One Good Bottle: Green Hat Gin

During Prohibition in Washington, D.C., a well-known bootlegger named George Cassiday supplied Capitol Hill's lawmakers while wearing a green felt hat. Last year, when New Columbia Distillers became the District's first legal distillery in more than a century, it paid homage with Green Hat Gin ($36). Former Washington lawyer Michael Lowe and his son-in-law John Uselton, experimented endlessly with botanicals like cassia, myrtle flower, and fennel seed to create Green Hat's one-of-a-kind flavor. The nose is a sophisticated mix of citrus and coriander that's offset by an herbal palate provided by celery seed and sage—flavors that make for a particularly elegant martini. A little bit of heat accompanies a finish that's far cleaner than politics.