Drinking through DC’s Distilleries. Because Politics
Photos by Nathan Borchelt
With the never-ending churn of political machinations within the nation’s capital (to say nothing about the repetitive monotony of it all), drinking is almost a contact sport in the District of Columbia, from lobbyists blowing their expense accounts at Jack Rose Dining Saloon, which boasts the largest collection of rare whiskey and bourbons in the States, to commiserating rail shots fueling legions of Capital Hill interns. But surprisingly, DC didn’t have a bona fide hometown distiller until 2011. George Washington might’ve been distilling booze in Mount Vernon, VA. But that’s on the other side of the Potomac River, and the city lacked a dedicated resource for home-grown alcohol until New District Distillers decided to occupy a 90-year-old warehouse near the Art Deco landmark Hecht Co. warehouse in the mostly-abandoned neighborhood of Ivy City and start producing their truly amazing Green Hat Gin.
Since those pioneer days, distilling has exploded across city, with spirits that range from vodka and gin to rum, amaro, and whiskey. One cold day in February I visited three of DC’s distilleries—chosen by my father as part of a holiday present to me and my brother-in-law—and though he based his selection of establishments based on whether or not they took reservations (which can obviously simplify the logistics), the picks offered a perfect snapshot of where DC is—and where it’s going—in the exponentially-expanding distilling landscape.
District Distilling Co.
One of the newer establishments to DC, District Distilling opened three years ago—and quickly and successfully lobbied to change the city’s liquor laws, a decision that has since benefited all the other distilleries: now all distilleries are permitted to have an open bar on-site. But in no way was this spot an off-handed “see if it’ll work” venture. Its new space occupies converted three row houses in the U Street Corridor neighborhood, just west of 14th Street, a neighborhood where one row house commands prices well over $1 million. Not only did they gut those three houses, knocking down walls to create an impressive footprint throughout its maze-like floor plan. They also custom-ordered distilling equipment from Germany to fit this converted space and sourced an experience distiller to get the operation up and running. And their distribution is equally ambitious, with product in the DC area as well as California, Pennsylvania, and the UK. No doubt both the bar and the soon-to-open third-floor restaurant will benefit from all the foot traffic, but their products are high-quality enough to justify a visit.
As with most distillers in DC, District Distilling is too young to have produced and aged whiskey on-site. Instead, they craft the base spirit here, add them to barrels with a medium char from Kentucky and ship them to Wyoming to be aged; the whiskey they sell now, including two whiskeys and a rye, are crafted from gray-market bourbon. Despite those logistics, they still hand-bottle each batch, four at a time, one pallet an hour. Those dark spirits join a host of others in semi-regular rotation, including two rums, multiple gins, a vodka, and a grappa. Their Corridor Vodka, distilled 42 times and rested in stainless steel at temps down to 42 degrees, lives up to its marketing as a “whiskey-drinker’s vodka.” The amount of rye (80%, along with 20% barley) exceeds the amount found in their aged rye, and delivers spicy notes seldom associated with a clear spirit. And their Buzzard Point Rum also leans into spices rather than sweetness, reminiscent of more flavor-forward rums found in the Caribbean. The Checkerbark Barrel-Aged Gin also won praise. It rests on new oak and used bourbon barrels on-site for 10 months, and stands proud alongside their vodka as a whiskey-drinker’s gateway into the juniper-forward spirit. But the clear winner that day was their Wild June Gin, a Western-style spirit made with wild-foraged red berry junipers from the West Texas Mountains that won the Gold Medal at the 2018 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Tours cost $10 and run hourly starting at 4 on weekdays, and noon on Saturdays—the price of admission gets you a tour and tastes of at least four spirits.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
