barmini by José Andrés

Similar to Ferran and Albert Adrià’s legendary (and now-shuttered) 41 Degrees cocktail bar in Barcelona, the Washington DC cocktail lounge barmini brings avant garde techniques and presentation to drinks and bar snacks, in a space physically connected to the restaurant minibar by José Andrés. We’ve visited barmini since before its official opening in 2013, when the space was used as a post-meal cocktail experience for minibar; it was fully transformed into its own concept and given the resources to grow into an experimental space for “cocktail innovation” using modern tools for aging, distilling, and presenting ingredients.

In past years, we’ve tried many of barmini’s cocktails, and enjoyed once-exclusive bar snacks such as Foieflles (foie gras waffles, now served elsewhere but still best here). On our most recent visit, we tried something different: a flight of zero-alcohol mocktails, many derived from Barmini’s cocktail recipes. The most memorable, “Ticket to Nowhere” (based on “Ticket to Phuket”), uses ginger, honey, lime, basil, and chili to evoke Thai flavors and spices, surprising with a mild tingling burn after the first sip.