President’s Day is one of the best holidays because it’s the one that we usually forget about until it’s right on top of us. It’s like a super surprise holiday and random day off work we never knew we had. Thank you, Mr. President(s).
In celebration of one of the most underrated holidays, we wanted to tell you about The Willard InterContinental Washington’s Round Robin Bar. The D.C. watering hole has a drink menu that honors every single President of the United States – in case you didn’t get the memo, Barack Obama is the 44th. Bartender Jim Hewes has been at the Round Robin since 1986 and used his history buff skills to create this impressive menu.
Every drink is on there for a reason – it was either a president’s favorite, was somehow connected to the leader through an historic event, or, if he couldn’t find an alcoholic connection, it’s a drink that fits within the era the man was president. There are even some non-alcoholic drinks on the menu for the presidents that didn’t really like to get down with the liquor (Calvin Coolidge is cranberry and soda, while George W. Bush is a diet cola with a slice of lemon).
Here are some of our favorites on the menu (make them at home today to celebrate the holiday!):
- Rutherford B. Hayes: Orange Blossum: Hayes’ wife refused to serve alcohol at the White House, so the pressmen spiked the oranges with gin at his inauguration.
- James A. Garfield: Dewars Scotch: Andrew Carnegie sent a case of this as a gift for Garfield’s inauguration
- Ulysses S. Grant: Roman Punch: This fruit and champagne punch actually froze solid in the bowl because it was so cold in Washington D.C.
And what has Hewes decided for our current president? Barack Obama’s drink is the Blue Hawaiian; it combines the president’s love of aged tequila and the cool blue waters of the Pacific (Curacao).