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ocated in front of the Westin North Shore Hotel in Wheeling, Spear’s Bourbon, Burgers and Beer is a unique, local owned establishment that offers high quality in all they do including giving back to the community.


Offering over 300 bourbons and whiskeys, grass fed, non GMO


chicken, beef and wild game, plus a huge selection of craft beers, this is definitely not a chain restaurant! Spears is passionate about Bourbon, and the fall and winter are perfect seasons for getting reacquainted with bourbon. Originally from Bourbon County Kentucky, now bourbons can


be found all over the country. But what makes Kentucky Bourbon unique is the limestone water – how water is filtered through limestone to give it a unique flavor. Bourbon is only made in the U.S. Many consider Jacob Spears


as the first known distiller of Bourbon, named and created in Bour- bon county KY. Spears Bourbon, Burgers, & Beer uses this name in recognition of Jacob Spears. To be a Bourbon, it has to have a minimum of 51% corn mash,


4 years’ minimum stored in new oak charred barrels. Often these barrels are then sold to breweries for Bourbon Barrel Aged beer which you’ll also find at Spears. You can tour many famous Bourbon distilleries by travelling


the Kentucky Bourbon Trail (kybourbontrail.com) where you can visit companies including Four Roses, Jim Beam, Makers Mark, and Woodford Reserve. You’ll find all of them served at Spears. A favorite bourbon of Spears is J. Henry, a Wisconsin distillery


which uses their own locally grown and harvested grains. It has ex- ceptional quality with hints of vanilla and carmel in its taste. Spears can also “smoke” their J. Henry WI Bourbon at your table or at the bar. The Smoker is a form of pipe that lights hickory, cherry, or apple wood chips then forces the smoke into a glass box with the Bourbon glass to give the Bourbon and even smokier taste. This is unique in the Chicago area


and I don’t know of anyone else that does this. When Spears does this at the bar, it is like a magic show and always attracts a crowd. Even the house brand brand Bourbon at Spears is excellent;


Woodford Reserve which is used for their Old Fashioned that are served with a sphere of ice; a round ball of ice that keeps the drink cold but doesn’t melt as fast as ice cubes. Spears also offers Bour- bon flights so you can sample different Bourbons. This is popular as Bourbon and other “brown” liquors are becoming more popular with Millennials including women. As with many aspects of mod- ern life, the experience of sampling Bourbons is important to many people and Spears embraces this. When it comes to burgers, Spears is unique. GMO free, grass


fed beef, wild game and range free chicken are all offered at Spears. Bored with just a burger, then consider a Bison burger, which is juicy and low in fat, or Elk which is the leanest meat, and Wild Boar with a blackberry compo. These unique wild game burgers pair well with Bourbon and craft beers. Spears is kid friendly with IBC Root Beer, cotton candy and carnival funnel cake. Beer pairs well with burgers and when visiting Spears, you’ll


see 24 beers on tap, always rotating including 6-8 local beers. It’s common to find Chicago beers from Half Acre, Pipeworks, Revolu- tion, and Lagunitas which is from CA but also brewed in Chicago, along with 3 Floyds from Indiana. And like Bourbon, Spears offers beer flights for people to experience a variety of beers without drinking too much. Finally, Spears gives back to many organizations including the


popular Wounded Warrior Project fundraising event every July and last winter’s 100 Club of Chicago benefiting first responders. Whether you’re hungry, thirsty of a little of each, Spears has something for you. It’s a favorite of our editor. Visit Spears at 723 N. Milwaukee Avenue in Wheeling, 847-353-8933 and www.spearschicago.com.


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Chicago Windy City Guide ◆ September - December 2018


www.windycityguide.com


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