Monday, October 7th, is the anniversary of Edgar Allen Poe’s death. To mark the occasion, Les Dames d’Escoffier (a philanthropic organization for women in the food, beverage and hospitality industry) are throwing a fundraiser in Washington, DC. and I just love the concept of the event. Not only does Craft: the Spirit of Poe raise funds for scholarships for local talent to be able to attend culinary school but it does so by mixing craft spirits and literature. Throughout the city, bars and restaurants are providing a unique craft cocktail, a small bite and a lecture on Edgar Allan Poe by a either a literature scholar or a local distiller.
You can purchase tickets for just one spot or hop around to a couple of different bars and try a variety of Poe-themed craft cocktails. You can only get a lecture at one of them though, so chose wisely 😉 The list of participating bars and restaurants is pretty exciting too including:
– Ripple, where mixologist Caroline Blundell and American University’s Courtney Wells will team up to talk about “The Raven’s Claw.”
– The Gibson, where General Manager Frank Jones will discuss the ingredients behind a “Masque of the Red death” cocktail while American University MFA student Priyanka Joseph will discuss the imagery of the story. (that lecture starts at 8PM)
– Daikaya, which apparently has some very well educated bartender like Lukas Smith, who holds a master’s degree in comparative literature. He’ll mix a “Nevermore” craft cocktail and talk about the story too.
– The Green Pig where Catoctin Creek Distillery‘s Chad Robert will talk about the inspiration for his “Cask of Amontillado” Poe craft cocktail (made with rye not sherry).
To purchase tickets, head to eventbrite.
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