Inside the bar, though, people tend to keep to themselves. My group of too-many college girls took over the long table downstairs, awkwardly encircling a man who dutifully ate his plate of chicken wings before moving elsewhere. But especially at the dark downstairs bar, a drinker camped out at a solitary stool and staring into a whisky seems like as much of a Temperance fixture as the wallpaper.
Though naming a bar Temperance is a wink-nudge at the 1920s movement to ban booze altogether, the drinks are expensive enough to at least keep your drinking in moderation. The best you'll get for $3 is a bottle of Dominion Root Beer. Bottles of Bud and PBR will cost you $4, and cocktails all run $7. The bar's specialty rye whiskeys run from 6 bucks for an 80 proof Jim Beam to 24 for a limited edition 100-proof Rittenhouse Single Barrel 21 year rye. Outside of happy hour, even the peanuts will cost you a buck, though the bar claims they're more than just salted Planters.
Still, sitting in a leather chair made out of a barrel and sipping a bright pink, cherry-topped Jack Rose or a tart Sidecar from a sugar-rimmed martini glass is enough to make any college student believe in life after kegs. At Temperance, at least, you can stay classy while still getting twisted. The drinks, like the bar, are deceptively pretty - they're stacked with enough booze to keep you going for an hour or so. Enough to get up the courage to head out on Georgia Avenue and ask that snow bunny you've had your eye on if they'd like to party.
Though naming a bar Temperance is a wink-nudge at the 1920s movement to ban booze altogether, the drinks are expensive enough to at least keep your drinking in moderation. The best you'll get for $3 is a bottle of Dominion Root Beer. Bottles of Bud and PBR will cost you $4, and cocktails all run $7. The bar's specialty rye whiskeys run from 6 bucks for an 80 proof Jim Beam to 24 for a limited edition 100-proof Rittenhouse Single Barrel 21 year rye. Outside of happy hour, even the peanuts will cost you a buck, though the bar claims they're more than just salted Planters.
Still, sitting in a leather chair made out of a barrel and sipping a bright pink, cherry-topped Jack Rose or a tart Sidecar from a sugar-rimmed martini glass is enough to make any college student believe in life after kegs. At Temperance, at least, you can stay classy while still getting twisted. The drinks, like the bar, are deceptively pretty - they're stacked with enough booze to keep you going for an hour or so. Enough to get up the courage to head out on Georgia Avenue and ask that snow bunny you've had your eye on if they'd like to party.
