M. Carrie Allan
- Freelance Spirits and Cocktail Writer, The Washington Post
- None, The Washington Post and others
Washington, D.C.
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Articles by M. Carrie Allan
Cocktail jellies update the Jell-O shot with whimsy and a wink
My first encounters with Jell-O were back in elementary school, when the jewel-hued cubes would show up at the cafeteria. We’d open our mouths to display them jiggling grotesquely, then smuggle the leftovers onto the playground to hurl at other kids. That was the 1980s. America’s more terrifying gelatin era was already in the rearview.
Cocktail jellies update the Jell-O shot with whimsy and a wink
My first encounters with Jell-O were back in elementary school, when the jewel-hued cubes would show up at the cafeteria. We'd open our mouths to display them jiggling grotesquely, then smuggle the leftovers onto the playground to hurl at other kids. That was the 1980s. America's more terrifying gelatin era was already in the rearview.
Cocktail jellies update the Jell-O shot with whimsy and a wink
Cocktail jellies update the Jell-O shot with whimsy and a wink (washingtonpost.com) Cocktail jellies update the Jell-O shot with whimsy and a wink By M. Carrie Allan 2026063014010900 My first encounters with Jell-O were back in elementary school, when the jewel-hued cubes would show up at the cafeteria. We'd open our mouths to display them jiggling grotesquely, then smuggle the leftovers onto the playground to hurl at other kids. That was the 1980s.
Aperol Spritz Jellies
Democracy Dies in Darkness clock2 hours 30 mins courseDessert Aperol Spritz Jellies Start Cooking Comment on this story Reviews Add to your saved recipes Save By M. Carrie Allan The Aperol Spritz may be the defining warm-weather aperitivo, and these two-layered jellies capture everything people love about the drink, including its vibrant color. A sunny orange-prosecco layer forms the base, topped with a tart Aperol-lime layer that mimics the cocktail’s refreshing finish.
Cocktail menus can be confusing. Here’s how to choose a drink you’ll love
The best craft cocktail menus offer a fine balance of art and information. I want a menu that’s just right: an objet d’art that brings me into the bar’s culture, transporting me to a new world and helping me find my way through it. These days the guides can be digital – there are some beautiful menus I’ve accessed by QR code – but the bespectacled book nerd in me still loves something that I can hold and flip through, that makes me reluctant to return it, even after ordering.
Cocktail menus can be confusing. Here's how to choose a drink you'll love
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Cocktail menus can be confusing. Here’s how to choose a drink you’ll love.
Cocktail menus can be confusing. Here’s how to choose a drink you’ll love. (washingtonpost.com) Cocktail menus can be confusing. Here’s how to choose a drink you’ll love. By M. Carrie Allan 2026061710021000 The best craft cocktail menus offer a fine balance of art and information. I want a menu that's just right: an objet d'art that brings me into the bar's culture, transporting me to a new world and helping me find my way through it.
There’s a world of Mexican agave spirits beyond mezcal. It’s time you met them.
With a layer of chips and salsa providing a landing strip, I’m tasting a flight of agave spirits at El Chucho in D.C. The last is a raicilla with a pungent nose and a fruity, funky flavor. Something like … a guava and cheese danish? It’s nothing like the bell pepper notes I love in my favorite tequila. I can’t imagine burying it in a margarita, in which its idiosyncratic qualities would be obscured by lime and triple sec.
There’s a world of Mexican agave spirits beyond mezcal. It’s time you met them.
With a layer of chips and salsa providing a landing strip, I’m tasting a flight of agave spirits at El Chucho in D.C. The last is a raicilla with a pungent nose and a fruity, funky flavor. Something like … a guava and cheese danish? It’s nothing like the bell pepper notes I love in my favorite tequila. I can’t imagine burying it in a margarita, in which its idiosyncratic qualities would be obscured by lime and triple sec.
Garden Margarita
Democracy Dies in Darkness clock5 mins courseBeverage Garden Margarita Start Cooking Comment on this story Reviews Add to your saved recipes Save By M. Carrie Allan Bright, fresh and quietly complex, this vegetable-enhanced riff on a margarita works with a variety of agave and agave-adjacent spirits.
