The Bee’s Knees, a mix of gin, lemon, and sugar. Photo by dracisk.
Drink of the Week: Prohibition-era cocktails
Where: Acre 121, Copycat Co., District Commons, The Heights, Jack Rose
On this day in 1933, Congress repealed the Twenty-First Amendment, making it once again legal to consume alcohol in the United States. This week, we’re celebrating our Congressionally-mandated right to party with tipples from the 1920s.
Prohibition didn’t stop people from drinking; it just drove it underground. However, the era did give rise to a number of sweeter cocktails designed to mask the unpleasant flavors of homemade hooch. You can find some of these drinks on many of today’s modern cocktail menus. Some—like the Sidecar and Jack Rose—have had remarkable staying power. For instance, too many establishments in D.C. offer a Sidecar to bother listing them in this post; it’s such a classic that any place with a serious cocktail program should be able to make you a decent one if you ask.
There are a number of lesser known Prohibition-era cocktails offered at a handful of local bars. Try the pink-tinged Mary Pickford — made with pineapple juice, rum, homemade grenadine, and maraschino liqueur — at District Commons (2200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW). The tropical flavors are clearly a nod to the drink’s original purpose: to mask the taste of some nasty booze. For something less saccharine, there’s the Bee’s Knees, a sweet-sour combo of gin, lemon juice, and sugar, available at the newly-opened Copycat Co. (1110 H Street NE). The menu features plenty of other old school classics like the Tom Collins and the Southside, enough to fuel an evening of anachronistic drinking.
If you’re looking for more of a party atmosphere, consider stopping into Acre 121 (1400 Irving Street NW), The Heights (3115 14th Street NW), or Jack Rose (2007 18th Street NW) tonight for their Repeal Day festivities. Acre 121 will be offering drinks like the Scofflaw (the most aptly-named Prohibition-era cocktail ever) and Pegu Club for $7 all night long. And The Heights will have old-time drinks like the 12 Mile Limit and Blood and Sand on special though Sunday. Meanwhile, Jack Rose is hosting their annual Repeal Day Party, an all-night soiree featuring burlesque performers, a costume contest, period-appropriate cocktails and punches, and “Pappy Hour” with specials on Pappy Van Winkle whiskey between 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. And for the fancy folks among us, there are still tickets left for Saturday’s Repeal Day Ball put on by the D.C. Craft Bartender’s Guild. Tickets start at $80.
Small Bites
Chestnuts roasting on an open fire
Get in the holiday spirit with a bag of freshly roasted chestnuts. Poste (555 8th Street NW) will be giving away free chestnuts at the Downtown Holiday Market (corner of 8th and F streets NW) on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays between 4 and 6 p.m. And Lupo Verde (1401 T Street NW) will be serving cones of roasted nuts paired with wine for $10 on their patio this Saturday from noon to 6 p.m.
Christmas for beer nerds
Stop by Union Market (1309 5th Street NE) this Saturday for the Hoppy Holidays Beer Festival hosted by Drink the District. A $40 ticket gets you bottomless pours of 50 different seasonal brews. Food trucks and live DJs will also be on hand for all your gustatory and auditory needs. The event begins at noon and features three tasting sessions at noon, 4:30 p.m., and 9 p.m.
Dinner fit for a devil
The Pig (1320 14th Street NW) is teaming up with Devil’s Backbone Brewery for a five-course, six-beer dinner on Tuesday at 7 p.m. The menu will run the gamut from German weisswurst to Vietnamese catfish with caramel sauce to pork spareribs in black truffle barbecue sauce. Dinner is $50 per person. Call 202-290-2821 to reserve your spot.
