THE WASHINGTON POST • FRIDAY, AUGUST 13, 2010
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NightLife Savoring summer in a glass by Fritz Hahn
As the lazy, hazy days of summer begin to fade, the drink menus at local bars also begin to change. Before you know it, we’ll be tasting Oktoberfest beers and, from there, sipping Irish coffee and hot toddies around a roaring fire.
All the more reason, then, to savor re- freshing, warm-weather drinks on sultry nights. Here are a few options I’ll be enjoy- ing as often as possible for the next few weeks.
TIKI TIME COCKTAILS AT THE MAJESTIC 911 King St., Alexandria. 703-837-9117.
www.majesticcafe.com. Tiki Time cocktails: $9.75 each. On a trip to Hawaii last year, Todd
Thrasher, the rum-loving mixologist at Old Town’s Restaurant Eve, PX and Majestic Cafe, found himself let down by tiki drinks. It wasn’t that the old-school fog cutter cocktails and mai tais at Don the Beach- comber in Kailua-Kona didn’t taste right. “All the flavors were there,” Thrasher says. But he and his wife were disappointed that the recipes were “a bastardization” of the originals, especially at a bar named after the man who invented many potent tiki drinks in the 1930s. “They’re not using fresh fruit juice. [The drinks] are loaded with high-fructose corn syrup.” Back in Alexandria, Thrasher decided to re-
create some favorite tropical drinks for the Majestic’s summer drink menu but do them his way, with fresh juices and house-made in- gredients. Take his version of a piña colada, which is not strictly a tiki cocktail but is very much of the same era. You won’t find overly sugary syrups or mass-produced coconut- flavored liqueur in this breezily refreshing version — just rum, coconut water, fresh coco- nut cream and pineapple juice. After one sip, you can practically feel the breeze blowing off the beach. “It’s nice and light instead of being cloy-
ing,” says Misha Von Elmendorf, the owner of the nearby Misha’s Coffeehouse, who stops in frequently for tiki drinks after work and favors the piña colada. “I used to drink this stuff in college. It’s cool, it’s fun. Let’s bring it back, you know?” The menu, which will be available until
the first day of fall, is stocked with Don the Beachcomber originals, including the Mis- sionary’s Downfall, a vacation in a glass with rum, pineapple, mint and a shot of apricot brandy. From a different tiki bar— Los Angeles’s Tiki-Ti — comes the wonder- fully Polynesian Ray’s Mistake. Passion fruit, guava and pineapple juices, coconut milk and dark rum are suitably tropical. The “mistake” — a shot of gin — adds depth to the taste.
But the most iconic of the Majestic drinks is the Zombie, a fruity mix of rums, Cointreau, papaya and lemon juices, gren- adine or almond-flavored orgeat syrup served in a bowl big enough for two and topped with a burning well of overproof
PHOTOS BY EVY MAGES FOR THE WASHINGTON POST
Tiki Time cocktails at the Majestic in Alexandria include, clockwise from top: the Zombie, big enough for two to share; the piña colada; and Ray’s Mistake.
rum. It’s hard to miss the festively colored and flaming ceramic vessels, whether they’re on the bar or being carried through the dining room. The only change from the originals,
Thrasher says, is that he dialed down the alcohol because “tiki cocktails were so boozy. I changed them for the sake of not getting people so messed up that they can’t enjoy the food and drinks.” Imagine: Tiki drinks so good you’ll want to taste every last drop. What would Don the Beachcomber think?
SLUSHITOS AT ESTADIO 1520 14th St. NW. 202-319-1404.
www.estadio-dc.com. Slushitos: $9. From beach shacks to chain restaurants,
frozen cocktails are standard on hot sum- mer days. But let’s be honest: Most of the frozen margaritas and piña coladas spin- ning in large tanks behind the bar are nothing more than alcohol, fruit concen- trate and sugar water. Refreshing, but not very delicious. That’s the opposite of what you’ll find at
the new Estadio in Logan Circle, where beverage director Adam Bernbach is tak- ing his usual approach to cocktails (fresh fruit, unexpected ingredients, plenty of booze) and serving them out of a frozen margarita machine. Far from a bland mix of icy alcohol, these slushitos include a full-bodied Spanish- inspired fusion of sherry, lemon, quince, paprika and scotch. The rich flavors and
fragrances play off each other wonderfully, especially the quince and citrus. The other option is a summery strawberry-gin mix that gets its edge from bitter Campari li- queur and spicy tarragon. Bernbach says the flavors will change every month. In a few weeks, look for a blend of banana and Irish whiskey. (And the non-slushito drink- ers should be happy with the house-made Sangrias and solid selection of Spanish wine and beer.)
DOLCEZZA GELATO FLOATS AT THE GIBSON 2009 14th St. NW. 202-232-2156. www.
thegibsondc.com. Gelato floats: $12-$13. Adult versions of children’s treats have been all the rage this summer, from the peach-and-vodka snowcones at Art and Soul to the elderflower liqueur popsicles (or “poptails”) at Cafe Saint-Ex. But perhaps my favorite are the Gibson’s
gelato floats, which pair house-made li- queurs with custom gelato flavors invented for the Gibson by Georgetown’s upscale Dolcezza. The inspiration, says mixologist Jon
Harris, came from a vintage cocktail called the Soyer au Champagne, which included cognac, champagne, pineapple and vanilla ice cream. Harris decided to make a varia- tion closer to the classic champagne cock- tail, which involves a bitters-soaked sugar cube in a glass of champagne, by using a special Angostura gelato. Nostalgia runs deep on the menu. The
Maltese, made with Irish whiskey, creme de cacao, French cider and honey/brown butter/caramel swirl gelato, tastes like a chocolate malted with sunny apple un- dertones, while the Virgil was inspired by Virgil’s Root Beer. The mix of rum, ver- mouth, absinthe, mint and bitters — plus Tahitian Vanilla gelato — does come pretty close. Unlike many cocktails, which become more diluted and less tasty over time, the gelato cocktails become more deli- cious the longer they sit in your glass, as the creamy gelato slowly infuses its fla- vors into the mix. Nowhere is this more evident than in my favorite of the of- ferings, the Slightly Odd Duck. Without the gelato, it’s a pleasant, martini-ish combination of Old Tom gin, mango syr- up, an aromatic balsam fir tincture and Fever Tree’s bitter lemon soda. But once you add the rich, spicy beetroot and green peppercorn gelato — as amazingly weird and wonderful as it sounds — it becomes the most deliciously savory drink I’ve enjoyed in ages. Here’s the caveat about the Gibson’s ge-
lato drinks: They’re only on the menu on the back patio, which is open in good weather and has only 40 seats, which are filled on a first-come, first-served basis. (Unlike the inside rooms, you can’t make reservations for the patio.) It might seem like jumping though hoops, but these cock- tails are worth the effort — stop by early in the week, when it’s easier to get a table.
fritz.hahn@washpost.com
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