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D.C. bars have a knack for taking the latest in national politics and making it a business opportunity. You remember the long lines to watch the Comey hearing at bars offering specials? Community‘s “Golden Shower” burger? This insane Bub & Pop’s sandwich?
Soon you’ll be able to plant your cocktail glass down on top of Kim Jong-un’s smiling, 33-year-old face.
Off The Record inside The Hay-Adams hotel has long been known for its political caricatures, both on the walls and on its coasters. For its latest set of drink doilies, the bar commissioned three Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonists: Ann Telnaes, Matt Wuerker, and Kevin “KAL” Kallaugher (who was a finalist) to depict the political figures dominating the news in 2017.
The group would never otherwise find itself around the same table: German Chancellor Angela Merkel; Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg; Russian President Vladimir Putin; and of course Jong-un. These four new coasters join a set of more than 20 that have been commissioned over the years, most of them depicting domestic figures like Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, and Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi.
The coasters should arrive any day now. Take a look at the rest of them below.
Accompanying the coasters are a selection of four new politically pandering cocktails from food and beverage director Paride Guerra. They’re already available and include the “Prost” with pomegranate liqueur, grapefruit simple syrup, and Stella Artois beer and the “38th Parallel” with Ivy City gin, Don Ciccio & Figli Don Ferne, Plume & Thyme simple syrup, and tonic water. Each drink costs $16 and will be available through October.
Note that the coasters and drinks will be available in the pop-up lobby bar until Off The Record’s revamp is completed on Sept. 5 when operations will resume in the below-ground, sultry drink den. Visit Sunday-Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 12 a.m. and Friday-Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m.
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Off The Record, 800 16th St. NW; (202) 638-6600; hayadams.com
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