Celebrate the Season: Cherry Blossom Cocktails Around Town
By • March 9, 2023 0 1928
It’s that time of year again, when the city is seen through rose-colored glasses. Enjoy these cherry blossom cocktails served around the city to celebrate all things perfectly pink.
Photo by Kate Oczypok.
The St. Regis Bar’s “A Gift from Japan” and “The First Lady’s Project”
The St. Regis Bar is offering not one but two cocktails celebrating the season. “A Gift from Japan” is made with Japanese yuzu-forward gin with yuzu juice, Peychard’s bitters and Manchino cherry blossom vermouth. For cocktail connoisseurs who may not know — the vermouth is a rare spirit poured from only 4,000 bottles made each year. Don’t forget to try “The First Lady’s Project” too — its happy pink hue comes from D.C.’s exclusive Cerasum Aperitivo, a blend of three different varieties of cherries and Sakura blossoms. It also includes rye whiskey, egg whites and Sakura bitters. The St. Regis is located at 923 Black Lives Matter Plaza NW.
Kintsugi is the art of mending broken pottery in Japan. Bourbon Steak is offering a cocktail paying homage to the practice, made with Suntory Toki, Campari, lemon, grapefruit and raspberry-chamomile syrup. The drink is served shaken and served over a large rock, garnished with raspberries. Bourbon Steak is located in The Four Seasons Hotel at 2800 Pennsylvania Ave. NW.
Osteria Morini’s “Vignola Sling”
The cozy Italian restaurant at The Yards is offering an Italian take on the Singapore Sling in honor of the season. The drink is made with Botanist Gin, maraschino, dry curacao, cherry heering, aperol grenadine, lime and pineapple. Osteria Morini is located at 301 Water St. SE.
Opaline’s “Le Japonais Revisite”
Opaline Bar + Brasserie is offering a bright fuchsia and red-hued cocktail dubbed “Le Japonais Revisite” made with Suntory Toki Whisky, Sake, yuzu juice and rectified Marasca Cherry. It’s served in a glass reminiscent of a flamingo and has a bit of delicate floral garnish tossed in too. Opaline is in the Sofitel Washington, D.C. Lafayette Square Hotel at 806 15th St. NW.
‘Le Japonais Revisite’ cocktail from Opaline. Courtesy of The Hue Cry Agency.
Bresca’s “La Parisienne Mexique”
A bright and bold tequila-based cocktail, the “La Parisienne Mexique” is mixed with shochu, blood orange, Sakura and lemon. The name of the drink references a painting by Alfred Stevens called “La Parisienne Japonaise.” You can see that piece of art here. Bresca is located at 1906 14th St. NW.
Pay homage to the origin of the pink wonders throughout our city with Immigrant Food’s “Sakura Sour,” made with FUK Single Grain Japanese Whisky, housemade raspberry shrub, Japanese yuzu bitters and egg whites. The drink is served at the Planet Word Museum location at 925 13th St. NW.
A Sakura sour similar to what is served at Immigrant Food.
