Wall Street Street Journal’s Elizabeth Williamson: Last Call at a D.C. Power Lounge

One reason is Sambonn “Sam” Lek, head bartender since the Carter administration, who has kept Washington’s boozy secrets on the 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. shift. He can tell Republicans from Democrats by their drink orders (Republicans favor mixed drinks, Democrats, wine and beer.) He can mix any drink—allegedly he’s the only barman in the city who knows how to make a proper Jack Rose (applejack, grenadine and lime juice), a cocktail ordered in Ernest Hemingway’s “The Sun Also Rises.”