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Danger: Bring your bae to Iron Gate’s Pop-Up Valentine’s Day bar and he or she could order the “Better Put a Ring on It” cocktail, sending the least subtle hint of all time. Especially because it comes garnished with a ring pop.
The cocktail is just one of nine cheeky drinks that will make their debut Feb. 1 when the patio and bar of the Dupont Circle restaurant will be converted into a celebration of love through Feb. 14. Much like Miracle on 7th Street, the irreverent Christmas cocktail pop-up, this Valentine’s Day pop-up will make fun of the cheesiness that accompanies a Hallmark-invented-it holiday. Expect to hear a lot of baby-making music. Think ’90s R&B.
Not only will there be speciality drinks, such as “You Make Me Want to be a Better Martini” and “101 Aphrodisiacs,” from barman Nick Farrell, but Chef Tony Chittum put together a food menu exclusive to the pop-up. Both menus are below.
While not required, reservations can be made for the pop-up on OpenTable by booking a table for the “patio & garden.”
Cocktails ($13 each):
<3 Beets
El Silencio Mezcal, Amaro Sfumato, blood orange, beets, lime, mole bitters
Kiss From A Rose
Hendrick’s Gin, house grenadine, rosewater-infused cocchi rosa, lemon, house-made yogurt, garnished with a rose petal
I’ll Never Let Go, Jack (warm)
Metaxa, mastiha, hot chocolate, garnished with red heart-shaped mastiha marshmallows
I Wish I Knew How to Quit You, Negroni (Lies, Damned Lies rehashed)
Negroni on draft served on a large heart-shaped ice cube
101 Aphrodisiacs
Oster Vit, pomegranate orange blossom syrup, Amaro Vecchio del Capo, lemon, champagne, garnished with a Amaro Vecchio del Capo truffle speared with a cupid arrow
A Black Manhattan Where My Heart Once Was
Chocolate-infused, cherrywood-smoked, and cocoa butter washed bourbon, Amaro Lucano, vermouth, bitters, garnished with a chocolate-covered maraschino cherry
Better Put A Ring On It
Rum, pineapple, coconut, Caffo Mezodi L’Aperitivo, pepper, served on crushed ice and garnished with a nasturtium flower and Ring Pop garnish
You Make Me Want to Be a Better Martini
1751 Gin Lane Victoria Pink Gin, house vermouth, garnished with a heart-shaped lemon peel
I’ll Have What She’s Having
Vodka, elderflower liqueur, Don Ciccio Figli Fico d’ India, Blood Orange Sweetheart Lindera Farms Shrub, club soda with blood orange heart-shaped ice cubes garnished with sweetheart candy
Food:
Wild Ass Pony Oysters (3), clementine granite, house hot sauce, $10
Sourdough bruschetta, sweet potato “caponata,” bittersweet chocolate, $10
House focaccia, kalamata, torn basil, sun-dried tomato, $6
Oak roasted dates, feta, pomegranate, Sicilian pistachio, $9
Maine mussels, spicy pork sausage, fennel, house sourdough, $12
Rock shrimp agro dolce, pickled chilies, toasted sesame seeds, $12
Glazed oyster root, shaved Red Apron ham, dill, hollandaise, $10
Charred avocado, winter radish, blood orange, vin cotto, $10
Zeppole “hearts,” vanilla sugar, bittersweet chocolate, $8
Smoked almond baklava, rose water, red currant sorbet, $10
Chocolate-dipped cannoli, pistachio, white chocolate, $3
Iron Gate, 1734 N St. NW; (202) 524-5202; irongaterestaurantdc.com