Plenty of nefarious activity occurred at Chicago’s famous Green Mill since it opened in 1907. Notorious gangster Al Capone frequented the space while “alky cookers,” or stills, were supplied throughout the greater Chicago area in the early days of Prohibition. People were assigned to make small batches of not-so-tasty but effective homemade liquor from their homes. They would cook up the highly potent liquid and sell the product to speakeasies for handsome profit, but before they were able to sell the boozy “gin,” they needed to cut the batch with some water, and since most kitchen sinks didn’t have high enough spigots, they filled bottles in the bathtub; hence, “bathtub gin.” Thankfully, there are modern distilleries providing far more delicious alternatives. Letherbee, Few Spirits, and North Shore are distilleries worth seeking out when making the Illinois rounds.
Illinois
And what a noble ally this, to the cause of political freedom. With such an aid, its march cannot fail to be on and on, till every son of earth shall drink in rich fruition, the sorrow quenching draughts of perfect liberty. Happy day, when, all appetites controlled, all poisons subdued, all matter subjected, mind, all conquering mind, shall live and move the monarch of the world. Glorious consummation! Hail fall of Fury! Reign of Reason, all hail!
—Abraham Lincoln, Temperance Address, Springfield, Illinois, February 22, 1842
The ice cream “sundae” was named in Evanston. Influenced by piety, the community passed a city ordinance outlawing the sale of ice cream sodas on Sundays, so the drug store operators and soda store confectioners created a different spelling of “Sunday,” and the rest, as they say, is served with a spoon and, hopefully, some extra whipped cream.
Chicago saw unbelievable growth in the nineteenth century, expanding so fast it was considered one of the most dangerous cities in America, specializing in crime, greed, corruption, and every other vice under the midwestern sun. One pre-Prohibition bar was called the Bucket of Blood, infamous for its nightly stabbings, fights, and the need for a constant mopping.
Chicago’s cocktail history runs through its legendary hotels (the Pump Room in the Ambassador Hotel is the alleged birthplace of the celery garnish in the Bloody Mary, created when a guest was unable to find a swizzle stick) and the fact that so many people used the Windy City as a midway stopping point in coast-to-coast US travel. Nowadays, there are plenty of cocktail spots throughout Chicago, making it a destination city for today’s libation enthusiasts. Logan Square in particular has some recently opened treasures: Lost Lake (a tiki bar), Billy Sunday (an amaro-focused juggernaut), and Longman & Eagle, offering an expansive whiskey and rare spirits selection.
Gin, lemon juice, sugar, and mint may not have been something Harry Caray had before the start of every Cubs game, but the classic Southside cocktail often gets associated with Illinois, and Chicago’s famed South Side gang from the 1920s. If any of Al Capone’s crew are still around, we don’t want them upset, so let’s just give it a rest for the sake of how good it feels to be in a room with people enjoying this drink, celebrating something unexpected, toasting a hard day’s work, missing a loved one, or the light of the moon. One can’t mention legendary Prohibition gangster Al Capone or Chicago’s drinking history without speaking of the Green Mill, an iconic nightlife destination that was a favorite hangout of Capone, who had a special booth he always sat in.
And speaking of influential figures in the Chicago nightlife world, thumbs way up for Ariel E. Neal and Alexis Brown for creating Causing a Stir, an industry program dedicated to celebrating diversity, leadership, and support throughout the hospitality industry, where we can all agree inequality doesn’t belong. There are still places in America where the bartenders are not given enough attention and the tutelage necessary to succeed, and a little support goes a long way.
STATE FACT
Bill Murray was born in Evanston in 1950, beating McDonald’s by five years, as only Bill Murray could do. My guess? Though only five years old at the time, Bill managed to show up at that McDonald’s in Des Plaines, Illinois, and most likely bought a few burgers for the staff when the manager wasn’t looking. Classic Bill.
ILLINOIS SPIRIT
Malört is the Swedish word for “wormwood.” It was created in the 1930s by Carl Jeppson, who brought the unique liqueur to Chicago and developed a cult following and niche market over decades, curing locals of indigestion, sweet memories, and boredom. Try as we often might, the taste association of Malört never really gravitates to a place we can easily categorize. Malört was nearly gone from history, as the last employee of Jeppson’s was about to retire in 2018, until the CH Distillery in Chicago acquired the company. It will continue to produce the local favorite spirit for the indefinite future. As the old labels used to say: “Make it past two ‘shock-glasses’ and with the third you could be ours . . . forever.”
What does a punch in the face taste like? Just try Malört.
