7 Local Organic Cocktails

Posted on by Sacha Cohen
organic martini

The always inventive mixologists at several chic DC-area hotel bars are shaking things up with cocktails that feature organic spirits, homemade fruit purees, and locally grown veggies and herbs. Here are our top picks:

1. Juniper at The Fairmont Hotel serves five “Going Green” organic cocktails featuring herbs from the hotel’s courtyard garden and regionally grown fruits. “Feeling Blue,” for example, is made with Blue Coat Organic Gin, courtyard grown cilantro, Virginia blueberries, housemade simple syrup, and club soda. There are also several cocktails made with honey harvested from the Italian honey bees that make the hotel’s rooftop their home such as the Bee-tini made with Belvedere Pomrancza vodka and honey mixed with fresh grapefruit juice, mint, and grenadine.

2. The mixologists at Bourbon Steak at the Four Seasons make many of their own bitters, tinctures, and syrups and grow their own herbs. The cleverly named “Not Tonight” features additive-free Hangar One mandarin blossom vodka, velvet falernum (a sugar cane-based liqueur), orgeat, fresh lime, whiskey barrel-aged bitters, and a chipotle tincture

3. Stop by Zentan at the Donovan House for an organic version of a Margarita.”The Scarborough Affair” is made with organic sage-infused Herradura Reposado tequila, house-made thyme agave nectar, house-made sweet and sour mix, fresh lime juice, St. Germain elderflower liquor, and garnished with a fresh spring of rosemary.

4. Start brunch off right with an organic Bloody Mary from Entyse at the Ritz Carlton in Tysons Corner. This tasty version is made with Square One Organic Vodka, organic Bloody Mary mix (made from organic, locally grown tomatoes), Tabasco, Worcestershire, a pinch of organic black pepper, and garnished with organic celery, lime, and green bean. All of the cocktails at Entsye are made with ingredients from local and organic farms.

5. The Blue Duck Tavern at the Park Hyatt offers martinis that can be made with Square One Organic Vodka and your choice of a pearl onion, olive, caper berry or lemon twist garnish.

6. Keep the wolves at bay with the “Little Red Riding Hood” cocktail at the Quill bar in the historic Jefferson hotel. This glorious concoction features house-made hibiscus-pomegranate-infused vodka, Cointreau, Galliano, cranberry juice, and molecular yogurt-vanilla foam.

7. With arguably one of the best views in town, POV at the recently opened W Hotel has an artfully crafted cocktail menu courtesy of Sasha Petraske of NYC’s Milk & Honey.  The all-natural libations change with the seasons and are made with fresh fruit and vegetables.

Green Your Wedding

Posted on by Sacha Cohen

Guest post by Katie Martin of Eco-Beautiful Weddings

The first question we get from every bride that walks in our studio is: “How can I green my event?” They know it is our specialty and they know they want to go green.  However, they have found it difficult to find examples of how to make a wedding beautiful, fun, and interesting while keeping eco-friendly components.

The solution to greening your event is to make sure you work with the right vendors.  The wrong vendors are the ones that are simply in the wedding industry to make a buck.  Some wedding professionals are having a difficult time learning how to go green and it is up to you, the consumer, to educate them. Here are three questions to ask potential vendors:

1. Do they give back to the community or the environment?

2. Where are their supplies coming from?  For caterers, find out if their food is sourced locally. For florists, ask about where their flowers come from.  Remember, transportation is one of the major components of waste produced by a wedding.

3. Are they listening to you or greenwashing?  Be careful of those vendors that simply want you to sign on the dotted line. Ask your wedding professional if they have a green mission.  Also, if they keep trying to change the subject about eco-friendly practices, that’s a sign to keep walking.

Green Wedding Tips

  • Reduce the amount of out-of-town guests that will be traveling to your wedding.  Transportation is the biggest “eco-sin” when it comes to weddings.
  • Don’t serve red meat at your wedding.  Serve fish, chicken/fowl and/or vegetarian/vegan options instead. The amount of energy it takes to produce and digest red meat is staggering compared to the other options.
  • Choose décor and fashion items that come from renewable and free-trade and fair-wage resources.

Energy Saving Challenge and a Delicious Reward

Posted on by Sacha Cohen

If the frigid weather has you dreading your next heating bill, take heart. Washington, DC-based energy start-up Earth Aid has teamed up with Farmers & Fishers to launch an energy-savings challenge that could lead to lower bills and give you the chance to win a free mixology class for eight at Farmers & Fishers.

To participate, visit Earth Aid and create a free account that will link your gas, electric, and water utility accounts to Earth Aid’s platform.  Then use the “Invite Your Friends” feature to invite friends, family, and colleagues to sign up and join your team.

Earth Aid will then retrieve the household usage and savings information for each individual as well as each team, and will provide easy online energy monitoring along with tips and ‘how-to’s’ to reduce usage and increase savings. This type of effort results in greater energy savings and lets individuals see how their savings – when combined with the savings of others – can really add up.

