Looking for great cocktail experiences

The Violet Hours is great and I agree with most of the review in another thread. I've asked around for hotel and restaurant bars that have good cocktail programs but have a very short list of responses. National 27 and Spiaggia were two suggestions. There have to be more - where are they?

Bar DeVille
In Fine Spirits
The Matchbox/Silver Palm

Moto/Otom as well, especially Otom if only because its bar is far more comfortable than Moto.

The Drawing Room thread
The Drawing Room website

SSDD

I used to love Sepia's cocktails, but they've been more inconsistent now that Peter Vestinos has moved on.

jsagoff wrote:I used to love Sepia's cocktails, but they've been more inconsistent now that Peter Vestinos has moved on.

Yeah I was very impressed when I ate and drank there a year and a half ago, but I've been hearing the same things about the cocktail program at Sepia. I know Peter consulted on a cocktail menu that is about to debut, I'll have to see how that works out once the kinks are ironed out.

SSDD

Tiny Lounge
4352 N. Leavitt St., Chicago
Tel: (773) 463-0396

Edited to add: Tiny Lounge is not really a restaurant with a good bar program. It is half-bar, half-restaurant. The food is very good. Cocktails are excellent.

Bar DeVille in Ukranian Village. I stopped in, met Brad Bolt, and he proceeded to make me (us) the finest cocktails I had in Chicago. The man has very well conceived and executed cocktails.
Nacional27 is of a different style of cocktail. (More the "west coast" style of exotic ingredients as opposed to the east coast tendency to riff on classics.) Again, very VERY interesting and delicious. Full flavor spectrums, exotic bitters made in-house. Adam Seger is always spot-on.

One more place to try is Bluprint in the Merchandise Mart. They always use fresh squeezed juices, seasonally rotate the drink menu and have a few great bartenders. Drinks are $9 and a steal for the neighborhood. The wife and I like the vibe, especially when the after work people head for the trains.

In addition to Violet Hour, these are my favorite cocktail favorites:

http://www.chibarproject.com/Reviews/Bungalow/Bungalow.htm
http://www.chibarproject.com/Reviews/LongRoom/LongRoom.html

And for the view... http://www.chibarproject.com/Reviews/Signature/Signature.html

jacketpotato wrote:One more place to try is Bluprint in the Merchandise Mart. They always use fresh squeezed juices, seasonally rotate the drink menu and have a few great bartenders. Drinks are $9 and a steal for the neighborhood. The wife and I like the vibe, especially when the after work people head for the trains.

I went for cocktails and appetizers after work at Bluprint yesterday with a few friends. The drinks were definitely crafted with care and used quality ingredients, but they were ALL very sweet and fruity. (Between the 5 of us we tried over half their specialty drink menu.) If you're someone who prefers sweet, fruity cocktails, I'd unreservedly recommend Bluprint. But if you prefer cocktails that are more bitter, less sweet, this probably isn't the place for you. (I fall in the latter camp.) The only drink we had that wasn't very sweet was the bacon manhattan. It was...interesting. I can't quite call it good or bad. It definitely tasted like bacon...smoky and porky, but I'm just not sure that's a good thing in a cocktail. I think the group consensus was that we were all glad one of us ordered it, but I don't think any of us would get it again.

They were also dead. We were there from about 5 to 8. There was one other group there when we arrived, two or three groups came and left while we were there and by the time we left, there were no other patrons. We didn't see anyone there for dinner at all, which is a shame really. We stuck mostly to the appetizers, but we enjoyed the food we had. Our favorites were the fried pickles and tallegio/chorizo poppers.

I have been trying several of the "speakeasy"-type cocktail lounges in New York (Little Branch, Pegu Club, Rye House, Apotheke), and just tried Angel's Share (8 Stuyvesant Street - upstairs through a Japanese restaurant) for what can only be described as an "interesting" (and tasty - though once in a lifetime) cocktail: the Del Sasser: Bacon-infused bourbon, Premium Plum Liquor, Pomegranate Juice, Fresh Lime Juice, Balsamic Honey, and a Dash of Angostura Bitters - A modern "New Yorker" - an odd, but not unpleasant combination of flavors. Perhaps the bacon was a bit overpowering, but with an egg it could be just the thing for a hangover.

