Drinking Edited by Elizabeth Atkinson
timeout.com/chicago/bars @elizabethrose14 Drinking Poured,
Draft cocktails are all over the city. Chicago’s cocktail experts advise you to put aside your prejudices and tap into the delicious trend. By Elizabeth Atkinson
IT’S EASY TO write off a cocktail when you don’t see it made in front of you. That’s part of the magic, right? Ice in the shaker; spirits measured and poured, and shake, shake, shake—like it’s just for you. But if you look around the next time you’re out, you’ll see more menus boasting draft cocktails: premixed drinks batched and poured into kegs that can quickly fill your glass. Blasphemy? Not quite. We’ve found standout draft cocktails all over the city, and we’ve asked the experts what it takes to make a kegged cocktail worth drinking. When you think “draft,” you
think beer—ales with a foamy head and crisp carbonation. Some draft cocktails embrace that fizz. Billy Sunday (3143 W Logan Blvd) uses the carbonation tactic in its lineup. “It’s about making something light, something we wouldn’t make behind the bar,” says Lee Zaremba, head bartender. Take the gin and tonic, for example. “You’re able to make the gin itself carbonated—it makes [the drink] lighter and more refreshing.” At Beef & Barley (3001
N Ashland Ave), owner Mike Hartman says the team dreams up fabulous creations—like the Koval House Negroni. The
“It’s about being able to keep it
crew started with a traditional negroni and added apricot liqueur for a twist. Elsewhere, the Berkshire Room’s (15 E Ohio St) barrel-finished cocktails are kept in bottles poured from the barrel—the Continual Negroni is filled with vermouth and gin, so it oxidizes and changes over time. Some of the motivation behind
approachable and fun.”
having cocktails on draft is speed. Jean Tomaro and Tim Ryll use them at SteakBar (1500 N Wells St) and Federales (180 N Morgan St) to move drinks faster. And the cocktails don’t sit long—the venues batch cocktails several times a day, so you aren’t risking quality or freshness. Revel Room (1566 N Milwaukee Ave) allows customers to try a few draft cocktails before committing to one. Head bartender Anthony Mitchell likes to keep a fleet of approachable cocktails and a few weird options on the menu to try. “It’s about being able to keep it approachable and fun,” he says.
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1.Bramble
Gin and St. George raspberry liqueur make this bramble light and fruity with a bit of effervescence, perfect for an evening in Wicker Park.
2.Kent at Billy Sunday This gin and tonic is made with navy-strength gin, cinchona bark, lemongrass, allspice and citrus. It’s fizzy and perfectly laden with gin for just the right amount of spritz and booze.
3.Piña Borrachita
Served in a cutoff bottle of Borrachita is packed with pineapple juice and tequila, transporting you to a beach on an island far, far away.
Adding a bit of a fruity punch to the otherwise bitter negroni, this drink is served with Koval dry gin, Campari, Punt e Mes and Combier Abricot liqueur for a lighter take on the cocktail that just gets better as the ice melts.
4. Negroni at
September–November 2016 Time Out Chicago
Best draft cocktails in Chicago
PHOTOGRAPHS: JACLYN RIVAS
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