Earth Aid will compare the utility (electric, gas, and/or water) usage of the group from now through Earth Day (April 22) to the past usage of the group during that window of time to determine which area team achieves the largest total reduction and wins the mixology prize.

The winning team will enjoy a private class of mixology basics and recipes with F&F’s Chief Mixologist Jon Arroyo, along with menu samples and of course, cocktails.

Fashion with a Conscience

Posted on by Sacha Cohen

Guest post written by Maria Fyodorova of Righteous (re)Style.

Treasury--fab vintage and second-hand finds
Kristen Swenson at Treasury

Kristen Swenson is not your average sewing lass. She’s an aspiring fashion designer committed to embracing sustainability.

As the in-house seamstress at Treasury, a 14th Street boutique that offers a tightly-edited collection of vintage finds, Swensen can help you turn that almost-perfect vintage dress into your best-fitting outfit ever.

Originally from a small town in Minnesota, Kristen recently moved to DC and hopes to launch her clothing line soon. Here’s what she had to say about her eco-friendly approach to fashion.

Can you tell us a bit about your approach to sustainable fashion design?

I prefer to pair design and recycling whenever possible. It’s the only way I can be in the fashion field with a clean conscience. Typically I will take damaged or second-hand items and completely revamp them so they can have another life before they find the landfills.

Why did you choose to work at Treasury? What do you like about vintage clothing?

The shop is beautifully organized–more like a boutique–which really showcases the items. One of the owners, Cathy, was so nice and welcoming to me, it was hard not to fall in love with Treasury. In addition, they would eventually like to sell my designs [there]. As for why I love vintage so much, simply put, it is the most glamorous form of recycling.

I know you plan to start selling your designs soon, can you give a bit of preview of what kind of designs we’ll see (i.e., materials, fabrics, silhouettes)?

It’s hard to give an official preview because what I will be making will depend on what second-hand items I find. In general, I aim to showcase the beauty of the female figure, and show an appreciation for curves. One can definitely expect to find well-tailored garments with a lot of details, made from beautiful and unique fabrics.

You’re wearing a bustier that you designed — can you tell me a bit about it? Where did it come from?

The outside is made from second-hand men’s suiting fabric, the lining out of an old bed sheet, and the underlining out of jeans I outgrew. Because the jean material is so sturdy, it reduced the amount of boning that was necessary for the garment. In addition, the cotton lining and cotton underlining allow the skin to breathe, even if the garment is tight.

More about Treasury

Treasury is co-owned by Cathy Chung and Katerina Herodotou. Their carefully handpicked vintage clothing is displayed artfully on salvaged fixtures from Community Forklift and Rough and Ready. Check out this lovely shop located at 1843 14th St., 2nd floor.  

Photograph courtesy of Mark Silva Photography

Sustainable Happy Hours

Posted on by Sacha Cohen

We love the idea of  supporting local restaurants that offer tasty sustainable cuisine and cheap happy hour deals. Here are our top picks:

CommonWealth Gastropub
It’s bloody cold out. Shake off the icicles and get yourself over to the happy hour (4-7) at CommonWealth which includes a selection of local beer, 1/2 price selections of wine, and 1/2 off grassfed burgers (Wednesdays) that are out of this world. For a complete rundown of what’s available, check out the review written by our friends over at Sustainable in the City.

Dino
A menu planned around weekly finds at the Dupont Farmer’s Market and meats and seafood from all natural and sustainable sources. Those are just a few reasons to love Dino in Cleveland Park. Want more? How about an amazing happy hour from 5:30-7 (Sunday-Fridays) featuring free antipasti and 25% off drinks. Oh, and bartender Scott is a master mixologist and will help you find the perfect glass to accompany your meal.

Poste Brasserie
We’ve written about Poste’s sustainable practices before. This time, we’re all about the deal. Next time you find yourself killing time before an event at the Verizon Center, stop by from 4 to 7 (Monday-Friday) and enjoy $5 glasses of red and white wine, $5 beer, and truffled frites for just $5.

Radius Pizza
This Mount Pleasant eatery was recently bought by former Poste Brasserie employees Todd and Nicole Wiss. Although they still serve pizza, the menu now focuses on local and organic ingredients and more upscale fare. Happy hour is 5-7 and on Wednesdays you get a free bottle of vino with the purchase of a large pizza and appetizer or two entrees and an appetizer.

Redwood
Tucked away in Bethesda Row, Redwood serves a seasonal menu that showcases the best mid-Atlantic ingredients. Meats, cheeses, produce, and seafood are naturally-raised, organic, or sustainable whenever possible and are sourced from local growers. A thoughtful wine list features some organic wines and small production vintners who practice sustainable viticulture. Belly up to the 75-seat white-marble bar and treat yourself to $4-$5 food and drink specials Monday – Friday from 4 to 7:00pm.

What did we miss? Feel free to post your favorite sustainable happy hour spots in the comments section.