Quadrant Bar & Lounge
It took Phileas Fogg 80 days to travel round the world, but you can do it in one evening at Ritz-Carlton, Washington, DC’s Quadrant Bar & Lounge. It recently introduced a new travel-themed cocktail menu.
Developed by Quadrant’s lead mixologist Chris Mendenhall. the new menu takes guests on a journey around the world by combining traditional cocktail-making techniques with innovative new concepts. Most notable is the bar’s continued development with sound-aged spirits, altered by sonic-sound wave technology to transform the taste of the spirit, mimicking the qualities of the traditional aging process.
“We are thrilled to introduce 19 original cocktail recipes and an expanded selection of our signature sound-aged spirits,” said Mendenhall. “With this new menu, our hope is to inspire guests to explore the world of mixology through the lens of travel, using our cocktails as a guide.”
Original cocktails ($15 to $18) featured on the new menu include the following:
- Cherry Blossoms in a Glass: Japanese whisky, Amaretto, house plum and cherry syrup, fresh orange juice;
- Chestnuts Roasting in the Caribbean: Rum, Port wine, chestnut vanilla bean syrup, fresh lemon juice, cream, chocolate bitters;
- Fall in France: Cognac, oranges, cranberries, cinnamon, vanilla bean, maple syrup;
- Liquid Ice Cream: Bourbon, cherries, vanilla bean, coconut syrup, chocolate bitters, cream;
- Sound “Aged” Negroni: Gin, sweet vermouth sound-aged in American oak soaked in Cabernet;
- The Agave Kiwi: Tequila, triple sec, kiwi syrup, fresh pineapple juice, orange bitters;
- The Covered Bridge: Honey gin, calvados, house-made blueberry lemon ginger shrub, fresh lemon juice, honey water, orange blossom water, lemon bitters, egg white.
Dirty Habit
The Washington Capitals still have a few weeks left of regular-season play (and hopefully a few more defending their championship title in the playoffs), and that means a few more weeks of hockey-themed cocktails at Dirty Habit.
Mixing up drinks just 180-steps from the Capitals home ice at the Capital One Arena, Dirty Habit’s beverage manager Drew Hairston had plenty of inspirations in developing the limited-time bar offerings ($12 to $15), which include:
- The Power Play: Bruichladdich Classic Laddie, kalamansi, honey, lemon, and warming ginger;
- The Penalty Box: an adult hot chocolate with rich chipotle hot cocoa, Mount Gay Eclipse rum, Remy Martin cognac, and a generous dollop of homemade chartreuse whipped cream;
- The Hat Trick: Mount Gay Black Barrel rum, smoked maple syrup, and luscious Mission figs;
- Rock the Red: fresh blood orange juice with Botanist Islay gin and Cointreau, as well as bitters, ginger beer, and a hint of cardamom.
In addition to enjoying the cocktails, Dirty Habit’s guests can also shoot around like the reigning Stanley Cup champions in the Penn Quarter restaurant’s courtyard, where a regulation-size hockey net and specially flooring are temporarily installed. For $12, time on the “ice” can be reserved for 15-minute sessions.
