Don’t call it a beer garden: Shaw’s newest drinking destination is a frozen cocktail paradise. This parking lot-turned-watering hole is Electric Cool-Aid, which opened Monday at the corner of Rhode Island and 6th Street NW.
“We wanted something local: a neighborhood bar where people could hang out like their backyard,” says owner Angela DelBrocco, a veteran of the D.C. bar scene, who runs Electric Cool-Aid along with her co-owners, brothers Ben and Jesse Schwartz.
DelBrocco originally hails from Memphis, and more recently, both she and Ben Schwartz are long-term Shaw residents, and were looking for a nearby spot for their concept. All three have poured cocktails at area bars including Ivy & Coney and Nellie’s.
The trio says they don’t plan to blend up spring-break-style, sugar-laden cocktails. “These aren’t the maligned Bourbon Street drinks,” says DelBrocco. “These are tasty.”
Cool-Aid spins frozen versions of classics ($11) including a gin and tonic, a take on a piña colada, Irish coffee — and yes, frosé.
Nonalcoholic frozen drink options ($7) include the orange juice; a mule with lemon, lime, and ginger beer; and Red Bull. Patrons can decide to add liquor of their choosing for an extra $4. Sample-sized “slurp” cups go for $3.
Not all frozen drinks get the same treatment. Electric Cool-Aid uses industrial Taylor 342 models — “a Cadillac of frozen drink machines” DelBrocco says — to give each drink a custom blend style.
For example, the Frozen Irish Coffee is a thick, creamy milkshake, made with Compass Coffee and a mix of liquors DelBrocco declined to share. The frosé, on the other hand, has the consistency of a sorbet.
On the lighter side, DelBrocco’s favorite is the frozen Garibaldi. This drink comes from the lauded New York cocktail bar Dante’s, made with fresh-squeezed orange juice and Campari. “We spin the orange juice at high speeds so it comes out fluffy and light,” she says. The Campari adds requisite bitter notes.
Electric Cool-Aid also gets in on the high-end canned drink craze. On the menu: local Anxo cider, Cutwater Spirits bloody Marys and whiskey lemon tea, and an “orange smash that’s truly delicious,” from Devil’s Backbone, says DelBrocco. DelBrocco also sourced her favorite sake from Kikusui — in a can, of course. At 19% ABV, “we tell people to split it,” she notes. Canned drinks run $4-$7 for beer and wine, and up to $12 for the sake.
Electric Cool-Aid opens in the lot that housed Mr. P’s Ribs and Fish barbecue bus (owner Fate Pittman Jr. died in 2015.) When DelBrocco and her co-owners found the lot with the bus, she says they immediately thought of the 1968 Tom Wolfe novel The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test “and their truck they used around the country.”
From there, the psychedelia theme took off, and DelBrocco enlisted artists—including Colombian-born, D.C.-raised MasPaz — to splash surrounding walls with trippy murals, the swirling colors riffing off both the rollicking ‘60s and the rolling concoctions inside the frozen cocktail machines.
“We decided to change the ‘k’ to a ‘c’ since frozen drinks keep you cool,” says DelBrocco.
The bar originally planned to open in late March with a party for the Washington Nationals’ Opening Day. They’ll still hold a party for the team’s new Opening Day on July 23, DelBrocco says, though it won’t be as raucous.
While the patio can officially hold 226, under Phase Two reopening guidelines customers must be seated at tables at all times, so Electric Cool-Aid’s seated capacity is 114 for now. The team is working on using an app for table service, DelBrocco says.
“We’re sad we can’t have as much camaraderie,” she says.
Current regulations also require that bars serve food to accompany drink service. While the team was not initially planning on offering dining, a rotating food truck will park in a corner of the lot.
“We know that food trucks have been hit hard by the pandemic, and we want to support our food industry friends,” DelBrocco says. Astro Doughnuts & Fried Chicken will pull up on Thursdays and Fridays; Swizzler (burgers and dogs) will serve Tuesdays and Saturdays. DelBrocco promises a variety of trucks to roll up other days, all showcasing local culinary talent.
The team isn’t planning for Electric Cool-Aid to be seasonal: Winter strategies may include tents and heaters, and possibly closing for just a couple weeks if it gets too chilly. Cold-weather frozen drinks might feature cozy spices, a la hot toddies. Even in winter, however, “frozen cocktails are our deal,” DelBrocco says.
Electric Cool-Aid is located at 512 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Open Mondays-Thursdays 4 p.m.-10:30 p.m.; Fridays 3 p.m.-12 a.m.; Saturday 12 p.m.-12 a.m.; Sundays 12 p.m.-10:30 p.m.
