When George Cassiday returned from World War I, he needed a job. With the nation gripped by Prohibition, a friend suggested he try supplying bootleg liquor on Capitol Hill. Word spread quickly and Cassiday soon had a number of Congressmen — “wet” and “dry” — as clients.

By 1920 Cassiday went “in-house” with an office in the basement of the House Office Building to supply thirsty lawmakers. On one of his train trips back from NYC with “supplies,” Cassiday set his suitcase down a bit too hard and broke several bottles. A fellow traveler said, “Say, buddy, your clothes are leaking.” The Feds weren’t there to see the spill … but his luck wouldn’t hold much longer.

Eventually word about Cassiday’s cozy setup got out and in 1925 the Capitol Police caught him carrying booze into the Cannon Building. The dapper Cassiday was arrested wearing his signature green felt hat, earning him the moniker “The Man in the Green Hat.” Banned from the House, Cassiday promptly moved his operation to the Senate Office Building.

Washington had a special place in Prohibition history. New York and Chicago get all the notoriety because of organized crime warfare, but as is the case today, Washington was a little more discreet in its excesses—and never grew a local bootlegging mob. Read about our gin’s namesake, The Man in the Green Hat, the 1920s Bootlegger to Congress.

A few more DC Prohibition facts:

• Since the District was even more of a Congressional fiefdom in the early 20th century, Prohibition started here earlier and lasted longer than the national ban. It began more than 2 years early in Nov. 1917 and ended 3 months late in March 1934. The Washington Post wrote, “Somehow or another, despite 17 years without it, Washingtonians seemed to hold their liquor quite well.”
• Prohibition saw the rise of U Street, the “Black Broadway,” with the Lincoln and Howard Theatres, Club Bengazi, and Ellington, Armstrong, Fitzgerald and Calloway headlining a Jazz Age and speakeasy culture that rivaled the Harlem Renaissance.

New Columbia Distillers is a family business owned by Michael Lowe and his wife, Melissa Kroning and John Uselton and his wife, Elizabeth Lowe.

John and Michael come to their passion for craft distilling by wearing many hats in the restaurant and liquor business—not to mention the military and legal worlds. From Houston to Boston to Washington, John has worked in all capacities of front-of-house restaurant work—from humble busboy to award-winning bar- tender to savvy manager. Michael spent a couple of years on a Navy submarine and a few more at private DC law firms. He retired from the law in 2008, bought himself several cocktail books and started investigating the art and science of distilling.

Our gin is a truly unique artisanal spirit. Each batch of Green Hat Gin is crafted in our small DC distillery. The result is a super-premium gin that excels both in the finest cocktails and with a small cube in the gin-lover’s neat glass.

We mill the highest quality soft winter wheat fresh for each batch and mash it in a temperature-controlled process to release the sugars needed for fermentation. The mash is then fermented to create the “beer” that feeds our distillation process.

the Classic

Ingredients

• Green Hat Gin 2 1/2 oz
• Dry Vermouth 1/4 oz
• green olive/a twist of lemon peel
• ice cubes 6

Directions
Into a mixing glass, toss a handful of ice cubes, then pour in the Gin and the Vermouth. Stir well. Strain and pour into a martini glass. To finish, either drop a green olive into the bottom of the martini glass OR arrange a twist of lemon peel on the edge of the martini glass.

the Rickey

Ingredients

• Green Hat Gin 1 1/2 oz
• fresh lime 1/2
• handful of ice
• carbonated water or club soda

Directions
Add ice to a highball glass. Squeeze in lime juice and drop in half of lime. Add gin and top off with club soda.

the Fresh Gimlet

Ingredients

• Green Hat Gin 2 oz
• fresh lime juice 1/2 oz
• simple syrup 1/4 oz

Directions
Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. May also be served on the rocks, if preferred. Garnish with a lime twist.

the White Negroni

JP Fetherston, Rappahannock Oyster Co.
Ingredients

• Green Hat Gin 1 1/2 oz
• Salers  Gentiane 3/4 oz
• Orchard Pear Liqueur 1/2 oz

Directions
Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Stir and strain into chilled glass. Garnish with fresh sage leaf.

the Cuore

Kat Hamidi, Obelisk

Ingredients

• Green Hat Gin 1 3/4 oz
• Cynar 1 oz
• White Vermouth 3/4 oz
• Seville OrangeJuice 1/2 oz

Directions
Combine all ingredients in a shaker. Shake gently and strain over ice. Garnish with a lemon twist.

the Martinez

Ingredients

• Green Hat Gin 2 oz
• Punt e Mes 1/2 oz
• Maraschino Liquor 1/4 oz

Directions
Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into chilled glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.