I love a good cocktail. A nice, sipping drink with interesting flavors suits me well. You won’t have to twist my arm to check out Cocktail Bar on Dundas.

Previously this space was home to Hoof Cafe – known for its many incarnations of suckling pig and it’s fantastic house infused spirits and libations. This time around Cocktail Bar has the intention of letting the drinks take center stage.

Owner Jen Agg appreciates flavours and subtleties in her mixes. I recall having a basil infused drink long ago (at the Hoof Cafe) on a hot summer evening and it was pure perfection. Her signature Manhattan with house made bitters is well rounded and damn delicious. The menu is divided into brown and white cocktails, and offers up classics as well as contemporary in-house creations.

The new space has not changed drastically from Hoof Cafe but it has a different feel. From the outside it looks unassuming, The semi-opaque windows offer mystery and intimacy and a small red neon sign reading Cocktail Bar signals the right place. Inside is an apothecary of infusions – lavender gin, vanilla tequila and other ambitious concoctions. Just don’t try to order a vodka soda – you might get a look of pity.

If you enjoy drinking and partying as much as I do, then you’ll love the Tumblr Party Rehab. Started by a 23 year old bartender, Party Rehab has quickly become one of the most popular Tumblr blogs with over 40,000 followers. Go for the assortment of pictures but stay for the dizzying array of drink recipes and drinking games that will likely make you a few new friends by the end of the night (it should be noted the vast majority of recipes are more geared towards college students, so don’t expect to learn how the make the perfect Manhattan).

What do you do when you’ve become one of the most recognizable chefs in the world, beaten Stage IV cancer of the mouth, have had your restaurant earn three stars from the Michelin Guide (its highest honor), and otherwise have seemingly conquered the culinary world?

If you’re Grant Achatz, you sit back and have a drink. But not just any drink. And you don’t sit back and relax. You go back into your lab and come up with some of the craziest, but tastiest, libations you can dream up, and then you open a bar.

Achatz, whose restaurant Alinea is widely recognized as one of the finest in the world, is about to open one of Chicago’s most interesting bars it will likely ever see: The Aviary. It’s not just a bar, though. There actually won’t even be a bar, but table seating only. It will feature drinks like gin and tonics with cucumber bubbles reminiscent of Asian bubble tea and an “old fashioned” offering a technique that’s anything but.

While you can still find your neighborhood beer-and-a-shot watering holes, it’s apparent that the craft of making alcohol is making its way into everything around Chicago, from craft beer going from microbreweries to showing up in sports bars to the mad science behind the soon-to-open Aviary.

California has wine country. Kentucky has bourbon distilleries. St. Louis has the Budweiser brewery. Could Chicago become the hub where artisan alcohol is showcased?

Aviary's take on an old fashioned.

]]> http://www.scoutnetworkblog.com/2011/03/6523/mad-scientist-chef-turns-to-mixology/feed/ 0 http://www.scoutnetworkblog.com/2011/03/6439/chicago-the-next-spirit-hub/ http://www.scoutnetworkblog.com/2011/03/6439/chicago-the-next-spirit-hub/#comments Wed, 16 Mar 2011 20:00:57 +0000 Jeff http://www.scoutnetworkblog.com/?p=6439

As a chef, what is there really left to do when you beat cancer of the mouth and then your restaurant earns the coveted three stars from the Michelin Guide?If you’re Grant Achatz, you open a bar. While I’ve admittedly never dined at the three-star winning Alinea in Lincoln Park (nor could I likely secure a reservation, should I ever be so inclined), I am extremely excited about his one of his two upcoming projects, The Aviary. It’s been teased for nearly a year now with short videos during the R&D process for the drinks.

It remains to be seen what’s going to happen once The Aviary opens for business, but with Achatz being considered one of the greatest chefs in the world, I think a lot of doors are going to be knocked down when the world sees his food-as-science-experiment concept applied to drinking. He believes that Alinea is an experience in senses, and, from the looks of it, it seems The Aviary is going to follow in its footsteps.

Which makes me wonder: Is Chicago going to be the next drinking destination hub? California has wine country, Kentucky has bourbon distilleries and St. Louis has the Budweiser brewery. Craft breweries and, more recently, craft distilleries have exploded around Chicago. With its world-class restaurants and tourism, is a drinking revolution just over the horizon?

