Do you enjoy cocktails? Do you enjoy drinking a good craft cocktail in an atmosphere that is quirky or elegant? Maybe a place that offers you leather and dark paneling or interesting colors? A place that not only serves great drinks, but also gives you memories? In Chicago, here are nine such places.
1. The Punch House is off the normal beaten path, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a great space. Located at 1227 West 18th St., this space focuses on alcohol punches, and they are as close to divine as anything you could imagine.
2. The Berkshire Room, located at 15 East Ohio St., is a great bar that all of the senses can appreciate. One of their notable drinks is the West, made with whiskey, coffee, and pipe tobacco essence. Can’t you almost taste it and smell it?
3. The Violet Hour is a real cocktail bar located at 1520 North Damen Ave. No television, and good old fashioned drinks that rotate depending on the season. This is a place to go and quietly live out spy movie fantasies with a friend, ordering good, old fashioned drinks in a place where you can actually listen to whomever you’re with.
4. Billy Sunday, located at 3143 West Logan Blvd., is a great place to find old fashioned drinks and some great new-fangled drinks too. The staff at Billy Sunday is noted for their use of bitters in their drinks, but they are also known for balancing their ingredients for a cocktail that will taste wonderful.
5. The Scofflaw can be found at West Armitage Avenue. This bar is noted for gin. Good old fashioned gin, with the emphasis on good. Found in Logan Square, this is a cool place to visit that is part modern and part casual and old-fashioned. You can order anything from fruity drinks to strong drinks, but you’ll have a great variety of gin.
6. Barrelhouse Flat is a bar with two floors that have different atmospheres, one busy, one more intimate. One drink that Barrelhouse Flat is noted for is More Cowbell, made with Wild Turkey rye, Dubonnet Rouge, and more. You’ll taste the caramel in this drink. The Barrelhouse Flat is located at 2624 North Lincoln Ave.
7. Lost Lake, found at 3154 West Diversey Ave., has been compared to a tiki bar. Noted, as you might expect, for a different daiquiri each night, there are often new rum choices, and the drinks are not over-priced. Have fun and check out the Lost Lake.
8. The Broken Shaker has many Chicago-inspired drinks that offers a sense of humor. Broken Shaker, located at 19 East Ohio St., also has a great food menu.
9. The Aviary, located at 955 West Fulton Market, is a great place to visit if you’re looking for that once in a lifetime experience at a bar. Some call it expensive, but it’s crowded, so lots of people think it’s worth the cost and trouble.
Chicago has been known as a place to drink since at least the Prohibition. Check out some of these fun and interesting bars and have a great time.