With the Inauguration less than a week away, a plethora of issues press on everybody’s minds—where to go to the bathroom, how to get around the city, whether or not cell phones will work, and if it will be worth braving the cold to stand on the Mall with millions of people for a chance to catch a glimpse of the incoming president.
My main concern? What to drink, and where. Luckily, bars and liquor stores around the District are sure to cash in on the hype over the next few days. On a recent Tuesday night, I was certain that I would have no difficulty finding creative cocktails with cringe-worthy names like “Barack-tail” or “Obama-tini.”
To my surprise, a majority of the watering holes I visited in the Georgetown neighborhood do not intend to branch out from their traditional drink menus—a move that, quite frankly, I find just a bit lazy. Chris, the manager and “bar chef” at M. Street’s funky Asian-fusion restaurant and bar Mie N Yu, agrees with me, and explained that Obama’s inauguration is a chance for him to play around with classic drink recipes.
Take one of the bar’s three Inauguration-special drinks, “Hail to the Chief,” a twist on the drink Kentucky senator and Whig party founder Henry Clay introduced to D.C., the Mint Julep. Traditionally made with bourbon, mint leaves and sugar, Mie N Yu’s version sticks with the bourbon and crushed mint but replaces the sugar with a peach liqueur and ginger ale. While the Mint Julep has always been a sweet cocktail, the peachy punch adds a pleasant fruity undertone to the libation, with the ginger ale nicely cutting through the drink’s syrupy sweetness.
Mie N Yu will also offer the “Michelle-tini,” a champagne cocktail made with raspberry vodka and white cranberry juice, and the “Rockin’ Barack,” which is basically a white Cosmopolitan of vodka, ginger-flavored liqueur, white cranberry juice, and a splash of lime. Their specialty cocktails will range from eight to 12 dollars.
Tombs offers the “Obama Martini,” a concoction of gin, Liqueur 43, blue curacao and grenadine for $8.50. The red-white-and-blue layered effect that the liquors create when poured correctly into the glass borders is gimmicky, but the vanilla-flavored white top layer of gin and Liqueur 43 is an interesting and not altogether unpleasant combination. The main problem lies in the drink’s final layer, a big old shot of grenadine. According to Jessica, the bartender who made me the “Obama Martini,” the 1789 Restaurant just upstairs, will serve the same cocktail for $3 to $4 more
For those who would rather avoid crowds and stay at home to drink, but don’t want to miss out on the Obama-palooza, Dixie Liquors should hit the spot. Jody Kurash, Dixie’s owner, made sure to stock ales, lagers and wheat beers from Chicago, Hawaii, and Kenya in homage to the president elect’s eclectic background. On Tuesday the store will provide hot cider spiked with Laird’s Apple Jack, an apple brandy, to bolster the spirits of those headed to the parade or back to their dorms to watch the festivities unfold on TV. Dixie will also take 10 percent off of their small-sized liquor bottles because, as Jody explained, they can fit in pockets. “We’re covering all of our bases,” she added. “It’s going to be cold out there.”
Take a shot and stir up something for Kate at kkm28@georgetown.edu.
