The Red Rabbit Kitchen & Bar is participating in Midtown Cocktail Week for the first time, and the 6-month-old restaurant and bar known for its artisan cocktails is showcasing a series of Genever Gin-based drinks in "The Genever Convention."

The Genever Convention will be held Monday from 6 - 10 p.m. at The Red Rabbit, 2718 J St. It is composed of four “treaties” and three additional “protocols” that establish the standards of cocktalia for the humanitarian treatment of the victims of substandard cocktails, according to co-owner Matt Nurge.

“We believe no one person should suffer at the hands of the mediocre and mundane,” Nurge said. “We want to showcase this product to acknowledge its rightful place in classic and modern cocktail history. In Jerry Thomas 'The Bartender’s Guide,' all mentions of gin actually refer to Genever except where Old Tom Gin is specifically mentioned.”

Nurge shared the recipe of one of the drinks that will be featured in The Genever Convention:

MIDdleTOWN Cocktail:
1oz Wray & Nephew overproof Jamaican rum
1oz Fresh lemon juice
1/2oz Bols Genever Gin
1/2oz House-made grenadine
Fresh egg whites
House-made vanilla bitters
This cocktail falls into the "sour" family.

One of the recipe groups Thomas collected for "The Bartender's Guide," published in 1862, was the sours, Nurge said. Simply put, a sour is typified by the addition of lemon or lime juice and a sweetener (fruit juices, Triple Sec or simple syrup) to a base liquor.

“This night we will be featuring classic and contemporary cocktails made with Bols Genever Gin,” Nurge said. "Bols has been making Genever in Holland since 1664. While English gin is now very popular in America, back in the 19th century the malty Dutch version (Genever) was a bestseller. Most of the cocktails that are currently made with gin were originally made with Genever.”

“We will have our trained cocktail nurses administering cocktails all night,” Nurge said.
 

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