This past Wednesday I went to the Gibson with some friends from DC. IN case you haven’t heard of it, the Gibson is the much-raved-about “speakeasy” style bar that’s cleverly hidden behind a nondescript door in the middle of U Street Northwest. It has no windows open to the street; in fact, many people walk without ever knowing that a temple of cocktails lies within.
I started off the evening with a “boothby” Manhattan:
It’s your standard Manhattan (greatest. drink. ever.), except that it’s supposed to have a float of champagne on top. Either I have no pallet whatsoever, or mine lacked the champagne portion of the drink. The awesome blog ajiggerofblog has a great post about the Gibson here, including a link to a recent menu (it’s since been updated, but you can still order any of the older drinks). All in all, this was a fine rendition of the classic, but nothing to write home about.
Recipe: rye whiskey, sweet vermouth, Fee Brother’s Whiskey Barrel bitters, and a champagne float (or not…), garnish with a maraschino cherry.
The best way to enjoy the Gibson is to go with a pack of friends (we had 7), each order different things, and share (read: mooch) with each other. In that spirit, the next drink I tried was the Pisco Sour, an off-the-menu drink, which, according to Wikipedia, is “a cocktail containing pisco (a South American liquor made of grapes), lemon or lime juice, egg whites, simple syrup, and regional bitters”
This one was also very pleasant as far as cocktails go, but I expected a little bit more kick from a drink practically doused in bitters.
The next drink I ordered was the horse’s kick. I was really hoping for the “kick”, as promised, since this drink was made from Wild Turkey 101 whiskey and seemingly not much else. Leave it to the Gibson mixologists to make the horse’s kick nothing if not smooth, refreshing, and femininely attractive, to boot:
Recipe: Wild Turkey 101 Whiskey, Ginger Ale, Lime Peel, Fever Tree Soda Water
There were many other drinks tried this evening (my favorite was a frozen drink with chile, mango, cilantro, and milk… wtf?) but this is all the pictures I got, so I’ll stop here. I’ll leave you with a shot of the aftermath and our attempts to divide up a $150+ tab…
Cheers!
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