In the nearly four months that Donald Trump’s Washington, D.C. hotel has been open for business, its swanky bar has hiked drink prices at least three times. And now, with the cheapest cocktail going for $24, the Benjamin Bar & Lounge is “the most expensive overall bar in all of Washington,” according to the Washingtonian.
When the bar opened on September 12, its cheapest mixed drink was $16, Washingtonian food editor Jessica Sidman notes. By October, the drink was up to $20. And now the Romanesque Revival, which includes bourbon, honey, mint, and ginger, costs more than three times the federal minimum wage.
The menu has a handful of other cocktails between $24 and $29, along with $9 Bud Lights and $8 Coronas. The most expensive drink comes in at a whopping $100. The ghastly Benjamin, which sounds like a 10-year-old’s idea of what rich people like, is a martini with three types of vodka, raw oysters, and caviar.
Somehow, that monstrosity isn’t even the most froufrou nonsense on this menu. That honor belongs to the flight of wines served by the crystal spoon, which cost as much as $140 an ounce. The scary thing is that the prices for all these absurdly expensive drinks may very well go up. That’s what they’ve done since the place opened and Trump hasn’t even paid all his bills yet. Just imagine how much they’ll be charging once Trump stops stiffing the contractors he’s allegedly been cheating for months.
