Add Tavern Whiskey Tastings and a TikTok Wellness Trend to Your DC Weekend Plans
Fun things to do in Washington DC this weekend.
Ah winter, our old friend who managed to show up after a few years of ghosting us. For many, the snowfall was greeted with a welcome reason to chill inside. For others it meant the return of the Battle of Snowpenheimer. (A snowball fight with its own organizing committee, which might be the most DC thing we’ve heard about in a long time.)
Over the next few days, there’s plenty going on in the city besides the snow. From indulging in a dry—or very mimosa heavy—brunch, to checking out new exhibits at galleries large and small, to embracing winter head on and literally plunging yourself into icy water, here’s everything fun to do in DC this weekend.
Where to Drink in DC
January 19, 7:30 pm
Georgetown, $250
The whiskey-forward bar and rare spirit tasting room in what was originally a tavern from 1783 is one of Georgetown’s best kept secrets. If you haven’t yet spent an evening here (or popped in during the day when they serve coffees), now is your weekend because the historic space is holding a guided tasting of whiskeys from the 1960s and ‘70s. You don’t have to be a whiskey connoisseur to appreciate the specialty sips, but that certainly won’t work against you. The guided tasting of six pours of American whiskies will explore each brew’s history and unique characteristics.
January 19–21
The Wharf, $9 and up
Craving some tropical warmth in your life (or your glass)? Head over to Colada Shop at the Wharf to imbibe the restaurant’s new Cuban cocktails. The Tropical Mimosa is a choose-your-own-adventure with guava, tamarind, and passion fruit mixed with bubbly; the Babalu features white rum and lime cooler; and the Cascara Airmail with gold and white rum, honey, lime, and sparkling wine will transport you to sunnier shores.
January 19–21
Alexandria, $30 and up
Don’t think restaurant week only happens within the confines of DC: Alexandria has one all of its own, which begins this Friday and will run for ten days. Over 70 restaurants in Old Town, Carlyle, Eisenhower, West End, and Del Ray will be offering set dinner menus starting at $30. This is a great time to try a spot that’s been on your list or previously felt like too much of a splurge. We’re earmarking Brabo for their caviar and craft cocktails, Josephine for their duck confit and impressive selection of French wines (don’t leave before stopping by Bar Jo on the restaurant’s top floor), and Taverna Cretekou, a neighborhood favorite which serves an ancient Greek menu from 400 BCE along with modern dishes and an extensive list of Greek wines that span the country from Thessaloniki to Santonrini.
January 20, 11 am
H Street, $25
Binge Bar, the hip, much-talked-about subterranean bar that serves exclusively non-alcoholic beverages, is enjoying some much-deserved love this month thanks to Dry January and Damp January practitioners who are joining year-round devotees for a taste of the NA life. This Saturday, Binge is hosting a special NA bottomless brunch (who says you can’t brunch without a mimosa?). The $25 ticket will secure your spot and give you access to bottomless NA cocktails (we love the Fill the Void for its elderflower, black ginger, and raspberry notes). Brunch food is available for purchase.
Where to Explore Arts and Culture in DC
January 19–21, 10 am–5 pm
The National Mall, Free
The pioneering photographer, Dorothea Lange, whose work, “Migrant Mother,” is synonymous with the Depression and Dust Bowl, has a solo exhibition at the National Gallery of Art. Titled “Dorothea Lange: Seeing People,” the showcase spans decades of the artists’ career with close to one hundred images from her works chronicling people, life, progress, and hardship in the United States, as well as abroad. Carve out time to spend with each photo, masterpieces that, through Lange’s lens, have become worlds unto themselves.
January 20–21, 12 pm– 6 pm
Georgetown, Free
The art gallery Von Ammon Co is opening a new exhibit this weekend of the paintings of Thebe Phetogo, a Gaborone-based artist. Check out 14 new works in the show—"8 Propositions for the Origin of a blackbody”— as they come to life on vivid chartreuse painted backgrounds. The gallery, which is tucked in an alley near Georgetown’s Blue Bottle Coffee, is worth a gander in itself.
January 21, 8 am–11 am and 3 pm–6 pm
The Wharf, $200
The cold plunge trend is all over TikTok these days. But there might just be more than hype behind these viral videos: devotees of the practice (in which you submerge yourself into frigid water) claim it helps with circulation, mental health, alertness, and helps you feel more fully alive. You can try it yourself this weekend at a guided cold plunge session led by Wim Hof certified instructors at the Wharf’s Pendry Hotel. The three-hour sessions (opt for either sunrise or sunset) will include meditation and breathwork at the Pendry’s Solarium, refreshments, and of course, a guided plunge in Pendry’s outdoor pool.
Family-Friendly Events in DC
January 21, 10 am–4 pm
Penn Quarter, $7 and up
You would be forgiven for not checking out the National Building Museum—the mega space was closed for what seemed like years due to a massive renovation. But the museum’s reopening, and their new family-friendly, interactive exhibit “Building Stories” is reason to stop in on Sunday. The experience is designed for families with children in kindergarten through third grade and uses children’s books to explore elements of construction, engineering, architecture, and design.