With the latest menu Banned in D.C., Deke Dunne and the Allegory team prove they're no one-hit wonder.
Musicians often talk about the difficult second album: after the high of a chart-topping debut, the sophomore offering is often a disappointment.
Deke Dunne might not be a musician, but as the recently departed beverage and creative director at Allegory in Washington DC (No.57 on North America's 50 Best Bars 2026), he knows all too well the stress of trying to follow up a big hit. After winning Best Cocktail Menu Award in 2023 for Down the Rabbit Hole, he knew it would be hard to match this success. "It was very inspiring," he says. "We thought, 'okay, let's take this and let's go bigger.' But it was also a lot of pressure."
First time's a charm
Down the Rabbit Hole was based on a mural by Erik Thor Sandberg, the central decorative feature of Allegory. It depicts Ruby Bridges, an American civil rights activist who was the first black child to attend an all-white school in New Orleans in 1960, reimagining her as the central character in Alice in Wonderland. The final menu design read like a children's book, with Bridge's journey mirroring Alice's, building to the high point of her victory over the jabberwocky. Fantastical yet politically grounded, it also functioned effectively as a cocktail menu, with the drinks getting progressively moodier as the plot turned darker.
Eric Thor Samberg's mural of Alice slaying the jabberwocky was the starting point for Allegory's first award-winning cocktail menu, Down the Rabbit Hole
Importantly, the story told in the menu was created using Bridge's own words, gathered from her various writing. "We've become very close with Ruby over the years. She's our guiding light and we want her to be the moral centre for everything that we do."
Art imitates life
When it came time to create the follow-up, Dunne returned to Bridge's story. "Ruby's books and movies are being banned in school districts all over the country. Realising that the progress that we made – this myth of American enlightenment that we're taught in schools – was being unravelled right before our eyes, it blew our minds."
Incensed and inspired, Dunne had found a new story to tell. "We wanted to create a narrative around banned books and to show what DC could look like in the future if education was limited in this way."
Dunne was daunted by the scope of this ambition. "It was really intimidating at first, trying to imagine how this sweeping story could all come together," he admits. Things started to click when he decided to build this new story around the literary structuring device known as the hero's journey. The hero's journey has 17 steps, divided into three acts: the departure, the initiation and the return.
Before moving into bartending, Deke Dunne worked in politics for eight years
This became the blueprint for Banned in D.C., the bar's latest cocktail menu. Across 17 chapters, Bridges falls down the rabbit hole again, realises the terrible consequence that banning books has had on the city, and eventually helps it find salvation in these forgotten narratives.
Each chapter has its own cocktail, designed to echo the mood of the narrative. When Bridges plunges back down the rabbit hole, the suggested drink is Mardi Gras, described as a "juicy, tropical sour that will teleport your mind to the best of times." As Bridges realises just how dark the world has become since books were banned, this sombre feeling is echoed in the Nero, a bold, bitter non-alcoholic option: "born in the darkness and moulded by it." By chapter 17, when freedom reigns once more, the suggested drink is No Place Like Home, a margarita fruit punch rooted in childhood memories.
The cocktails were designed by Allegory's team members and underneath the drink description guests will find the name of the cocktail's inventor, an indicator of the collaborative spirit among the crew.
"Our team relished the opportunity," says Dunne. "The drinks had to fit the narrative, but I didn't want to stifle their creativity too much. Some people made drinks that were rooted in their personal history, others were more connected to the menu's artwork, some were directly inspired by Ruby herself."
Of course, the drinks also had to be technically good. "Everyone took it very seriously," says Dunne. "I bought a freeze dryer and we incorporated some other culinary tools as well. We used a wide array of enzymes to enhance flavours too."
All That She Carried, created by Greg Long, is described as an Old Fashioned that's gone on a camping trip to the mountains [Image: NOM Digital]
The result? "We ended up with an insanely eclectic, but at the same time very balanced cocktail menu. It actually needed very little editing"
Creative collaboration
Striking visuals are a key part of Allegory's DNA, so Dunne knew he needed to draft in an artist to create original works to illustrate the menu. "We originally approached Katie [Miller, an artist based in Maryland] to do some photorealistic paintings, because that's what she's known for." But Miller had another idea.
Realising that her typical, extremely labour-intensive style wouldn't work given the project's timeline, she settled on photography. As a mother of a two-year-old, she was surrounded by children's toys, and this became her subject. "I was inspired by the scenes my child was making when playing and I started to play with her blocks and toys when she wasn't there.
"I ended up taking half her toys into my studio for the better part of a year and also acquired a ridiculous amount of additional wood building blocks and other toys," she continues. "It was very hard work but a lot of fun."
This is Miller's first time working for a commercial client and an allegorical, narrative-driven cocktail menu is hardly your average commission. "It's kind of surreal," she agrees. "To most people, it's just a menu with some weird art in it. To me, it's an art book that also lists some drinks."
Katie Miller's playful and evocative images bring the menu to life [Image: Katie Miller]
Conversation starter
Winning the Siete Misterios Best Cocktail Menu Award 2026, as part of North America's 50 Best Bars, came as a surprise for Dunne. "We really didn't expect to win again," he remembers. "But you know – you can't win the lottery without buying a ticket. We realised we might as well apply."
It's a fitting recognition for such a bold project. Launching an openly political cocktail menu against the backdrop of heightened political tension is not for the faint of heart – but according to Dunne, the reception has been largely positive.
Around the time of President Trump's inauguration, people from all across the political spectrum came into Allegory, but even guests on the political right appreciated hearing more about Ruby's story.
"After a while, they asked: 'So, who's Ruby?'" remembers Dunne. "We explained, and suddenly they remembered learning about her in middle school – she was still in their heads as an American hero.
"As long as we don't force our message down people's throat, they can get there."
Guests who connect to the story can donate to The Ruby Bridges Foundation via a QR code on the menu. Additionally, there's a QR code that offers guests more information on Teaching for Change, an educational charity.
A high-concept menu that manages to gently encourage – rather than emphatically demand – guest attention, all while delivering exceptional service and drinks: few could have pulled it off.
"We seem to have threaded the needle right," agrees Dunne.
Allegory is the winner of the Siete Misterios Best Cocktail Menu Award 2026, as part of North America's 50 Best Bars. Discover the full list as well as all the special award winners.
