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Vibrant beets bring sweet, earthy notes to drinks around town
Beet cocktails are having a big moment under the wintertime sun. Sweet, earthy, and beautifully hued, the root vegetable adds flavor complexity and visual excitement to alcoholic and zero-proof cocktails alike. And area restaurants are here for all the beet-related puns, with cocktail names like “Drop the Beet” and “Beet the Heat.”
From Michelin-rated restaurants to acclaimed cocktail bars, here are 10-plus spots to sip a beet-centric cocktail around D.C.
Read MoreBeet-infused tequila takes center stage on Adams Morgan’s new disco ball-studded dance floor. “Super Sexe” ($14) is named after a Montreal strip club of the same name that burned down after a fire in October. Hot pink, smoky, and citrusy, the cocktail features Xila mezcal-based liquor, lime, aji, and sage salt. Owner Chas Jefferson calls the creation a “really weird riff on a margarita.”
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Seven Reasons’ beet cocktail was created with romance in mind. The restaurant put the rose pink drink on the menu for Valentine’s Day last year and it’s been part of the bar program ever since. “Never Been Kissed” ($18) marries mezcal with a shrub made from beets, thyme, strawberry, and champagne vinegar. Bolivian brandy Singani and Oloroso sherry wine are added to the drink, which is topped with egg white foam.
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Award-winning Service Bar’s wintertime cocktail “Swizz Beetz” ($13) gets a sunny hue from golden beets. The raw vegetable is peeled and juiced, then stabilized with citric acid, before tequila, mezcal, ginger, and lime are added. The drink is served over crushed ice and currently garnished with a banana leaf.
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The beet cocktail at chef Matt Baker’s Michelin-starred Gravitas is herbaceous on the nose and tangy on the tongue thanks to a bubbly finish. “Unbeetable” ($18) combines Etsu, a Japanese gin distilled from sugarcane, sparkling water, and golden beet shrub made from champagne vinegar, mustard seeds, and ginger. The golden beverage by corporate bar director Judy Elahi is topped with a smoky sprig of charred rosemary.
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Georgetown’s French neo-bistro serves a spirit-free beet beverage. The restaurant introduced “Non 4 New York Sour” ($15) on the fall menu in September and has kept it going due to its popularity. For the sour, NON’s zero-proof beetroot and sancho base is combined with Japanese green tea houjicha and tamari, and garnished with a lemon rind foam.
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The simply named “Beet Cocktail” ($14) has been a staple at the Shaw eatery since it opened in 2017. The root veggie-heavy cocktail melds gin, Velvet Falernum, lime, beet juice, and mint for an earthy, sweet and tart drink, with a hint of herb.
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The Morrow Hotel’s newly opened French restaurant Le Clou whips up a non-alcoholic cocktail featuring beets, white chocolate, and chai tea ($14). Lacto-fermented beet juice joins dehydrated white chocolate powder and chai tea water to create an earthy, spicy, and sweet sipper all in one.
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Like Seven Reasons, chef Enrique Limardo’s West End sibling Imperfecto mixes beet with mezcal for its cardinal-colored cocktail. “The ‘Beeten’ Path” ($19) also features Aperol, Creme de Gingembre, lime, agave, and Angostura bitters. The menu labels the beverage “the ambrosia” (i.e. food and drink of Greek and Roman Gods), which is a pretty convincing endorsement. The Michelin-rated restaurant outfitted with beet-red bar stools says it’s not leaving the menu any time soon.
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A new creation this season, “Drop the Beet” ($20) mixes the downtown hotel restaurant’s private barrel rye and mezcal with a non-alcoholic beet cordial made from cold-pressed beets and simple syrup. Lime and aquafaba join the party in a glass, which is finished with a sprinkle of golden beet dust.
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The ruby red cocktail at the Conrad hotel’s essential seafood spot gets its punny name from its partnership with Echostage (the Northeast concert venue developed the restaurant’s soundtrack). “Drop the Beet” ($20) is a take on a Negroni, with beet-infused Cynar (a sub-in for Campari), locally distilled Green Hat gin, vermouth di torino, and an orange twist.