The bar inside of the Blackstone Hotels Mercat ala Planxa has a great presentation
of infused fruits and other unusual flavors in an "adult" cocktail-
basil,
cucumber,
infused stone fruits, etc.
The bartender when we were last there- an extremely talented and friendly chap
from Brazil - told many a great story of his Capoeira training,
along w/ his job as a repo man in the favelas of Rio!
Talk about "cahones"........

Also delete BluePrint.
Closed a month ago.
Try Gilt, on Hubbard @ Franklin.
Add Whistler on Milwaukee to your list.
And Longman and Eagle too!


Mercat
638 S. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL
312.765.0524

Longman and Eagle's cocktails are nothing to write home (or even text your friends) about. Their bourbon selection is pretty awesome, especially if you are looking to find a diamond in the rough.

Favorite Chicago cocktail experiences, in order of drink awesomeness:

1. The Violet Hour (Cocktails 10, Ambience 9, Service 9)
2. Sable (Cocktails 10, Ambience 6, Service 4 -- but they're ironing out kinks)
3. In Fine Spirits (Cocktails 9, Ambience 7, Service 8 )
4. The Drawing Room (Cocktails 9, Ambience 7, Service 3)
5. Nacional 27 (Cocktails 8, Ambience 9, Service 7)
6. The Whistler (Cocktails 8, Ambience 2, Service 9) sooooo loud
7. Sepia (Cocktails 7, Ambience 8, Service 8 )
8. Longman and Eagle (Cocktails 6, Ambience 7, Service 10) Food is amazing.
9. Big Star (Cocktails 6, Ambience 2, Service 1) Great tacos and micheladas, though.

never tried: The AA, Bar DeVille, Bristol, The Exchange, Mercadito, Signature Lounge, Tiny Lounge, Weegee's


I think that's pretty comprehensive. There may be one or two cocktail-oriented places I've forgotten about, but that's a pretty decent list.

jsagoff, what did you have at Longman and Eagle? I had their Old Fashioned a few weeks ago and really liked it.

I tried both the Old Fashioned and the Manhatten and very much enjoyed both...just got a look at the spring menu as well and the Carpathian (Aperol, Fernet Branca and Birch Beer) looks heavenly...

Had drinks at Sable Kitchen & Bar on Friday night and came away impressed. The bartenders took a lot of pride in their cocktail-making and quality of their ingredients. In general, I am a huge fan of In Fine Spirits. But if you are in or around River North, I'd definitely check out Sable. And sit at the bar.

The problem with Longman and Eagle's cocktails isn't so much quality but selection. There can't be more than about a half-dozen on the menu -- the liquor they serve is meant to be drunk straight. The Old-Fashioned is good but nothing really mindblowing; I especially enjoy the large ice-cubes that TVH and a few other places have, but L&E lack.

Have to say I think the old fashioned I had at Longman & Eagle a few months ago was excellent, gave up very little to the one I had at Violet Hour.

The drinks at Bar Deville are also really superb, I remember the whisky sour being particularly good. I also (vaguely) remember leaving Bar Deville very drunk.

I also had a great lemon/gingertini at Ben Pao a few nights ago, actually the tastiest part of the meal.

Had a Longman Manhattan (Wild Turkey 101 Bourbon, Punt é Mes, Angostura & Cherry bitters) in the OSB in the back yesterday evening. A very good Manhattan and a nice value at $8.

Would have liked to seen more cocktail options and never saw the extensive whiskey list, my guess is due to being in the OSB. Will return and sit at the main bar.

My current favorite bars worth hitting specifically for cocktails (not necessarily ranked and I'm sure I'm leaving a few out *hic* ) . . .