Shrubs are the sweet, sour and sharp secret to superior drinks
If you tell people you enjoy vinegar in drinks, they tend to look at you as if you just recommended bringing back 1980s-era linebacker shoulder pads to women’s attire or putting their savings into a snail-mucin skin cream that’s going viral on TikTok. Or, if I’m being honest, they look at you the way I probably looked the first time I was offered a cocktail with vinegar in it.
Green drinks for St. Patrick’s Day are so cliché. Here’s why you should make one anyway.
As a member of the Irish diaspora, I have mixed feelings about how we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day here in the United States. There’s a fine line between celebrating the beauty and culture of a heritage and insisting it is the best of heritages (always yikes). And while I’m perfectly content to have derived the freckly part of my composition from the Emerald Isle, it’s not like I had any say in the matter.
Aviation Cocktail
Democracy Dies in Darkness clock5 mins courseBeverage Aviation Cocktail Start Cooking Comment on this story Reviews Add to your saved recipes Save By M. Carrie Allan One of the great forgotten cocktails of the 20th century, the Aviation cocktail draws its unique taste from maraschino liqueur and -- depending on your classic cocktail manual of choice -- creme de violette, a floral liqueur made and colored with violets, and gives the drink its signature lavender-blue tinge.
Green drinks for St. Patrick’s Day are so cliché. Here’s why you should make one anyway.
As a member of the Irish diaspora, I have mixed feelings about how we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day here in the United States. There’s a fine line between celebrating the beauty and culture of a heritage and insisting it is the best of heritages (always yikes). And while I’m perfectly content to have derived the freckly part of my composition from the Emerald Isle, it’s not like I had any say in the matter.
Figs of Adonis Batch Cocktail
Democracy Dies in Darkness clock10 mins courseBeverage Figs of Adonis Batch Cocktail Start Cooking Comment on this story Reviews Add to your saved recipes Save By M. Carrie Allan This pitcher drink, a richer, spiced version of the Adonis, a classic cocktail made of a split base of sherry and vermouth, gets a few adornments for holiday festivities. You can raise the proportion of sherry to vermouth if you prefer a drier drink.
Vermouth Cassis
Democracy Dies in Darkness clock5 mins courseBeverage Vermouth Cassis Start Cooking Comment on this story Reviews Add to your saved recipes Save By M. Carrie Allan Also known as Chambery Cassis, sweet black currant liqueur mixes with the complexity of vermouth in this classic French aperitif. Use Dolin Dry or another good dry vermouth; Greene recommends Mathilde or Lejay for the crème de cassis.
Green drinks for St. Patrick’s Day are so cliché. Here’s why you should make one anyway.
Green drinks for St. Patrick’s Day are so cliché. Here’s why you should make one anyway. (washingtonpost.com) Green drinks for St. Patrick’s Day are so cliché. Here’s why you should make one anyway. By M. Carrie Allan 2026030615011100 As a member of the Irish diaspora, I have mixed feelings about how we celebrate St. Patrick's Day here in the United States. There's a fine line between celebrating the beauty and culture of a heritage and insisting it is the best of heritages (always yikes).
Tokyo Clover Cocktail
Democracy Dies in Darkness clock25 mins courseBeverage Tokyo Clover Cocktail Start Cooking Comment on this story Reviews Add to your saved recipes Save By M. Carrie Allan This hot, tea-based riff on the Irish coffee crowns grassy green-tea-and-mint-infused gin with a softly whipped sweet Japanese matcha cream. It makes for a warming cocktail that’s herbal but also keeps the original’s interplay between a lightly bittersweet base and a pillowy topping.
Bring Boricua vibes to your Super Bowl party with a guava rum punch
Like so many Americans right now, I’m intently focused on the big football game coming up, eager to cheer on the teams with my fellow gridiron die-hards! I want to get their take on some of my most pressing questions – like, is halftime when they resurface the field and send out the Zamboni? Once the Seahawks goalie gets into the red zone, does someone throw a penalty kick? When do the Patriots yell “fore”?
