Where: Farmers Fishers Bakers, 3000 K St. NW

Bartender Response: “Maybe something fruity?” We opted for “something unusual.”

What We Got: Champagne and absinthe garnished with lemon peel

Price: $14

How It Tasted: Absinthe added a strong anise flavor and paired well with the dry Champagne. The scent of lemon peel on the rim and the herbal absinthe made this an unusually fragrant cocktail, suited to slow sipping.

Improv Points (1-5): 5. Farmers Fishers Bakers encourages off-menu drinks, unlike most places we’ve encountered. Adding absinthe not only satisfied our request, but tasted really good, too.

Where: Queen Vic, 1206 H St. NE

Bartender Response: “Is there any Champagne you like? We can make anything.”

What We Got: A Black Velvet with Guinness and prosecco

Price: $7.27

How It Tasted:  Like a watered down Guinness.

Improv Points (1-5): 2. We’re making a New Year’s resolution to swear off adulterating perfectly good wine with perfectly good beer.

Where: Dino, 3435 Connecticut Ave. NW

Bartender Response: “We’ve got one on our menu.”

What We Got: A bellini with Trevisiol prosecco and “essence” of blackberry

Price: $9

How It Tasted: Sweet, but not overly so. The blackberry essence was just enough to give a normally plain glass of prosecco a

festive kick.

Improv Points (1-5): 3. A bellini is more of a brunch drink, but we didn’t mind sipping this after work. One of three local fruit bellinis on Dino’s menu, the blackberry is more serious, and less ubiquitous than its strawberry and peach counterparts. The purple hue was a nice touch.