A jovial and rustic spot right off of 14^th Street, Provision has some good vibes and drinks.

Ambiance: ****

Decor: ****

Service: ****

Cocktails: ***1/2

Overall Rating: 4

Checked the ol’ blog logs recently and was sad to see it’s been two whole weeks since I’ve done a DC bar review!  Desperately working to shed off my provincial reputation, I headed to 14th Street and Provision 14, a relatively new joint that I heard good things about.  Happy to say I’ll echo those positive views – mostly good cocktails with one standout. Very pretty and vibrant bar area, and the service was also courteous and attentive.  Definitely a cocktail spot worth checking out.

“The Apple Jack Mule” is the latest variation of the Moscow Mule and one I made myself not too many blog posts ago.  This has apple jack and lime but shakes it up a bit with raspberry and ginger cider – this was good (tasted like my homemade version, which made me feel good) with a raspberry kiss that adds a little something different.  Nice fall weekend drink.  One of the prettier drinks I’ve had in awhile came next with the pearly white “Bellmouth” with Green Hat gin, house tonic syrup, and lime juice.  Nothing too fancy here, just straight forward, simple goodness and a nice gin-forward, icy taste.

The pretty in pink “Whiskey Fix” came next, with rye, raspberry, and lemon.  Woah, rye party, this is very “spirit forward” and I didn’t detect much of the citrus or fruit flavor.  Then I tried the interesting “Redenbacher Old Fashioned” which throws in popcorn-infused rum (!), brown sugar, and angostura bitters.  I was very excited for this one as I’ve never even heard of popcorn-infused rum, but you don’t really pick up much of the buttery stuff.  Instead, it’s a very….light tasting OF, not as hard-edged as the standard, but I enjoyed it more as the drink went on.

I’ve been warming to beer-enabled cocktails so I was pumped for the “IPA Cocktail” with Tullamore Dew (my favorite), grapefruit, hop water, lemon, and beer.  This was surprisingly underwhelming, just very light and airy.  Not bad, just not much to it.  My favorite at Provision was the “Chronograph” with rum, amaro, amaretto, lemon, egg white, and angostura bitters – it has a great feel to it and the amaretto and lemon combine for a light, delicious froth.  Also puts across a unique taste on the back end.  Really liked this one.

On to the “Scofflaw” with Copperfox rye, lemon, grenadine, blanc vermouth, and orange bitters.  Another rye forward drink, this was decent with good balance and measured sweetness.  I finished out my residency at Provision’s bar with the “Metronome” with rye, amaro, and absinthe bitters.  Not in love with this one, I found the burn sort of off and harsh with a licorice-ey finish and an unpleasant bitterness.