Done like Dundee... Gone like Gandhi...

Repeal Day 2009 Celebrations Repeal Day Ball

PS7s, Washington DC

My first Repeal Day Ball. It's like the best New Years Eve party you've ever been to except it's not New Years Eve. This particular ball was put together by the DC Craft Bartender’s Guild. As a bartender, I could at least appreciate this holiday based on the fact that my profession itself would not exist (legitimately) without this amendment...

But let's be really real. It was a romp. Welcome to getting decimated in class. If you have a passion for food and drink you probably found yourself smiling with nearly every concoction.

Some of the beverages (mea culpa for any errors or missing ingredients, I was drunk):
Todd Thrasher of PX served Veritas. This drink featured a technique called "air" which I would say is similar in texture with froth on a cappuccino. Veritas had a nice air of cider to top, fermented apples, Laird’s Applejack and a few other ingredients I can’t remember at the moment. Regardless of the mechanics, the drink was tasty.

Bartending legend Dale DeGroff served the Cocktel Jerez. My only recollection of this drink is that it had Jameson whiskey in it and a flamed orange peel. The flamed orange peel technique is a nice touch that I believe I've seen before at Hummingbird to Mars. Fire always adds that touch of spectacle to preparing a drink as the flame consumes the oils from the orange skin.

Ed Hamilton, who was not a bartender but the boss man at the Ministry of Rum, served one of the strongest drinks I had that night. I never caught the name of this monster but its ingredients included 100-proof rum, sugar cane syrup, and a little bit ‘o lime.

Some of the other cocktails I could still manage to remember include a warm buttered pisco drink. A fine drink although I couldn’t having more than one. A nice touch to this one was a flaming marshmallow garnish on a stick. Among other things they also had egg nog and punch for the holidays.

Of course I met a ton of people who write blogs in DC (or outside DC) that I follow: Jeffrey Morganthaler, Derek Brown to name a couple. Afterward we took the party to Derek Brown’s bar, The Passanger (I’ll post about this bar sometime in the future). Waiting for us was punch that included rum and champagne.

If you get an opportunity to attend this Repeal Day party next December 5th I highly recommend you go. Celebrate your constitutional right to imbibe alcoholic beverages.