and I said “thanks Danny Boy”. I drank all night, got knocked down, got up again and ran from the cops on 4th avenue. Never gonna keep me...

I would give zero stars if I could.

We have always been a huge fan but this place has gone down hill!

The bearded bartender (sorry I didn’t get his name) needs lessons in how to treat others- especially if he’s trying to make money. We waited for 15 minutes to be greeted. He was standing 1 foot from us having a conversation and looked at us 5 times without even a “Hello.”

We eventually gave our order to the female bartender (again, sorry I didn’t get names). She was lovely and also swamped! She was handling all the outdoor tables and indoor bar….

Just when I didn’t think service could get worse, our friends tried to join us. Before being greeted- the male bartender yells “you cannot stand there, fire code.” Not a “hey guys” or “welcome in” he just yells they have to leave. I was in shock.

We almost left but they had a whisky we wanted to try. So we thought we would give the female bartender a shot. She tried her best but she had too many customers.

We waited another 20 minutes with empty glasses before our final pour. Bearded dude finally sauntered in from out back where he was taking a smoke break! This place was jammed and only had two people working and he was out back smoking. I have never had such terrible service.

As a former server I have a lot of grace as I understand places get busy. Unfortunately, this was just lazy, unfriendly behavior that has no place in the service industry. The owner needs to think about his staff. He or she has lost 6 regulars…. for good. There are too many wonderful spots to be treated so...

I had the pleasure tlof coming to Batch for my first time this evening. The reason I came is the owner hired me to make new charcuterie boards and whiskey flight trays. I love the fact that a small business takes such pride in their presentation and supports other small businesses to meet their needs.

When I arrived at 3:30 there were a few patrons enjoying drinks and the owner was excited to see his new boards. While looking a the boards I ordered a Ham and cheese grilled cheese along with a flight of whiskeys to try. I must say... I was blown away. First off, the grilled cheese was luxurious and cooked to perfection. The housemade mustard was the perfect match to the cheese and ham. Secondly, the side of mac and cheese was one of the best mac and cheeses that I've ever had.

For whiskey I tried a good variety and loved each and every one. Of course they were even better since on the new flight board! :)

My favorite part about this place was the atmosphere. Everyone was friendly. When customers walked, they all said hi and were engaging amongst each other. It was nice see such a welcoming and well ran place.

Overall, I was highly impressed and will definitely be...