The gin-based Au Pistou at Service Bar uses English peas and a handful of savory, fragrant herbs. (Photo by Travis Mitchell)
Drink of the week: Vegetable-forward cocktails
Where to find them: Baba, Bar Dupont, Service Bar, Hank’s Cocktail Bar
Summer produce is reaching peak freshness, giving D.C.’s crafty mixologists a lot of ingredients to work with for new cocktails. While seasonal fruits like strawberries and peaches often come up front and center, more bars are playing around with adding vegetable touches to drinks besides the Bloody Mary—think peas or beets. These vegetable-inspired recipes often trend more savory than sweet, with earthy and garden flavors that pair well with summer sunshine. Plus, it just feels healthier if your booze has an extra punch of vitamins and minerals.
A handful of vegetables make appearances on the current “Food Production 101” menu at Hank’s Cocktail Bar (819 Upshur St. NW). The Shelling Peas Is Torture ($10) matches sweet peas with a lemon citrus pop and sparkling wine. The Scallion Stallion ($13) mixes tequila and smokey mezcal with green onions, cucumber, and ramp oil. For a taste of sweet corn, go with the I’m Sorry Miss Gibson ($12), with Tanqueray Rangpur lime gin, tequila, vermouth, and corn brine. And the Bittersweet Surrender ($12) is a refreshing combination of herbaceous jenever with roasted red pepper. The Petworth bar plans to run it for at least the next six weeks.
Over at Service Bar (926 U St. NW), the current French-inspired regional menu includes the Au Pistou ($12), made with Irish gin, English peas, basil, and dill. This drink is named after the traditional French pistou, a type of vegetable soup that the team tried when researching the menu abroad. It’s certainly a little unusual, and probably not Snoop Dogg’s gin and juice go-to. The cocktail is savory, frothy, herbaceous, and bright. Plus, it comes in a fancy cup fit for afternoon tea. Find it at the bar now through the end of August, and pair it with regional dishes like chicken liver mousse or a duck confit sandwich.
The mixology program at Clarendon’s Baba (2901 Wilson Blvd.) brings earthy beet juice and rum together in the B&B ($12). You can get it for $6 during happy hour, too, Monday through Friday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Back in the city, Bar Dupont (1500 New Hampshire Ave. NW) is mixing up the Green Variety margarita all summer, using tequila, lime and a blend called “vine juice” that’s all things green and tasty. It’s an ideal drink for patio sipping.
