Photo by LaTur

The official D.C. bird is the wood thrush. The official D.C. flower is the American Beauty Rose. And now, D.C. will have an official cocktail: the Rickey, joining Louisiana (the Sazerac) as the only other state place to have an official cocktail.

The rickey was invented in 1883 at the former Shoomaker’s Bar where the J.W. Marriott (1331 Pennsylvania Avenue NW) is now located. The drink contains an ounce of gin or bourbon, the juice of half a lime along with the shell, topped off with club soda. In commemoration of the month, Marriott’s 1331 Bar and Lounge will be offering half-price rickeys for the remainder of July, and numerous bars around town are now featuring unique takes on rickeys.

Today, D.C. Councilmember Jack Evans (D-Ward 2), along with Derek Brown (The Columbia Room) and Garrett Peck (author of Prohibition in Washington, DC: How Dry We Weren’t) read a proclamation at the J.W. Marriott in recognition of the Rickey as our native cocktail. They also declared July as Rickey Month in the District. And on Sunday, in a private ceremony, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton will present the Marriott with a plaque commemorating the birthplace of the rickey.