Bring Boricua vibes to your Super Bowl party with a guava rum punch
Bring Boricua vibes to your Super Bowl party with a guava rum punch (washingtonpost.com) Bring Boricua vibes to your Super Bowl party with a guava rum punch By M. Carrie Allan 2026020318010600 Like so many Americans right now, I'm intently focused on the big football game coming up, eager to cheer on the teams with my fellow gridiron die-hards! I want to get their take on some of my most pressing questions — like, is halftime when they resurface the field and send out the Zamboni?
Guava Coconut Rum Punch
Democracy Dies in Darkness clock15 mins courseBeverage Guava Coconut Rum Punch Start Cooking Comment on this story Reviews Add to your saved recipes SaveBy M. Carrie Allan This sunny, game-day crowd-size rum punch nods to Puerto Rico with aged rum, bright lime, coconut and guava syrup. Extra points for using Ron del Barrilito, from music superstar Bad Bunny’s birthplace in Bayamón. It’s a drink designed for parties, whether on the field or on the dance floor, and can be scaled up for larger groups.
Shrubs are the sweet, sour and sharp secret to superior drinks
Shrubs are the sweet, sour and sharp secret to superior drinks (washingtonpost.com) Shrubs are the sweet, sour and sharp secret to superior drinks By M. Carrie Allan 2026012415010500 If you tell people you enjoy vinegar in drinks, they tend to look at you as if you just recommended bringing back 1980s-era linebacker shoulder pads to women's attire or putting their savings into a snail-mucin skin cream that's going viral on TikTok.
Pear, Chamomile and Lavender Shrub and Hot Toddy
Democracy Dies in Darkness clock30 mins courseBeverage Pear, Chamomile and Lavender Shrub and Hot Toddy Start Cooking Comment on this story Reviews Add to your saved recipes SaveBy M. Carrie Allan This floral, fruity nonalcoholic shrub combines chamomile and lavender with pears for an aromatic, restorative drink.
This smoky cocktail channels the Negroni with a surprising ingredient
Like most sand-and-surf destinations, the bars of Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, tend to offer, well, beachy drinks: daiquiris, margaritas, suspiciously pink “mai-tais” lacking in orgeat, a sweet syrup.
A choose-your-own adventure holiday cocktail, with or without booze
We’re full tilt into the holiday season, and with Thanksgiving, the first of the annual Great Gluttonous Holidays, in the rearview mirror, heads are still spinning from putting together a holiday meal that doesn’t leave someone offended, unhappy or breaking out in hives. Now we get to do it again in the race toward Christmas and the new year, over a series of cocktail parties and potlucks and dinners. Let the contentious text threads roll! Who is bringing the pie? What kind? Pecan?
A choose-your-own-adventure holiday cocktail, with or without booze
A choose-your-own-adventure holiday cocktail, with or without booze (washingtonpost.com) A choose-your-own-adventure holiday cocktail, with or without booze By M. Carrie Allan 2025121818002700 We're full tilt into the holiday season, and with Thanksgiving, the first of the annual Great Gluttonous Holidays, in the rearview mirror, heads are still spinning from putting together a holiday meal that doesn't leave someone offended, unhappy or breaking out in hives.
Harvest Moon Cocktail or Mocktail
Democracy Dies in Darkness clock10 mins courseBeverage Harvest Moon Cocktail or Mocktail Start Cooking Comment on this story Reviews Add to your saved recipes SaveBy M. Carrie Allan This choose-your-own-adventure drink is built for holiday parties, letting guests customize how much alcohol, if any, they consume. The nonalcoholic base is a sweet-tart mix of apple cider, lemon juice and a spiced pumpkin syrup.
This smoky cocktail channels the Negroni with a surprising ingredient
FOOD M. Carrie Allan Special to the Washington Post Like most sand-and-surf destinations, the bars of Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, tend to offer, well, beachy drinks: daiquiris, margaritas, suspiciously pink “mai-tais” lacking in orgeat.
This smoky cocktail channels the Negroni with a surprising ingredient
This smoky cocktail channels the Negroni with a surprising ingredient (washingtonpost.com) This smoky cocktail channels the Negroni with a surprising ingredient By M. Carrie Allan 2025112118005200 Like most sand-and-surf destinations, the bars of Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, tend to offer, well, beachy drinks: daiquiris, margaritas, suspiciously pink "mai-tais" lacking in orgeat.
