WASHINGTON — Mixing politics and liquor is common practice in D.C. but infusing liberal attitudes into spirits is an altogether novel concept being embraced by a relative newcomer to the District's distillery scene.
Prominently positioned on New York Ave, NE in the Ivy City neighborhood, Republic Restoratives Distillery describes itself as proudly outspoken and celebrating disruptive attitudes. It's no surprise, then, that the business's newest spirit, Dissent Gin, was inspired by former Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Following the recent decision by the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade, a D.C. distillery is doing its part to support abortion access.
"This moment calls for stiff dissent and a stiff drink. For, in the words of RBG: 'The greatest menace to freedom is an inert people,' reads the product description of Republic Restoratives' website.
"The idea was to make a gin that would embody RBG," said co-founder and CEO, Pia Carusone. "A woman who not only had a long career as an attorney and Supreme Court Justice, but also someone who made the idea of dissenting an act of revolution."
Republic Restoratives is one of just a few female-owned and operated distilleries in the world. Its previous iterations of politically-aligned spirits include 'Rodham Rye' inspired by former Democratic Presidential nominee Hillary Rodham Clinton and 'Madam Whiskey' which celebrates our country's first female vice-president.
The 'Dissent Gin' is very tasty and features flavors of pepper, allspice, bay leaf, ginger, lemon, mandarin orange and hickory smoke.
I asked how a distillery went about bottling the spirit of RBG.
"So she's from Brooklyn," said Carusone. "We thought a lot about the period of time that she came of age and what might be the aroma of the neighborhood and we came up with a blend that is pretty unique. It involves flavors you don't normally find in a gin."
'Dissent Gin' is available for $79, with $10 from each purchase going to the National Network of Abortion Funds.
It's not the first time the women-owned distillery has used its platform to support causes it believes in. Its limited-edition Civic Pride vodka sends funds to D.C.'s largest LGBTQ healthcare provider, Whitman Walker.
Mixing politics and alcohol is nothing new for the distillery's founder, Pia Carusone. In 2011 she was chief of staff for Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords. She served briefly in the Obama administration before changing careers in 2013.
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