$7 apps, $11 cocktails headline new specials
The Imperial restaurant in Adams Morgan and sister cocktail lounge Dram and Grain began a new happy hour. The owners, Bill King and Stephen Thomas, who also own Jack Rose Dining Saloon, announced the new specials via their publicist. $7 sea-centric snacks and $11 craft cocktails celebrate the end of the work day at Imperial’s marble-topped raw bar and Dram and Grain’s bar seats and black marble tables.
The Imperial, Dram and Grain happy hour appetizers
Spanning an impressive 5,500 square feet, the Imperial is a modern restaurant focusing on Mid-Atlantic fare with a French influence. For happy hour, Chef Russell Jones crafted new appetizer specials for just $7:
- Carroll’s Clam Dip with crème fraîche, fresh horseradish and sea salt lavash
- Cassoulet Hummus with marrowfat beans, bacon lardon and baguette crostini
- Fried Castelvetrano Olives served atop pimento goat cheese
- Tempura Oyster & Shiitake Mushrooms served with truffle remoulade.
- Chicken Confit Sliders with bread & butter pickles, drizzled with spicy mayo and served between soft sesame-seed buns
The Imperial, Dram and Grain happy hour cocktails
Andy Bixby, creative director of beverage for The Imperial and Dram and Grain, prepared drinks for the happy hour $11 drink menu. Most drinks skew low-ABV, but the Manhattan riff and Dry Martini variations turn up the buzz. Here’s the list of drinks as the cocktail team described them:
- The Old Manhattan and the Sea gets a spritz of aromatic seaside bitters, alongside Old Overholt Bonded Rye, Baked Citrus Amaro (a bitter citrus and baking spice digestif made at Dram and Grain), and Imperial’s sweet vermouth blend
- Pineapple by Mail, a tropical Airmail riff combines Imperial’s house white rum blend, Plantation Pineapple Rum, roasted pineapple brown sugar syrup, lime and barrel-aged honey bitters, topped with a float of Imperial’s Chamboo cocktail and dehydrated pineapple crescent
- The Allicin Chains gets a briny, peaty float of Ardbeg 10yr scotch, atop Monkey Shoulder Blended Scotch, ginger syrup, fermented garlic honey, Tamaro (a savory, umami amaro made at Dram and Grain), and fresh lemon
- Dirty martini fans will love the Brackish Martini, made with Beefeater Gin, Dolin Dry vermouth, clarified olive juice, Imperial’s house orange bitters, and clam juice, served with a pearl onion, olive and lemon twist-filled clam shell
Happy hour at The Imperial and Dram and Grain takes place between the hours of 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Photo credit: The Imperial (featured inline)
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