Think Festivus is the coolest December holiday? Put down that aluminum pole, stop the Airing of Grievances, and instead pick up a glass and make a toast to Repeal Day.

December 5 marked the anniversary of the day the 36th state ratified the 21st Amendment, effectively ending Prohibition. And Friday, the DC Craft Bartenders’ Guild said cheers to the 75th anniversary of Repeal Day and the return of legalized booze with cocktails, toasts, and dancing.

Read on for the best moments of the night.

Photographs by Kelly DiNardo

Time, as the saying goes, is money, which may be why Brendan Cox and Derek Brown are zipping through the grocery store. They’re not speeding, rushing, or giving off that harried vibe that most shoppers exude this time of year, but they’re not dawdling. Their challenge: Pull together a cocktail party for ten for less than $75.

Goat cheese? Too expensive. Cox nixes a dish from his menu.

Celebrate the changing leaves of fall this Friday and every Friday through December 19 between 5 and 7 PM at Equinox’s cider-themed happy hour. The hot-cider cocktails aren’t so cheap at $10 to $11, but chef Todd Gray’s seasonal snacks—such as pumpkin fritters, sweet-potato pot stickers, and venison chili—are free. Come winter, the happy hour will take on a new theme—chocolate—featuring desserts from pastry chef Melanie Parker.

Correction: We misreported the reason behind the closure of Hummingbird to Mars. The three founders have other obligations that don't afford them the time to keep the project going. We apologize for the error.  

First, the bad news: This weekend will be the last for the DC speakeasy Hummingbird to Mars. It’s closing after Washington Post spirits columnist Jason Wilson spilled the beans on the project in last week’s Food section. The good news is that the bartender trio behind the 1920s-inspired spot—Justin Guthrie of Central, Derek Brown of Komi, and Owen Thomson of Bourbon—have plans to start up similar ventures in the future.

In their hush-hush location, the three bartenders put together an inventive cocktail menu, with 12 creations divided among three categories: original drinks, borrowed recipes, and familiar classics. The drinks feature touches like brûlée egg whites and other cooking techniques traditionally reserved for food.

Whole Foods in DC’s Logan Circle (1440 P St., NW; 202-332-4300) is currently selling a bottle of Massaya Classic 2006, a blend of three reds—Cinsault, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah. What’s significant about the wine other than the fact it hails from Lebanon?

Last winter, it was the wine that the four-star Komi (1509 17th St., NW; 202-332-9200) chose to pair with its fabulous katsikaki, a tour-de-force presentation of spit-roasted baby goat.

Few are brave enough or skilled enough to prepare a spit-roasted goat at home, but the wine—earthy and lightly spicy but also soft and supple—is a great match for big, hearty flavors: It dances adroitly with a plate of seared scallops and romesco, and it works great, too, with a tagine or roast chicken. It’s a terrific deal at $12.99 a bottle.

This appeared in the October, 2008 issue of The Washingtonian.  

Winemaking on the East Coast keeps getting better and better—a fact that was on display at the recent Atlantic Seaboard Wine Competition, when Best of Show was won by a 2007 Riesling from Newport Vineyards in Rhode Island. This wine featured zesty lime flavors and great acidity—a classic Riesling that had me convinced it was from the Finger Lakes.

I was one of 20 judges who swirled, sniffed, and spat our way through 458 wines from 100 wineries in 12 states. Having participated in all four contests, I can say this year’s field was the strongest yet. (Or else my table was luckier than in early years.) The Best of Show taste-off featured 19 wines among the 56 that received gold medals; the judges awarded 117 silver and 153 bronze medals as well. (I wrote about last year’s competition in the October 2007 issue of The Washingtonian.)

Edna Valley's bottle weighs 2 pounds and 11 ounces, while the Sanford clocks in at 3 pounds and 11 ounces.

It’s time to fight obesity in wine bottles.

I don’t mean magnums, mind you—those 1.5-liter double bottles that always impress at parties. And not the giant auction formats like Jeraboams, Methusalehs, Salmanazars, Nevvawuzzas, or Needabarasoapas.

I say down with those heavy 750-milliliter behemoths that weigh considerably more than an average bottle. I mean, what’s the point? Do we really think the wine is better because the bottle is slightly taller, a little fatter and has a huge punt? (Geekspeak alert: A punt is the indentation in the bottom of the wine bottle. A sommelier is supposed to be able to stick his or her thumb up the punt and control the bottle for artful pouring across the table. Some people actually get off on that.)

Moving some bottles around in my modest wine cellar recently, I was struck by how differently two bottles of Pinot Noir weighed in my hands. So I pulled out my kitchen scale and put them to the test.