The Corcoran Gallery of Art's annual spring fund-raiser Artini is all about creative cocktails. Hosted by the museum's young professionals' 1869 Society, the affair pits local Washington mixologists against one another to see who can craft the most artistic tipple inspired by a work of art in the gallery. This year, the experts looked beyond the traditional addition of fruit juice in their spring cocktails, opting for original ingredients like chocolate bitters, dehydrated fruit garnishes, and even absinthe.
Here's a look at nine inventive cocktail ideas to steal for spring events.
Bandolero served gold leaf caviar along with its gin cocktail of ginger beer, blood orange liqueur, and absinthe.
Photo: Chris Avery
The Passenger's cocktail, inspired by Antonio Canova's "Venus" sculpture, combined Heavenly Spirits' eau de vie poire, lime juice, chocolate passion fruit syrup, egg white, pear liqueur, and chocolate bitters.
Photo: Chris Avery
Jack Rose's Verdant Passion combined mescal, honey syrup, elderflower liqueur, and vegetable juice of kale, apple, spinach, ginger, romaine, cucumber, celery, parsley, and lemon.
Photo: Chris Avery
Zentan’s Josh Berner designed a spicy cocktail with tequila, mint tincture, mango puree, habanero syrup, and drops of mint oil garnished with a lollipop.
Photo: Chris Avery
Mixologist Milton Hernandez from Ambar used apple-flavored corn whiskey, black tea, milk, and heavy cream to create his Le Corcoran artini, which he topped with an absinthe gelatin.
Photo: Chris Avery
The Gibson's Frank Jones took inspiration from Henri Regnault's "Head of a Moor" painting to create a cocktail of rye, blood orange liqueur, allspice dram, chocolate bitters, tonic, and orange peel. Jones's artini won the Critic's Choice Award of the night as determined by a select group of local food and wine journalists, bloggers, and the event chair.
Photo: Chris Avery
Daikaya's Eddie Kim created his martini from rye, dark creme de cacao, dry curacao, armagnac, gelatin leaves, and a dash of tobacco.
Photo: Chris Avery
Joe Ambrose from P.O.V. used eau de vie poire, armagnac, elderflower liquor, pear and lemon juices, and maple syrup to create a fruity martini garnished with berry foam and a dehydrated raspberry meringue. Ambrose won the People's Choice Award as determined by votes submitted to Washingtonian.com. Prior to the event, the restaurants held a feature night to showcase their cocktail to the public, after which guests could vote for their favorite on the media partner's Web site.
Photo: Chris Avery
In the speakeasy-style V.I.P. room, guests sipped a juniper-infused gin fizz punch served in coffee cups.
Photo: Chris Avery
