WASHINGTON (AP) - The nation's capital is the birthplace of the rickey, a classic cocktail made with gin or whiskey, fresh lime juice and club soda.

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On Thursday, D.C. Councilmember Jack Evans will join cocktail aficionados to read a proclamation declaring the rickey as Washington's native cocktail and declaring July as rickey month in the district.

The rickey was invented in 1883 at Shoomaker's, a bar once frequented by politicians and journalists. The J.W. Marriott hotel now sits on the Shoomaker's site, across the street from the John A. Wilson Building, D.C.'s city hall.

Writer and bartender Derek Brown has trained bartenders at the Marriott's 1331 Bar and Lounge to make rickeys, and they'll be offered at half-price for the rest of the month.