Between rain and cocktails…

Amanda McClements, Winston Lord and Kate Bennett

by columnist Maria Fda Giron R.

Photo credit: Joy Asico

What would be the reason for Amanda McClements, DC’s resident food connoisseur at Metrocurean; Mark Drapeau of Microsoft; Svetlana Legetic, mastermind behind Brightest Young Things; Winston Lord of Venga and Rich Amons of The Real Housewives of DC to meet in one place on a rainy Wednesday night?

The answer to this riddle is RX Summer 2012 where the hippest folks in town joined up for an evening of summer cocktails, culture, philanthropy and style at the Renaissance DuPont Circle Hotel.

 
The event took place at Mbar which definitely contributed to the style aspect with its comfy couches, plenty of table space and sporting some seriously friendly staff serving delicious snacks. 

Mark Drapeau and Rich Amons

“It's always pretty peaceful and relaxed without being still or stagnant," said Aba Kwawu of The Aba Agency. "Soft background music and plenty of casual conversations make for a perfect place to meet….....you can expect anything from this lounge, it brings together all kinds of people and each has a story to tell.”
 

Cheryl Romero Lauri Tamney Meredith Fineman

And the stars of the night?  Black Cat, A Derby, Mad Man, Briar Patch and Sweet Heat were the protagonists of the event -  cocktails, not people.   Each cocktail, inspired by a different D.C. taste-maker and made by experts Ari and Micah Wilder, had a unique function: they were dedicated to raising funds for Children’s Miracle Network, a non-profit organization dedicated to saving and improving the lives of children by raising funds for children's hospitals.
 
But how can you make a cocktail so particular?  Well, as Micah Wilder said, “it was a challenge”, not just because the cocktails were based on the tastes, favorite colors and style from the muses (Amanda McClements, Mark Drapeau, Winston Lord, Svetlana Legetic  and Rich Amons), but also because "each cocktail was trying to represent the personality and the essence of them in a drink."
 
The goal was accomplished.  Marc Drapeau, like his other colleagues, felt flattered by his cocktail:  "definitely the cocktail with my name, Mad Man, represents me...... is simultaneously classic and current and even bears the title of my favorite show Mad Man and for that for strange reason is closely related to my work......is like taking a bit of me in every sip!” 
 
For others it was really strange how without tasting the cocktail, one can definitely identify with it and even the type of glass that they were using for each cocktail was matching with their tastes, “it was a show of magic”.
 
However, the most interesting aspect of the magic of the cocktails was that the event turned into a campaign field, where the “muses” proudly boasted the excellence of the cocktail, how it represented them and how the one that was inspired by them and was the best of the night.  

Jaclyn Gower, Mark Goode

Across the lounge they were doing “campaign”, convincing the guests to choose their signature cocktail.  Maybe it was something related to personal pride, that and the Renaissance DuPont Circle Hotel saying that they will match the donation to the Children’s Miracle Network for the most popular RX Cocktail.
 
And which cocktail was the winner of the night?  None and all at once. Each cocktail had a different flavor and essence, a unique presentation, a distinctive color, a jazzy name and as the muse they represent, like Aba said: "a story to tell."