—Kat Odell, author, Unicorn Food and Day Drinking
But you have to earn living in Chicago. You earn it by living through those winters. And if Malört isn’t the liquid equivalent of a Chicago winter, I’m not really sure what is.
—Toby Maloney, co-owner and head mixologist, the Violet Hour, quoted in Munchies
I’m a big fan of all the Letherbee products out of Chicago. I’m anxious every spring and autumn to get a hold of their small batch gin releases. Their charred oak barrel-aged absinthe is a bottle I find myself reaching for over and over again.
—Morgan McKinney, Dodici at Bari (Memphis)
ILLINOIS BUCKET LIST BAR
Christopher and Calvin Marty, brothers who grew up in Illinois and Wisconsin, opened Best Intentions on a shoestring budget. It was the first bar in America to serve Angostura on tap. Drop by any night of the week (except Mondays—they’re closed) and expect ice-cold Miller High Life bottles, the “Damn near famous” Wondermint Malted milkshake cocktail, ephemera decorating the walls, and a vintage Rock-Ola jukebox from 1978 playing Charlie Feathers (“insert quarters slowly or machine will jam”). And if Chris is working, ask him to make you the Uncle Val’s peppered gin cocktail garnished with a house-made bread and butter pickle garnish. You. Will. Melt. Best Intentions is a bar that is very young, but it feels like it’s been around forever, and deserves to be here for a long, long time. Definitely one of my favorite bars in America.
LITTLE KNOWN
A New York Sun editor coined the term “Windy City.”
Malört tastes like pencil shavings and heartache.
—John Hodgman, humorist, who has been known to offer shots to his audience, because wormwood, as we all know, makes people laugh
ILLINOIS COCKTAIL BAR
When you enter the Violet Hour, the space unfolds to an unexpected pre-Prohibition–imagined delight. High ceilings, marble countertops, shelves painted white to reflect a soda fountain parlor aesthetic. Toby Maloney and co. opened up this James Beard Award–winning program when every other Chicago bar was featuring two-for-ones, Jäger bombs, and pint-size vodka sodas. Violet Hour brought a thoughtful, self-proclaimed “Mr. Potato Head” approach to building nationally recognized craft cocktails, building aesthetically pleasing beverages with varying ingredients, delivered with hospitality, education, and integrity. When he first asked his bartenders who liked gin in 2007, no one raised their hand. Now they’re all gin savants.
I used to come visit family in Chicago every year and discovering Billy Sunday was one of the motivations for moving up here. I literally said to my husband, “I want to live within walking distance to this bar,” and here I am many years later living in an apartment that’s a five-minute walk away. It’s Chicago in a nutshell to me—humble but aspirational in the same breath, elegant but comfortable and welcoming.
—Emma Janzen, author of Mezcal
ILLINOIS COCKTAIL BAR
One can’t talk about Chicago cocktails without mentioning the Aviary, which was a midwestern trailblazer of molecular mixology, an extension of acclaimed chef Grant Achatz’s breakthrough restaurant, Alinea. Drinking here, you might have memories of high school chemistry class. And bonus points: Both locations (Chicago and New York) feature the accompanying extra bar speakeasy the Office, showcasing pre-Prohibition cocktails, vintage spirit selections, and “Dealer’s Choice” options, where the patron picks a cocktail based on their preferences in a range of areas: citrus characteristics to ideal vacation destination, favorite movie character to their favorite season.
In 2010, my friend Charles Joly poured me a shot of Malört, and I only just recently forgave him.
—Erick Castro, host of Bartender at Large
LITTLE KNOWN
The first skyscraper ever constructed was built in Chicago in 1885.
ILLINOIS OLDEST BAR
Located about an hour south of Chicago, the historic family-owned Village Tavern has been serving locals fine food, drink, and nightly live music with piano songs and sing-alongs. The long mahogany bar was salvaged after it survived the Great McCormick Place Fire in Chicago in 1967.
Chicago’s Charles Joly is hands-down one of the finest, most meticulous, detail-oriented bartenders I’ve ever met. I staged at Aviary one night with him, the same year he won world class. Watching him work in the Office was a real eye-opener. He changed the way I approached making cocktails. After twenty-five plus years of making drinks, I still feel it’ll be another twentyfive before I can come close to his level of experience.