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Flora Flora’s recently launched dinner menu features a beet cocktail with a kick. “Beet the Heat” ($21) turns up the spice with chili liqueur Ancho Reyes and extract from the Rocotillo pepper, which is balanced out with the addition of lime, agave, and Himalayan sea salt.
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Beet-infused tequila takes center stage on Adams Morgan’s new disco ball-studded dance floor. “Super Sexe” ($14) is named after a Montreal strip club of the same name that burned down after a fire in October. Hot pink, smoky, and citrusy, the cocktail features Xila mezcal-based liquor, lime, aji, and sage salt. Owner Chas Jefferson calls the creation a “really weird riff on a margarita.”
Seven Reasons’ beet cocktail was created with romance in mind. The restaurant put the rose pink drink on the menu for Valentine’s Day last year and it’s been part of the bar program ever since. “Never Been Kissed” ($18) marries mezcal with a shrub made from beets, thyme, strawberry, and champagne vinegar. Bolivian brandy Singani and Oloroso sherry wine are added to the drink, which is topped with egg white foam.
Award-winning Service Bar’s wintertime cocktail “Swizz Beetz” ($13) gets a sunny hue from golden beets. The raw vegetable is peeled and juiced, then stabilized with citric acid, before tequila, mezcal, ginger, and lime are added. The drink is served over crushed ice and currently garnished with a banana leaf.
The beet cocktail at chef Matt Baker’s Michelin-starred Gravitas is herbaceous on the nose and tangy on the tongue thanks to a bubbly finish. “Unbeetable” ($18) combines Etsu, a Japanese gin distilled from sugarcane, sparkling water, and golden beet shrub made from champagne vinegar, mustard seeds, and ginger. The golden beverage by corporate bar director Judy Elahi is topped with a smoky sprig of charred rosemary.
Georgetown’s French neo-bistro serves a spirit-free beet beverage. The restaurant introduced “Non 4 New York Sour” ($15) on the fall menu in September and has kept it going due to its popularity. For the sour, NON’s zero-proof beetroot and sancho base is combined with Japanese green tea houjicha and tamari, and garnished with a lemon rind foam.
The simply named “Beet Cocktail” ($14) has been a staple at the Shaw eatery since it opened in 2017. The root veggie-heavy cocktail melds gin, Velvet Falernum, lime, beet juice, and mint for an earthy, sweet and tart drink, with a hint of herb.
The Morrow Hotel’s newly opened French restaurant Le Clou whips up a non-alcoholic cocktail featuring beets, white chocolate, and chai tea ($14). Lacto-fermented beet juice joins dehydrated white chocolate powder and chai tea water to create an earthy, spicy, and sweet sipper all in one.
Like Seven Reasons, chef Enrique Limardo’s West End sibling Imperfecto mixes beet with mezcal for its cardinal-colored cocktail. “The ‘Beeten’ Path” ($19) also features Aperol, Creme de Gingembre, lime, agave, and Angostura bitters. The menu labels the beverage “the ambrosia” (i.e. food and drink of Greek and Roman Gods), which is a pretty convincing endorsement. The Michelin-rated restaurant outfitted with beet-red bar stools says it’s not leaving the menu any time soon.
A new creation this season, “Drop the Beet” ($20) mixes the downtown hotel restaurant’s private barrel rye and mezcal with a non-alcoholic beet cordial made from cold-pressed beets and simple syrup. Lime and aquafaba join the party in a glass, which is finished with a sprinkle of golden beet dust.
The ruby red cocktail at the Conrad hotel’s essential seafood spot gets its punny name from its partnership with Echostage (the Northeast concert venue developed the restaurant’s soundtrack). “Drop the Beet” ($20) is a take on a Negroni, with beet-infused Cynar (a sub-in for Campari), locally distilled Green Hat gin, vermouth di torino, and an orange twist.
Flora Flora’s recently launched dinner menu features a beet cocktail with a kick. “Beet the Heat” ($21) turns up the spice with chili liqueur Ancho Reyes and extract from the Rocotillo pepper, which is balanced out with the addition of lime, agave, and Himalayan sea salt.
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