Little Paolo Cocktail
Democracy Dies in Darkness clock10 mins courseBeverage Little Paolo Cocktail Start Cooking Comment on this story Reviews Add to your saved recipes SaveBy M. Carrie Allan The Little Paolo cocktail balances soft blanc vermouth — deepened with a mushroom infusion that adds an earthy savoriness — with bittersweet Averna and smoky mezcal. The result is a seasonal, lower-alcohol drink with a quiet umami hum.
This glow-in-the-dark Halloween punch is both a trick and a treat
M. Carrie Allan In my never-ending quest to make your cocktails more sophisticated, I’m here to urge you to consider a neglected drink ingredient. No, I’m not talking about singani or sotol or shōchū —though yes, you should be exploring those spirits. I’m talking about riboflavin! That’s right, riboflavin, a.k.a. vitamin B2, your ally against migraines and cataracts that comes in both liquid and powdered forms, and has a mild, grassy bitterness that pairs beautifully with —
This glow-in-the-dark Halloween punch is both a trick and a treat
This glow-in-the-dark Halloween punch is both a trick and a treat (washingtonpost.com) This glow-in-the-dark Halloween punch is both a trick and a treat By M. Carrie Allan 2025102415002600 In my never-ending quest to make your cocktails more sophisticated, I'm here to urge you to consider a neglected drink ingredient. No, I'm not talking about singani or sotol or shōchū — though yes, you should be exploring those spirits.
Ectoplasm Punch
Democracy Dies in Darkness clock10 mins courseBeverage Ectoplasm Punch Start Cooking Comment on this story Reviews Add to your saved recipes Save By M. Carrie Allan Sweet, tart and neon-bright, this batched drink is a coconut-melon daiquiri upgraded for Halloween. The recipe produces a bright alien-green drink — but when you serve it in a clear vessel and shine a black light on it, you’ll have a glowing punch that delivers spectacle and spirit.
Indian cuisine is inspiring a new wave of innovative cocktails
When I’ve had a cocktail or two, I often imagine the places behind what I’m drinking: The English garden of the Pimm’s Cup. The Italian piazzas of the Negroni. The sun-drenched islands of Honey Ti Punch. The Manhattan of the Manhattan. And as a longtime devotee of the fire and spice of Indian food, I’ve been wondering: Where is the cocktail that best conjures India?
Indian cuisine is inspiring a new wave of innovative cocktails
Indian cuisine is inspiring a new wave of innovative cocktails (washingtonpost.com) Indian cuisine is inspiring a new wave of innovative cocktails By M. Carrie Allan 2025092615004100 When I've had a cocktail or two, I often imagine the places behind what I'm drinking: The English garden of the Pimm's Cup. The Italian piazzas of the Negroni. The sun-drenched islands of Honey Ti Punch. The Manhattan of the Manhattan.
Lakhan’s Old-Fashioned
Democracy Dies in Darkness clock15 mins courseBeverage Lakhan’s Old-Fashioned Start Cooking Comment on this story Reviews Add to your saved recipes Save By M. Carrie Allan This spicy riff on the Old-Fashioned, named for a street-smart character in a Bollywood film, uses a split base of bourbon and brandy for complexity, and layers in a rich chaat masala syrup. The Indian spice blend includes amchoor (dried green mango) powder, cumin, black salt and other savory spices.
LP O’Brien Balances the Weight of Success and Responsibility
As the Bard once wrote: Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them when their bar’s strongest bartender dives into the mosh pit at a GWAR concert and breaks his wrist. It was 2014, and LP O’Brien had already been getting drawn slowly into the Washington, D.C., bar scene, starting as a customer at the original Passenger, the city’s early, beloved craft cocktail bar started by Derek Brown.
Tiki meets aperitivo in the Jungle Bird, a tropical drink with an edge
In wilderness settings (read: bar patios), I’m a subpar birdwatcher. I can spot a male cardinal and point out other members of the genus, identifying them only as “birds.” “Look, a bird!” I’ll say excitedly to avian-savvy friends carrying binoculars and tilting their heads to discern whether it’s the Eastern rumpletit or the warbling snootbill. Put me in a tiki bar, though, and I become an ornithologist, scanning the menu for a specific feathered friend.