—Sean Enright, author, Pittsburgh Drinks, bar owner, Spork (Pittsburgh, PA)
HUNGRY HUNGRY HIPSTER
The Violet Hour gets associated with some incredible modern classics, such as Sam Ross’s Paper Plane and the Bitter Giuseppe. This recipe pays homage to modern cocktail classics and the rich tradition of drinking cold beer on warm midwestern summer days and nights. (It’s the only recipe in this book with beer, so feel free to sip some cold, refreshing High Life while mixing up the recipe for friends!) It was first published in PUNCH and is derived from the classic mimosa recipe (sparkling wine and orange juice). Despite its name, this drink isn’t garnished with a sideways “Von Dutch” trucker hat, but it might try to take a selfie for Instagram without asking for your approval.
2 ounces Zwack (or another amaro—I recommend experimenting; Campari, Aperol, and Ramazzotti are great starts)
1 ounce fresh orange juice
½ ounce fresh lemon juice
Miller High Life beer
Garnish: half orange wheel
Shake the amaro, orange juice, and lemon juice with ice until chilled; strain over fresh ice in a chilled Collins glass, top with the beer, and garnish with the orange.
My first American cocktail would have to be Grasshopper (crème de menthe, crème de cacao, and ice cream or heavy cream) when I was a kid. I also tasted a frozen Daiquiri in the 1960s made with Minute Maid concentrated frozen Limeade. I’m sure that will horrify some modern bartenders. I didn’t really drink at all until I started college. I drank Cuervo and OJ in early 1980s because that was cool... still kind of grossed out by that... but good tequila and fresh orange juice is a beautiful combo.
—Todd Appel, bar and cocktail consultant (Chicago)
PAPER PLANE
New York’s Sam Ross created the Paper Plane for Toby Maloney’s Chicago bar The Violet Hour (a place he never worked) while listening to M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes,” which is a song we should all listen to at least once a day. M.I.A. was scrutinized for performing live while being pregnant. I challenge anyone to not feel the groove of her song whenever it comes on or of this drink when you take your first sip.
¾ ounce Bourbon
¾ ounce Aperol
¾ ounce fresh lemon juice
¾ ounce Amaro Nonino
Shake the ingredients with ice until chilled; strain and serve up in a chilled cocktail glass.
I encountered something in Chicago called the “Mouth Manhattan,” where you take a bottle of Angostura bitters (dasher lid removed) and a bottle of rye and shoot them both simultaneously.
—Joy Buehler, assistant general manager, The Roosevelt Room (Austin, TX)
AB NEGATIVE AND AB POSITIVE
This cocktail actually has two iterations, the AB Negative for spring/summer and the AB Positive for the fall/winter. The drink celebrates Best Intentions’s steadfast efforts to keep the versatile, irreplaceable, and unforgettable Angostura in the foreground, while using a softer tea in the warmer months and a smokier, formidable Souchong to keep you warm during the colder season. Both versions will save your life.
The Midwest is famous for down-to-earth hospitality, deep and real friendships, and a welcoming nature bordering on naïveté. Chicago remains my favorite of the large American cities for offering the diversity and culture that comes with a major metropolitan area, while maintaining a great majority of the authenticity that’s the calling card of this part of the country.
—Christopher Marty, co-owner, Best Intentions (Chicago)
AB Negative (Spring/Summer)
1 ounce Angostura bitters
1 ounce Bärenjäger honey liqueur
1 ounce Todd Appel’s lemon cordial (recipe follows)
1 ounce cold-brewed Dragonwell green tea (Steep 1 tea bag in 6 ounces cold water for 4 hours; strain and store in a nonreactive container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week)
AB Positive (Fall/Winter)
1 ounce Angostura bitters
1 ounce Bärenjäger honey liqueur
1 ounce Todd Appel’s lemon cordial (recipe follows)
1 ounce cold-brewed Lapsang Souchong tea (see above for method)
Shake the ingredients with ice until chilled; strain and serve up in a chilled coupe glass.
Todd Appel’s Lemon Cordial
Todd Appel is a Chicago-based bar instructor and consultant with some nice tricks up his sleeves. His cordial is quite magical. A cordial is often categorized as a syrup but is far more versatile, as the concentrated flavor of a cordial packs a lot more punch than your typical watered-down syrups.
Makes approximately 15 ounces
8 organic, unwaxed lemons
Zest the lemons. Set the zest aside.
Sugar
Cut the lemons in half and squeeze for juice. Strain the lemon juice. You should have 6 to 8 ounces of juice, depending on the lemons. Add the juice along with an equal amount of sugar (by volume) to a small saucepan.
Heat over medium heat, whisking steadily. When the mixture is hot but not boiling (175°F /80°C on a candy thermometer) and the sugar has dissolved, remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.
Add the lemon zest to the syrup and let steep in the refrigerator overnight, or up to 24 hours. Transfer to a clean bottle and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.