Brickskeller Saloon - evolved

A legend

This is a first: a saloon with it's own Wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brickskeller.

Excerpts:

The Brickskeller (officially The Brickskeller Dining House and Down Home Saloon) was a tavern in Washington, D.C., located near Dupont Circle across from Rock Creek Park and on the edge of Georgetown, in the Marifex Hotel (now the Brickskeller Inn) building. The Brickskeller was one of the city's most popular night spots in the 1960s and 70s after son Maurice and June Coja took over the restaurant-hotel operation while his dad pursued other interests.

Business boomed in those days as Maurice and June had obviously discovered and created a formula that fit the bill for success and future growth. As pointed out in a current Facebook site: "I used To Hang At The Bricks", the history of this original down home saloon remains a storied legend attested by decades of young people who frequented DC and Georgetown bars when they were students, government workers and beer connoisseurs from 1957 until 2010 when it closed.

The beer menu was always a prominent calling card for patrons but it wasn't until the late 1960s when one of the Coja's sharp management crew, Joe Corey, a talented musician and the in-house booking agent for upstairs music acts, started making runs in a rented refrigerated truck to Golden, Colorado, to buy truckloads of a little known beer (on the east coast) called Coors.

During the Alexander's years at the helm they received a Guinness World Record for the largest selection of beers commercially available, Dave was the first bar owner and fifth American to be knighted into the Confederation of Belgian Brewers in their over 600-year history. He received the Best Beer Bar in the Country award from the Adams Beverage Media group and the first landmark lifetime achievement award they ever presented from Washingtonian magazine. In addition, the Washington Post and other city papers declared The Brickskeller the best "beer bar" and best beer selections in the District of Columbia.

The Brickskeller is gone, but their beer list remains: http://www.lovethebeer.com/beer-list.html

The Inn was supposed to have been sold to a hotelier for renovation in 2010, but google maps shows a blue awning with the words "Coming Soon" from 2018, and no indication anything came. What has remained is the cellar bar, now known as the Beir Baron: http://www.thebierbaron.com/. I wouldn't count this as closed but maybe evolved. 

From what I've read, this place truly was one of the 100 greatest bars in the US. Frustrating that a beer bar is featured in a cocktail book, but I guess it's foolish to be picky 40 years after the fact. Since this one has ice cream and my grandmother leaned heavily on the dessert cocktails, I give you the

Outstanding Alexander

• 3 oz. vanilla ice cream
• 3 oz. chocolate ice cream
• 2 oz. whipping cream
• 1 1/2 oz. cognac
• 1/2 oz. Mexican coffee liqueur
• 1/2 oz. orange brandy
• nutmeg

Place ice cream and cream with 1/2 cup of ice in a blender and blend until creamy. Add liquors, blend until smooth. Pour into two glasses and garnish with nutmeg. Serves 2!