30 Jan Where You Should Be Drinking: Hanks Oyster Bar

Posted at 21:35h in Blog, Where to Drink, Where to Drink: DC by Roberts & June

Where You Should Be Drinking: Hanks Oyster Bar

We have so many reasons to love and thank Storm Jonas; he gave us 3 days out of the office, allowed us to complete every Netflix series that we had begun, taught us that the Capitol can in fact be a unifying place full of joy, and reacquainted us with the beauty of happy hour at the local bar.

Now if you live on a lonely dirt road and couldn’t get out of your house, we feel for you and would have gone crazy. But we live in a bustling neighborhood; so while we couldn’t trek across town, we could very well walk 500 ft to our neighborhood bar. Hanks is one of those charming establishments in our neighborhood that we frequently ignore because … I guess thats just what happens when you see something everyday–you all too quickly learn to overlook it.

Hanks started to get my attention in December: first, they were at Repeal Day (point #1); second, they made a drink out of carrots (I’m still on the fence as to whether carrots should be incorporated into a cocktail repertoire, but I applaud creative ways to nutrient-ize your beverages); and, third, after a horrendous two-week scramble to meet a deadline for work, my coworker and I wound up at Hanks to celebrate (point #3). To be fair, I probably would have loved anyone or anything at that moment in time that served me an alcoholic beverage, but we were at Hanks; they served me a warm, delicious, rye punch, and all of my tired-work-fatigue-need-a-drink love went to them.

So, after 5 days of being home, we decided to return to Hanks. We love that it’s both so modern and bright, and simultaneously so cozy. Their drink line up is great. Their bartenders clearly know what they’re doing. And as a neighborhood bar should be at 4pm on a Snow Day, it was full of cackling girlfriends, people reading books, young couples with babies, and what looked like more than one first Tinder date. What more could you want?

What We Ordered

Hello My Name is Inigo Montoya. You Killed My Father Prepare to Die: Fidencio Mezcal, Lustau Manzanilla Sherry, Orange, Lemon, Ancho Chili Paprika, Salt

Can’t or Won’t?: Botanist Gin, Finochietto, Celery Shrub, Lemon, Spices

What We Thought

Both of these were excellent. Where to begin? The Hello My Name is Inigo Montoya. You Killed My Father Prepare to Die reminded us that there is no limit to the length or creativity used when naming a drink (be prepared for upcoming recipes). We’re still on that sherry kick and loved its pairing with the mezcal. One of us like mezcal more than the other, but with this drink, we were both fans. It was the perfect mix of smokey, sweet, and salty all in one drink.

For starters, we think Botanist gin is great. Usually our craft gin is sourced from St. George and most recently we’ve been on an Ivy City kick, but Botanist is solid, and therefore Can’t or Won’t started out with a strong footing. Finochietto, Italian for ‘fennel,’ is a spirit infused with fennel, fennel seed, anise, and dill (which seems like a lions-and-tigers-and-bears-oh-my equivalent of cocktail ingredients). It’s interesting, but not always easy to pair. But the combination of celery, lemon, and fennel made this cocktail complex, smooth, and so very fresh.