Potomac Distilling Company and its three-story Polynesian-style Tiki bar now open on the Wharf

1130 Maine Avenue, SW courtesy Potomac Distilling Company

From a press release:

“On December 10, 2018, Todd Thrasher, the lauded wine and spirits devotee and multi-year James Beard Award finalist, has just opened the doors to his own highly anticipated Potomac Distilling Company on DC’s buzzing District Wharf. Nearly two years in the making, the project is Thrasher’s first venture into spirits production and an exciting transition from a storied career as one of the Beltway’s most celebrated barman. Potomac Distilling Compan houses a three-story Polynesian-style Tiki bar, Tiki TNT, which draws inspiration from countless rum-sodden scuba diving adventures throughout the South Pacific and West Indies during Thrasher’s time as a dive master. The complex houses the urban rum distillery, which will produce four varieties of Thrasher’s Rum – White, Gold, Spiced, and Green Spiced, a one-of-a-kind botanical blend made to impart flavors of gin with herbs grown on the distillery’s rooftop garden.

District Wharf is DC’s splashiest and most exciting new strip of development along the edge of the Potomac River. Already with three of the city’s most talent-luring music venues and numerous dining options, Tiki TNT is now the go-to site for a buzzy, laid-back, and fast-casual bite, day-drinking hangout, pre-concert pit stop, or post-meal nightcap. The three-story restaurant space will transport diners to remote islands – guests enter beneath floating Tiki huts and past a bamboo host stand, into an airy space decorated with banana leaf wall coverings, colorful floor-to-ceiling skull and totem pole murals, and a rooftop fire pit. Brimming with genuine elements of exotic touches in stark contrast to the theatrical take of Tiki bars begun in the 1950s.

The menu showcases no frills beach-inspired eats, uniquely produced by executive chef Larry Blevin in collaboration with some of DC’s best chefs including Erik Bruner-Yang, Bryan Voltaggio, and David Guas. Thrasher’s nationally acclaimed cocktails and his intoxicating island-style drinks are poured into his personal collection of authentic tiki mugs. Industry offerings, like a $10 Family Meal, which earns industry folks a plate of food, shot of Thrasher’s Rum, and a beer, make Tiki TNT the place to be late night, the type a bar where one might find themselves rubbing elbows with some of the city’s most talented chefs. After years as the spirit-representative for a number of the area’s most buttoned-up dining rooms, Thrasher is taking a breezier approach here – he wants his guests to do one thing and one thing only: Have a Blast!

Thrasher has been at the forefront of the bar scene in the past year for his latest venue, the acclaimed Brothers and Sisters in Washington, DC. Thrasher earned a name for himself during his long and fruitful tenure at Restaurant Eve and Society Fair, and at his highly praised spirits program and the first progressive speakeasy in the Mid-Atlantic, Bar PX.

“The fascination with craft cocktails continues to grow and evolve, and I wanted to create something that showcases the seafaring spirit and how rum is source and made. Rum is enjoying an upsurge of interest globally and it has long been a favorite of mine,” said Thrasher, who was hailed “one of the best mixologists anywhere” by the Washington Post and who’s Brothers and Sisters was just named one of Esquire’s 21 Best Bars in America. “Potomac Distilling Company will be a place where people can gather, drink, and enjoy a stage where cocktails are fun and rules are consistently being bent!”

Come check out what The Washington Post and The New York Times have dubbed as one of 2018 most exciting new openings. Tiki TNT will open daily on Monday – Thursday 3:00PM to 2:00AM, Friday 3:00PM to 3:00AM, Saturday 11AM-3:00AM, and Sunday 11AM-12AM.”