Tiki meets aperitivo in the Jungle Bird, a tropical drink with an edge
Tiki meets aperitivo in the Jungle Bird, a tropical drink with an edge (washingtonpost.com) Tiki meets aperitivo in the Jungle Bird, a tropical drink with an edge By M. Carrie Allan 2025082215004000 In wilderness settings (read: bar patios), I'm a subpar birdwatcher.
Jungle Bird Cocktail
Democracy Dies in Darkness clock15 mins courseBeverage Jungle Bird Cocktail Start Cooking Comment on this story Reviews Add to your saved recipes SaveBy M. Carrie Allan Bridging Tiki and Italian aperitivo cultures, the Jungle Bird is a classic tropical cocktail made with rum, pineapple juice, Campari and lime.
Cucumbers work their magic in this refreshing summer martini
Cucumber Martini Photo by Rey Lopez; food styling by Lisa Cherkasky for The Washington Post The closest I’ve come to a bar fight recently was while eavesdropping on a conversation in which a fellow customer was holding forth to his date about the pointlessness of the cucumber. “Why do people even bother with cucumbers?” groused the anti-cuke. “They just taste like water.” To be fair to my misinformed fellow patron, cucumbers have long had their share of detractors.
Cucumbers work their magic in this refreshing summer martini
The closest I’ve come to a bar fight recently was while eavesdropping on a conversation in which a fellow customer was holding forth to his date about the pointlessness of the cucumber. The two were watching something on his phone, I suspect one of the hundreds of videos by Logan Moffitt, TikTok’s famously viral cucumber guy whose videos extolling the knobby green fruit rack up hundreds of thousands of views. “Why do people even bother with cucumbers?” groused the anti-cuke.
Cucumbers work their magic in this refreshing summer martini
Cucumber Martini. (Rey Lopez for The Washington Post) The closest I’ve come to a bar fight recently was while eavesdropping on a conversation in which a fellow customer was holding forth to his date about the pointlessness of the cucumber. The two were watching something on his phone, I suspect one of the hundreds of videos by Logan Moffitt, TikTok’s famously viral cucumber guy whose videos extolling the knobby green fruit rack up hundreds of thousands of views.
Cucumbers work their magic in this refreshing summer martini
The closest I’ve come to a bar fight recently was while eavesdropping on a conversation in which a fellow customer was holding forth to his date about the pointlessness of the cucumber. The two were watching something on his phone, I suspect one of the hundreds of videos by Logan Moffitt, TikTok’s famously viral cucumber guy whose videos extolling the knobby green fruit rack up hundreds of thousands of views. “Why do people even bother with cucumbers?” groused the anti-cuke.
Cucumbers work their magic in this refreshing summer martini
Cucumbers work their magic in this refreshing summer martini (washingtonpost.com) Cucumbers work their magic in this refreshing summer martini By M. Carrie Allan 2025072513001900 The closest I've come to a bar fight recently was while eavesdropping on a conversation in which a fellow customer was holding forth to his date about the pointlessness of the cucumber.
Effervescent spritzes are built for summer sipping
Days after I’d decided to write about summer spritzes, I was — by pure coincidence — sent into the heart of Spritzville, the Mediterranean coast of France.
Cucumber Martini
Democracy Dies in Darkness clock10 mins courseBeverage Cucumber Martini Start Cooking Comment on this story Reviews Add to your saved recipes Save By M. Carrie Allan This garden-party martini takes advantage of cucumber’s refreshing flavor but stays true to the classic martini formulation of gin, vermouth and bitters. The gin gets infused with cucumber and lime zest, resulting in a cocktail that’s crisp and herbal.
Effervescent spritzes are built for summer sipping
Days after I’d decided to write about summer spritzes, I was — by pure coincidence — sent into the heart of Spritzville, the Mediterranean coast of France.
Effervescent spritzes are built for summer sipping
Effervescent spritzes are built for summer sipping (washingtonpost.com) Effervescent spritzes are built for summer sipping By M. Carrie Allan 2025070316001000 Days after I'd decided to write about summer spritzes, I was — by pure coincidence — sent into the heart of Spritzville, the Mediterranean coast of France.
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