Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/101724
D.C. Beltway Bandits TRENDING WITH THE LATEST BAR SCENE STEALERS IN THE DISTRICT by Kelly A. Magyarics / photos by Greg Powers T he election is over and the votes are in: The bar scene in Washington, D.C. is better than ever. The District's founding father of the well-made cocktail has opened up a rousing music-inspired bar; the Mixtress of effervescence, ice and all things nice behind the stick has one too; and the beverage director at a celebrity chef's Mexican small plates venue just loves to tinker with tequila and mezcal. Rockin' and Rollin': TNT Bar Todd Thrasher, Beverage Director for the seven venues of the Alexandria, Virginia–based Eat Good Food Group, is smokin'. 108 / the tasting panel / january 2013 Half of the menu is inspired by his musical inluences; the other half pays homage to the American bartenders whom Todd Thrasher calls friends. His spot inside the Arlington, Virignia location of ish and chips joint Eamonn's Dublin Chipper (named TNT Bar for his young son Trystan Noah) is where the renowned mixologist and sommelier really lexes his chops. Rock 'n roll-inspired sips—created by jotting down lyrics or musicians on a white board and concocting recipes to match— include "The Cocktail Left on the Nightstand" ($7), whose combination of smoked and charred Jack Daniels and cola mimics Slash's habit of extinguishing a cigarette in Jack & Coke after a hard night and consuming it in the morning. "Metal Surrenders When Oak Trees Meet Fenders" ($11), a line from an Avett Brothers song, mixes Smooth Ambler Old Scout Bourbon, Massenez Crème de Pêche, Sorghum Pine Cone Water and both Angostura and house-made peach bitters. The menu is rounded out with a listing of drinks from the country's most well-known mixologists, including Jim Meehan of PDT and Charles Joly of The Aviary. "I'm constantly changing and don't jump on the trends," says Thrasher. "My philosophy has always been to make the best cocktail possible."