Friday Happy Hour: Tonic for Everyday Neuroses

Getting together with friends for a cocktail party is pretty great – but even better if your guests include, say, authors and experts who want to talk about their work, a chef who whips up some very sophisticated morsels, and a terrific mixologist to make the drinks. That is the concept behind Fireside Cocktails by The Coterie. Meeting once a month at Fathom Creative (and, really, I can only dream of having a living room as chic as their second-floor gallery/event space), these events combine some of my very favorite things – intriguing conversation and tasty drinks.

I attended February’s event, where Eric Weiner discussed his most recent book, Man Seeks God: My Flirtations with the Divine. Between his presentations (broken into segments, with time for mingling, chatting, and drinking between), conversations were stimulated – both in provocation and lubrication – by cocktails prepared by mixologist Jon Harris. My favorite of these, taking its name from a phrase in Mr. Weiner’s book, was called “Tonic for Everyday Neuroses.”

Obviously something I need in my life, the idea behind this tonic was to combine several ingredients reputed to have calming qualities – namely lavender, hops, and… well, I am not sure gin has historically been credited with homeopathic properties, but I think it might as well. The lavender came in the form of lavender bitters, and the hops from a hearty float of Bell’s Two Hearted Ale, poured atop the gin and lime juice. The drink was very pleasant – and apparently worked at calming my nerves, because I did do quite a bit of chatting with strangers that evening which my friends will tell you, is rather outside my normally-shy nature. Curing my neuroses, however, might require a few more.

Brittany has tried to leave DC, it just never lasts. She has lived in Chicago, California, and China – but she always comes back home. Brittany is a drinks, nightlife, and style correspondent for We Love DC. Between columns, you can find her on Twitter, Tumblr, or standing by the bar. Email her at brittany(at)welovedc.com.

One thought on “Friday Happy Hour: Tonic for Everyday Neuroses

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