Riff Raff. 2333 18th St., NW. Johnny Pistolas is best known for margaritas and late night happy hours. But tucked in the back of the Adams Morgan bar is something totally different. Since summer, bar veteran John Schott has been quietly operating Riff Raff, a more intimate cocktail bar on a mission for zero waste.  “It’s like we are hiding in plain sight right behind a huge party,” says Schott, who aims to attract those who want to skip all the ruckus and experience something slower-paced and easier going.  Sustainability has become a driving force at a handful of restaurants in DC, including veg-centric Oyster Oyster in Shaw, Korean fine-dining Shia in Union Market, and northern Italian Ama in Navy Yard. But it’s been less front and center in bars. Schott wants to change that. He has been bartending for over 20 years—including the People’s Drug and King’s Ransom in Alexandria—and has represented the US in a “World’s Most Sustainable Bartender” competition in Nicaragua, among other bartending competitions.  At Riff Raff, Schott aims to keep everything possible out of a trashcan. Some ingredients are reused up to three times, and everything else is composted. The cocktail menu ($12 to $15) is full of classics like old-fashioneds, negornis, manhattans, and appletinis—all with Schott’s twist—plus other signature drinks and non-alcoholic options. Instead of only relying only on traditional citrus fruits like limes or lemons for acidity, Schott does his best to instead use acid-adjusted teas, native apple juices, and other fermented ingredients.  When he does use citrus, Schott likes to make “super juice,” which incorporates oils extracted from citrus peels to maximize the use of the entire fruit. For this process, Schott combines citrus peels with water, tea, citric and malic acids, a touch of salt to create an intensified citrus flavor. (He also uses an aromatic citrus spray to finish some of the cocktails.) The super juice is used in cocktails the like the tequila-based “Mele-kaliki Margarita”,and a Jamaican rum-based “Escape From DC.”  Meanwhile, Schott’s take on an old-fashioned cocktail combines a Flor de Cana 12-year rum (it’s carbon neutral and Fair Trade certified) and a banana peel syrup. The rest of the banana is then repurposed as a banana falernum (a tropical, spiced syrup) that is used with in the tiki-inspired “Jungle Juice” cocktail. “Everything you see and sip inside the bar has gone through a great deal of thought and creativity to create a zero-waste environment,” Schott says. He even recycles old DVD cases to present the check. “It always leads to one more interaction, one more funny story,” he says. Riff Raff is hidden inside Johnny Pistolas. Photograph by John Schott. The dimly lit space features zebra-print rugs and pictures of a dog across the wall that includes Schott’s own hairless dog, Carbone—the bar’s mascot. Eight teal velvet seats line the bar in an additional half dozen tables. Food, meanwhile, comes from the same kitchen as Johnny Pistola’s. Think tacos, taquitos and nachos. The bar’s motto is “serious about cocktails, not ourselves.” More than just a zero-waste bar, Schott really just wants people to have a good time: “I would love to have a place for people to come in and feel good about themselves in more ways than one.”The post A Hidden Cocktail Bar in Adams Morgan Wants to Be a Zero-Waste Leader first appeared on Washingtonian. ...read more read less