Last Tuesday, The Hour celebrated the season with a “Spooky Spirits” Tasting event. Our first-ever Halloween party was co-hosted by Vermilion Restaurant & Bar, our much celebrated neighbor on King Street. The Washington Post’s Tom Sietsema recently named Vermilion as one of his favorite local restaurants, and we couldn’t agree more. Kc Saxer, a truly inspiring and friendly bartender at Vermilion, served up several truly tasty cocktails throughout the evening.
Our guests were first greeted with Saxer’s delicious and easy sipping Falcon Punch:
- 1 oz. gin
- 1/2 oz. apple brandy
- 1 oz. apple cider
- 1 oz. ginger beer
- 1/2 oz. lemon juice
- 1/4 oz. cinnamon simple syrup
- 1 dash Angostura bitters
Combine ingredients over ice and stir. The recipe is for one single serving but can easily be adjusted for a large punch.
Later upstairs at The Hour, Saxer enjoyed using our vintage barware to concoct a Perfect Rye Manhattan:
- 1 1/2 oz. Bulleit Rye
- 1/4 oz. sweet vermouth
- 1/4 oz. dry vermouth
- 2 dashes Angostura bitters
Stir all ingredients in a cocktail pitcher and strain into a vintage coupe. Garnish with a brandied cherry.
Next “up” (no pun intended) was Saxer’s Spooky Martini:
- 1 1/2 oz. gin
- 1/2 oz. dry vermouth
- 1 dash Angostura bitters
Over ice, combine ingredients and stir. Garnish with a “spooky” eye.
Saxer creatively made her “eyes” by placings partially peeled radishes and slices of pimento olives in small ice cube tray sections. She added just enough water to cover the “eyes” and froze the ingredients to make individual ice cubes. We thought this was a great idea and tasty as well!
Our final tasting for the night was Vermilion’s Old Town Old Fashioned:
- 1 orange slice
- 2 apple slices
- brandied cherries
- 1/2 oz. vanilla simple syrup
- 1 1/2 oz. Bulleit Rye
Muddle the ingredients together in a cocktail shaker, add ice and shake. Pour into a glass.
Vermilion’s Chef William Morris delighted our guests with a beautiful array of delicious appetizers including steak tartare, chicken pate, endive bites with blue cheese, sliced grapes and walnuts and assortments of cheeses, nuts, pickled radishes and even pickled strawberries!
We know our guests had a wonderful evening as did all the ladies of The Hour! Cheers!!
