'19th Hole' Upgrade at H Street Country Club
The Pebble Beach, one of the new cocktails on the menu at H Street Country Club.
It was no big leap for the H St. NE bar to beef up the cocktail list, according to co-owner Ricardo Vegara. The watering hole already made a splash on the D.C. drink dossier with its margaritas, which won Best Flavors and Best Frozen in this year's On Tap magazine competition, and wanted to build on that by adding more signature cocktails, Vergara said during a recent tasting of the new menu. HSCC has wanted to work with Chersevani for awhile, and things finally came together, according to Vergara's partner, Blair Zervos. Formerly of Eat Bar and currently the bar manager at PS7's, Chersevani's stock has been on the rise since last year when she was named one of The Beverage Journal's Top 10 Mixologists to Watch.
The additions to the menu focus on bright, fresh flavors heavy on the citrus and specialty liquors like Domaine de Canton and maraschino liquor, and aim for "taste and speed," in order to cater to the fast pace of HSCC's bar, Chersevani said recently. The Pebble Beach is her take on a champagne cocktail, with the aforementioned ginger liquor, a sugar cube and a dash of grapefruit bitters softening the bubbly cava. Another, In the Hole, mixes rum with coconut water, pineapple and lime juices for a drink that may as well have been handed to you by a cabana boy on a tropical island.
Chersevani's touch is evident in the sheer range of ingredients going into the cocktails at HSCC. On a recent visit, the bar's fruit tray was stuffed with cucumbers, strawberries, mint, sage, basil and jalapeños in addition to the usual fruit garnishes. She also created a list of punches specifically for HSCC that will be offered to players on the mini-golf course upstairs, which should be available starting next week.