The Experience Room. Credit: Trump International Hotel Washington, D.C.
Many fine-dining restaurants offer a chef’s tasting menu, where you leave your multi-course meal to the imagination of the toque (in sushi establishments, it’s called omakase). But it isn’t so common to find the equivalent for drinks.
Washington, D.C.’s The Experience Room focuses solely on one-of-a-kind private drinking sessions. Set inside Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star Trump International Hotel Washington, D.C., the appointment-only bar is an intimate glassed-in space with gleaming gold touches and Ralph Lauren sidebars where your party (up to 12 people) can sip rare finds sans crowds.
The Side Bar. Credit: Trump International Hotel Washington, D.C.
There is no pre-set menu or price list. The way it works is that you pay a $150 entry fee into the salon and a tasting experience is custom designed around a high-end spirit, wine, cocktail or beer of your choosing. Of course, the rates can go up depending on the drinks you seek and how many you try. But typically, you’ll enjoy a flight of three under the guidance of a salon beverage expert. Sometimes, brand ambassadors of the particular Scotch, cognac, etc. will even help lead the tasting.
Food and beverage director Daniel Mahdavian said that the concept began as a private tasting room for Macallan, but it grew from there as more makers approached the salon.
According to Mahdavian, tastings run the gamut. The salon has seen dates, business associates, friends and other groups book experiences to sample everything from Rémy Martin to Pappy.
A Tasting. Credit: Trump International Hotel Washington, D.C.
“One party really was fixated on Macallans, and they had the Macallan Single Malt Scotch 12 years, 12 Double Cask and 18 years,” said Mahdavian, who, prior to Trump D.C., served as the wine and spirits director for Starwood Hotels as well as food and beverage director at The Ritz-Carlton, Washington D.C. “Another was a group of ladies who loved champagne. They chose Dom Pérignon 2006 Brut, 2005 Brut Rosé and 2008 P2.”
The tastings have been somewhat of a secret; initially, people only heard about them via word of mouth. But The Experience Room is starting to get more attention as tasters have started sharing their private bespoke experiences on social media.
Crystal Spoons. Credit: Trump International Hotel Washington, D.C.
One of the more unusual Experience Room offerings is “wine by the spoon,” where you can sip Essencia from deep crystal spoons from Hungary (crystal has a rougher texture than glass or metal, which makes it ideal for tasting the essence of fine libations, Mahdavian said).
Hailing from Hungary’s Tokaj region, the sweet yet complex Essencia is the rarest of its wines and dates back to 1641. France’s King Louis XIV proclaimed it to be “the king of wines, the wine of kings,” and other devotees included Prince Rakoczi, Pope Pius IV, Catherine the Great and Queen Victoria.
Many of the products featured in The Experience Room are a result of Mahdavian’s strong relationships with distillers and producers. “It’s things you can’t find,” he said. “When someone comes in and is a huge fan, I can connect them with a winery or distillery. It gives them access.”
