Enjoyed: Friday, December 3, 2021

Listed on the menu: Yes, as “Shoreham Old Fashioned” 

Ingredients: Bulleit bourbon, simple syrup, cherry bitters, Angostura bitters, club soda, orange peel

The occasion: Every December, Husband and I get out of town for a weekend as an early holiday gift to ourselves. (We skipped 2020, obviously.) In 2019, we went to Washington and stayed at the historic and iconic Omni Shoreham. (My favorite facts about the hotel? 1. The Beatles stayed here in February 1964 right after appearing on the Ed Sullivan Show. Their DC performance would be their first concert in the USA before a paying audience.  AND, 2. Bill Clinton played his saxophone here during one of his inaugural balls in January 1993.) Since we had not been to DC for two solid years, we decided to return to the Shoreham. As always, the elegant lodgings and attentive staff did not disappoint.

My rating: **** out of 5. After the trio of tipsy conference-goers finally stepped aside, I ordered my drink and watched the bartender carefully.  He started with incredibly generous dashes of cherry bitters and then angostura bitters, then an overflowing double jigger of bourbon, and a splash of simple syrup. He poured this from shaker to shaker several times to mix it up– I must admit that I have never seen that technique used–then poured it into a glass, added a splash of club soda, then ice and an orange peel. Later, a hotel staffer told me that the evening’s bartender had a reputation for making a fine Old Fashioned. The cherry flavor was more evident than usual, but not unwelcome.

Final thoughts: While I enjoyed this nightcap, Husband sipped on Lagavulin scotch. We sat in soft velveteen chairs between the restaurant and vast lobby, and we simply enjoyed the opulence and the Christmas decorations. Ah, in moments like this, life is indeed good.