Maybe you liked tequila before tequila was cool, but in recent years the Mexican spirit has become decidedly hot. Its popularity soared during the pandemic as a spirit of choice while drinking at home, but National Tequila Day, this Saturday, July 24, offers as good of an excuse as any to get out of the house and let someone else shake and pour for you.
A handful of local establishments have announced tequila-related specials to mark the occasion. At dLeña, the newest venture from Mexican-born international restaurateur Richard Sandoval (El Centro D.F.), the special of the day is a half-priced signature margarita called the Mercado, which kicks things up a notch with serrano-infused blanco tequila shaken with passion fruit juice, plus agave and lime, topped with a hibiscus-rosemary foam.
While drinking margaritas is an acceptable way to honor the holiday, the classic cocktail already has its own special day in February. True tequila aficionados or aspirants might consider drinking the spirit neat instead — perhaps as part of a tasting flight. The restaurant, located at 476 K Street NW, offers several flights that work to help increase awareness and appreciation of the spirit, its types, and brands.
A Horizontal Flight at dLeña helps guests better discern distinctions between brands by offering three different tequilas in the same aging category, whether Blanco ($21), Reposado ($24), or Anejo ($27). Meanwhile, a Vertical Flight helps showcase the effects of aging and the differences between aging categories produced by a single distiller, whether of Milagro products ($22), Corralejo ($24), or Patron ($27).
Tequila Tasting Flights are also a feature of the daily menu at TTT, which has locations in Clarendon and Silver Spring. Guests have an extensive list from which to choose to compare Horizontal taste differences between brands per aging category, either Blanco ($20), Reposado ($25), or Anejo ($30), or they can go for a “Vertical Expression” ($23) to compare how aging techniques change the flavor of product from a single distiller, choosing among Cabo Wabo, Casa Noble, Don Julio, Milagro, or Herradura.
There’s also “TTT’s Selection” ($60), which allows guests to compare three high-end tequilas from a set list, including Patron Roca Silver, Avion Reserva, or Milagro Select Reserve. Specifically for the holiday, both locations of TTT will be offering $6 tequila blanco shots all day from either of their house brands, Espolon and Milagro.
Morris American Bar
Morris American Bar, the bright, artisan cocktail-focused venture at 1020 7th Street NW, is putting its own twist on a tequila tasting flight — this one nodding to the rush of American celebrities cashing in on tequila’s surging global popularity by launching their own brands. But are they good?
Morris is putting that question to the test in a weeklong “celebrity tequila smackdown,” in which guests will blindly rank their favorites among Kendall Jenner’s 818, George Clooney’s Casamigos, The Rock’s Teremana, The Chainsmokers/Elliot “@fuckjerry” Tebele’s JAJA, and Diddy’s DeLeón. Voting is open through July 31, when the winner will be announced along with the launch of a specialty cocktail added to the bar’s menu for the next month.
Alcoholic Reposado Tequila Shots with Lime and Salt – Photo: Brandon Bayton/Wunder Garten
Finally, the most festive — and no doubt gayest — of the bunch is the 12-hour celebration that Wunder Garten in NoMa (1101 First Street NE) will throw beginning at noon. There will be multiple chances to win free shots and prizes all day long. They will also serve a mix of specialty drinks with amusingly silly names like “Tequila, Tequila, and Grapefruit!,” “Miss Peach” margarita, and “La Niña.” Feeling tipsy yet?
When Martha Nell Smith was a child, she was given a book called The Golden Treasury of Poetry. "I was a nerdy kid, I liked to read," the 72-year-old academic says, adding, "I also liked to play. I was a very sporty kid too. I was a tomboy."
The book contained several poems by Emily Dickinson. "I thought these look so simple, but when you think about it, they are really weird," she says. "But you could say that about almost any Dickinson poem."
Smith recounts the long and winding path that led her to become one of the foremost experts on Emily Dickinson, with a particular focus on the poet's secretly romance-laden letters to her sister-in-law, Susan Dickinson.
As the year nears its end, the Capital Pride Alliance today announced that it will be retooling ahead of 2026.
CPA, which brings numerous LGBTQ Pride events to Washington and the region – most notably the annual Capital Pride Festival and Parade, along with World Pride 2025 – is moving from a president/vice-president leadership model to an executive committee of board chair, treasurer, and secretary leading the board of directors.
CPA also announced the incoming officers who will step into their roles in December. Notably, the new executive committee is the first in the organization’s history composed entirely of women.
The Capital Pride Alliance is moving the 2026 Capital Pride celebration to the third week of June -- one week later than usual -- to avoid overlapping with major events tied to President Donald Trump's June 14 birthday and preparations for the nation's 250th anniversary. Pride weekend will run June 20-21, with the parade on Saturday and the festival and concert on Sunday.
Last year, the Trump administration marked the president's birthday and the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Armed Forces with a downtown military parade. This year, all national parks will offer free entry on June 14, and the White House is expected to host several Ultimate Fighting Championship matches on the White House lawn to draw large crowds for Trump's 80th birthday and the country's Semiquincentennial celebrations.
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