When my friend first suggested going to 8oz Burger Bar one night, talking about how amazing their burgers are, and what a great selection of beer they have, all I could think was “ew”; I don’t eat meat, and I can’t drink beer. Since I wasn’t hungry, I thought why not? I was pleasantly surprised though as I looked over their cocktail menu to see that all of their drinks were made with fresh squeezed juices and house-made herb mixes and whatnot. The drink I ordered involved some sort of mixture of cloves, almonds, vanilla and I can’t remember what else… and it was perhaps the most delicious cocktail I’ve had in months. I will be returning again for happy hour sometime soon, and I’ll probably try this veggie burger of there’s, which I have been assured is “amazing”.

Closer to home is Stout, a newly opened burger and beer place that I have heard great things from my friends who love those things. It’s horrible location at Cahuenga and Selma, amidst all of the worst things about Hollywood, makes it’s beautiful interior stand out like a sore thumb. I decided to try their housemade veggie burger, since I love that sort of thing, and it was pretty good. They make it with a lot of quinoa, so it has a taste that is quite distinctive from other veggie burgers. While I didn’t totally love it, their half priced food menu during happy hour means that I will probably stop by on my way to work at night. If only they would get a real liquor license…

First is Bardot, an address-less, sign-less spot near Miami’s Midtown area.  Those in the know park around the back and look for the tiny red awning that lets them know they’ve found this little slice of urban bohemia.  The space is very swank without being uber-pretentious, and you can tell a LOT of effort was put into the detail of the decor (the faucets in the ladies’ restrooms are diving swans!).  There are drinks from basic to fancy (think agave, cayenne, elderflower liquor) and a solid selection of beers.  There’s pool and free pinball (a vintage Playboy machine no less), and they host DJs and live music on the regular – their in-house piano, drum kit and other instruments make impromptu drop-in sets a nice possibility.  What’s best is that Bardot is open seven nights a week unlike more weekly party-driven places around town.

Another cool place that’s so hip it hasn’t even officially opened yet is B Bar at the Betsy Hotel on Ocean Drive.  It’s a cozy space with great lighting but the most amazing aspect is that the ceiling is this hazily reflective black plexistuff that not only makes the place look twice it’s size, but if a tall person gives it a good push it wobbles and makes it look all watery.  Hard to explain but trust me it’s cool!  For now it’s just private bashes but once they open I’m sure they’ll have some regular parties and events.  The drinks are definitely South Beach prices though – last weekend my friend ordered two non-specific vodka Redbulls and the bill was $32.

On the topic of drinks, I crave a good smoothie or protein shake almost daily.  Washing blenders can be tedious but thankfully a new place has opened on Biscayne that will whet my whistle AND do the dishes. ONESUMO serves all natural smoothies so dank they call them “shakes” and they’ve got a Japanese hibachi grill there as well (which I haven’t tried yet – there’s only one vegetarian option and it sadly lacks tofu).  I’m obsessed with the banana nut blast which is banana, peanut butter, milk and whey protein, which I get replaced with soy milk and soy protein.  They don’t add any extra sugar or BS so they really are healthy and guilt-free.  Recommended!

Dive bars hold a special place in my heart. If I’m going out to drink, I’d like to enjoy some conversation and maybe some music — but not so loud I can’t hear myself think. Most of all I want to be able to drink something I know I’ll like.If I’m in the mood for a cocktail, I know Bar Deville general manager and bartender Brad Bolt (pictured above) will make me something special. The ‘tenders at Bar Deville do more than pop bottle tops and mix alcohol and sodas. They’re mixologists. They make their simple syrups from scratch and Bolt’s recipes have won him Best New Cocktail honors from the Chicago Reader. If I feel like a beer, I can get a glass of PBR for a buck or can choose from a variety of microbrews.

For something a little further south and away from the yuppies, I can head to Skylark in the Pilsen neighborhood. If you’ve seen the Vince Vaughn movie “The Break Up,” you’ve already been to Skylark. It’s the bar that Jon Favreau’s character owns in the movie. The clientele tends to skew heavily toward the hipsters, but being an art neighborhood, don’t be surprised to see some suburbanites on an art walk traipse through. A top notch selection of brews are always on tap, and people come from far and wide for their tater tots.

Obviously I don’t remember the 60′s. But watching “Mad Men” feels like a proper time traveller.

Set in New York, the sexy, stylized and provocative Mad Men follows the lives of the ruthlessly competitive men and women of Manhattan advertising. My favorite cocktail also plays its role in this series:

Old Fashioned

INGREDIENTS

• 2 dashes aromatic bitters
• ½ tsp sugar dissolved with water and bitters
• 1½ oz of bourbon
• 1 cherry
• 1 orange slice
• 1 lemon wedge

INSTRUCTIONS

Fill glass with ice. Add cherry, orange slice and lemon wedge. Pour in bourbon. Serve in a rocks glass over ice.