Scofflaw
Sepia
Sportsmans Club
Barrelhouse Flat
Berkshire Room
Ward 8
Analogue
Billy Sunday
Punch House
Sable
Bar DeVille
Violet Hour
Dusek's
Lone Wolf
Yusho
Whistler
A-10
Bavette's

=R=

Copied and pasted into Evernote for easy access. Thanks Ronnie!

Fantastic list, ronnie!

Are there any decent cocktail places out in the western suburbs? I'm in the Elmhurst/oakbrook area and decent nightlife isn't all that easy to find...

Kid Charlemagne wrote:Are there any decent cocktail places out in the western suburbs? I'm in the Elmhurst/oakbrook area and decent nightlife isn't all that easy to find...

Are Hinsdale or Western Springs close enough? If so, check out Vie or Vistro. Both cocktail programs are manned by Bill Anderson, who cut his teeth at Sepia (mentioned above).

ronnie_suburban wrote:My current favorite bars worth hitting specifically for cocktails (not necessarily ranked and I'm sure I'm leaving a few out *hic* ) . . .

Scofflaw
Sepia
Sportsmans Club
Barrelhouse Flat
Berkshire Room
Ward 8
Analogue
Billy Sunday
Punch House
Sable
Bar DeVille
Violet Hour
Dusek's
Lone Wolf
Yusho
Whistler
A-10
Bavette's

=R=

A great list...there's a couple I'd add to it.

Like Sepia, a lot of fine dining-ish spots make some great cocktails. I'm thinking Blackbird, BOKA, GT Fish & Oyster and Nico Osteria. Also, I dig the River North spots like Tanta and Three Dots and a Dash (though I haven't been since McGee has left). Finally, I like Maria's Packaged Goods & Community Bar, located next to GNR Pleasant House Bakery.

milz50 wrote:A great list...there's a couple I'd add to it.

Like Sepia, a lot of fine dining-ish spots make some great cocktails. I'm thinking Blackbird, BOKA, GT Fish & Oyster and Nico Osteria. Also, I dig the River North spots like Tanta and Three Dots and a Dash (though I haven't been since McGee has left). Finally, I like Maria's Packaged Goods & Community Bar, located next to GNR Pleasant House Bakery.

I totally agree about Blackbird. Kyle Davidson (formerly at Violet Hour and Guildhall) runs a glorious bar over there. The only reason I didn't mention it is because it's a very small bar (6 seats?) and you can sometimes get bumped for diners, who can reserve seats at the bar, if you're just drinking there.

The bars at BOKA and GT F&O really came into their own when Ben Schiller ran them. Much of the asethetic he brought to those places still remains in place. Though, more than cocktails, I associate them with very well-curated spirits libraries -- also a by-product of Schiller's time there.

And yes, Nico Osteria is an excellent suggestion. I love Matty Eggleston's work. Though, I've only been there once, the cocktails were one of my favorite parts of the experience.

I always enjoyed 3 Dots when Paul McGee was there but now that's he's departed, I have no idea if it's still what it once was.

Tanta and Maria's . . . I've enjoyed them both but didn't have cocktails that I loved at either place. I'll have to re-visit for sure.

=R=

milz50 wrote:

Kid Charlemagne wrote:Are there any decent cocktail places out in the western suburbs? I'm in the Elmhurst/oakbrook area and decent nightlife isn't all that easy to find...

Are Hinsdale or Western Springs close enough? If so, check out Vie or Vistro. Both cocktail programs are manned by Bill Anderson, who cut his teeth at Sepia (mentioned above).

Those are both within my range - thanks!

Good in the western suburbs? Not really, but Chef Shangri-La is worth going to for the kitsch fire-juggling-and-elvis-impersonator spectacle, albeit less so for the tiki drinks that err on the side of milkshake.

I'll second (or so) Maria's, which has a great vibe to go along with the drinks.

milz50 wrote:
Like Sepia, a lot of fine dining-ish spots make some great cocktails. I'm thinking Blackbird, BOKA, GT Fish & Oyster and Nico Osteria.

I'll add Naha in River North is one of my favorite spots for cocktails. They do the classics justice. The bar dining experience is great as well.