Derek Brown, co-owner of the newly re-opened Columbia Room (124 Blagden Alley NW) and widely lauded spirits preparer and booze evangelist, is standing to my left and speaking with two of his guests. Suddenly I overhear him ask whether the chairs are either too hard or too cushy. “We can still get new ones,” he says.
It would seem like the kind of comment that a restaurateur, right on the verge of opening a new space, would make in jest. But if you visit the Columbia Room—open as of Tuesday—you’ll see that it’s not. This launch is a big deal, both for D.C.’s cocktail aficionados and for Brown. When the original tiny, reservations-only “speakeasy” closed in the early days of 2015 (along with its sister outfit The Passenger), it wasn’t because of a lack of interest, but rather because they had lost their lease. Now located just a couple of blocks away from its previous address on 7th Street NW, the Columbia Room is not so much being reopened as being reborn.
The entire Columbia Room experience, from front door to Tasting Room, can be best described in a single word: curated. Visitors enter on the ground floor before walking up a short flight of stairs to the Punch Garden, a covered wooden patio overlooking Blagden Alley. The Punch Garden isn’t officially open yet, but if you pause you’ll notice the gorgeous view of the remarkable architecture bordering they alley and the fact that heat lamps are permanently installed overhead.
Pass through the Punch Garden and you’ll enter the Spirits Library. With its books, dark polished wood, and leather chairs, the Spirits Library looks and feels like the study of someone’s wealthy, eccentric grandpa. The a la carte drinks menu in this room, where prices can be as low as $12 and as high as $17, is extensive considering the amount of care that goes into each preparation. For its winter menu, the Spirits Library is serving eight “featured cocktails”, five different kinds of old fashioned, five highballs, and two non-alcoholic drinks.
The Right Side Up, which incorporates Oloroso sherry, brandy de Jerez, rye whiskey, cane sugar, black lemon bitters, pineapple oleo saccharum, and a pineapple fan, is balanced yet sumptuous. These are drinks that deserve sustained attention, ones you’ll consume slowly, even if you don’t mean to.
Proceed even deeper into the Columbia Room and you’ll stumble upon the Tasting Room, a dark, even more intimate space. A single brick, framed in black wood, is set into the wall to the right of the entryway. According to head bartender JP Fetherston (who might have the most speakeasy-appropriate name I’ve ever encountered), it was salvaged from the original 7th Street location. One section of the heavy drapes pulls away to expose the speakeasy’s only private booth, a secluded nook with its own tiny, private chandelier.
While the Spirits Library has open seating for groups of six or less, a spot at the Tasting Room must be booked in advance through the bar’s online ticketing system, Tock. Like the original Columbia Room, guests can reserve a three course drink and food pairing menu for $75. The drinks and food are presented omakase style (chef’s choice). Groups of four to six can also book a guided spirits tasting for $100 per person in the Spirits Library.
D.C. is not a particularly good town when it comes to value, but the Columbia Room is one of the few places where you can be sure that you’ve received what you’ve paid for. Yes, a night of drinking here will require an almost immodest chunk of change. And yes, it will be hard to get in. While 34 seats is a significant upgrade from the Columbia Room’s original 10, it’s not that many. Still, the attention to detail is exceptional, and the staff is deeply invested in your experience. And, if for some reason you don’t like the chairs, let Derek know. He might already be looking at upgrades.
The Columbia Room is located at 124 Blagden Alley NW and is open Tuesday-Thursday from 5:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. and Friday-Saturday from 5:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.
