DCity Smokehouse, 1301 Marion Barry Ave., SE.
SouthEast Restaurant Group business partners Melvin Hines and Charese John have loved whiskey since their college days. “He was Jack and coke, I was Jack and ginger,” John says. So it’s fitting that the two are bringing a whiskey bar to the Anacostia location of their beloved barbecue joint, DCity Smokehouse.
The barbecue spot—a spinoff of the Northwest DC original—has long featured whiskey at its catering events. By day, it’ll still serve mostly-takeout barbecue. Starting on Friday, April 25, the nighttime focus will shift to the bar—also open Sundays starting at noon—though you can still grab some ‘cue.
“We’ve curated a kind of speakeasy feel,” says John. “But it’s still meant to be the neighborhood watering hole,” adds cocktail creator Ashley McPherson.
The trio—Hines, John, and McPherson—have curated a diverse selection of whiskey, ranging from crowd-pleasers like Johnnie Walker to newer Black-owned labels like Brough Brothers and Abisola. Hines will regularly showcase his favorites, such as the top-shelf Sinatra Select. “That’s a Christmas, a New Year’s drink to bring out,” says John.
The shortlist of cocktails includes a “Marion Barry Smash”—DCity Smokehouse sits on Marion Barry Avenue—with bourbon, blackberry, crème de cassis, and mint simple syrup. The “DCity Mambo Sour,” with homemade basil lemonade, bourbon, and mumbo sauce (yes, the actual stuff). Suggested pairing: wings, obviously. Any drink, even a vodka soda, can be smoked upon request.
The bar plans to host a women’s whiskey club with a monthly bourbon selection. “I think a lot of people, especially women specifically, shy away from heavy, darker spirits because there’s such a strong, heavy bite to them,” says John. “Ashley and I will just kind of talk through the [featured bourbons] in a feminine voice, versus sometimes it gets a little masculine.”
The bar is also available to rent for events like birthdays and community meetings, and Hines and John are hoping that people will take advantage of the space for celebrations. “This place was built—all of it was built—on celebrating life,” says John.
Hines has lived in Anacostia for 14 years, and opening the bar in the neighborhood, where there aren’t many spaces like it, was important to the trio. “I feel like Anacostia is the cultural center of the city. But this side of town is traditionally left behind in terms of development,” he says. “We wanted to offer something you can’t get within a mile radius.”
