THIS WEEK:
NIXON'S THE ONE or PUT ON YOUR CLOTH COAT, MAMA, "THEY'RE LETHAL!"

Richard M Nixon Mai Tai (Rhum JM gold, Cointreau, Lime, Orgeat)

Oddly, the Mai Tai was the favorite drink of Richard Nixon, a man who was sorely lacking in beach-bum cred. The Washington Trader Vic's was in the basement of what was then the Statler-Hilton, just a couple of blocks from the White House. The president took his wife there for Valentine's Day in 1973. The Vietnam War had been declared over, and it would be a few months yet before the Senate would begin its Watergate hearings. Nixon took the opportunity to enjoy a Mai Tai or two, and, in a clumsy effort at friendliness, he backslapped his way out of the restaurant. Stopping at a crowded table where a fresh round of Mai Tais had just been served, Nixon laughingly delivered a warning: "They're lethal!"

Kelley Slagle

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