Hank's Oyster Bar Serves Powerful Cocktail & Seafood Combinations
Hank's on the Hill lures them in
On Capitol Hill, power struggles are an occupational hazard.
But when Jamie Leeds opened her third branch of Hank's Oyster Bar there, she had cocktail ace Gina Chersevani create a drinks program strong enough to rival Hank's classic seafood combinations.
The resulting bar, The Eddy, nods to classic Hill drinking holes. Vintage crystal sits alongside scientific beakers. Fashionable barkeeps–think pastel ties, brightly patterned shirts, stark blue aprons–create a combination of nostalgia and nuance, using house-made shrubs, local spirits, and custom sodas in flavors like orange-lemon-lime-sage.
Chersevani's Forgetfully, Fernet ($11) is the drink of the summer, blending frozen Jameson with ginger, lemon and a float of the herbaceous amaro. It's ideal with oysters on the half shell. The Landlubber ($10) is a pirate-inspired blend of spicy wood-infused rum that is served with dehydrated smoked banana peels to draw out the spirit's caramel flavors.
PT-109 ($10) is a snappy mix of Bluecoat gin, lemon and a house-made coconut-cardamom soda. The effervescent drink instantly balances the salty, buttery lobster roll ($23).
This location serves an all-star dessert menu, so pair Chersevani's lavender-spiked Champagne cobbler ($10) with ice-cream-topped peach cobbler ($7) or a tart slice of Key lime pie ($7).
Hank's/The Eddy Bar, 633 Pennsylvania Ave. SE; 202-733-1971 or hanksoysterbar.com