Whimsical New Craft Cocktail Bar In Lincoln Square Reveals Opening Date
By Anthony Todd in Food on Dec 23, 2015 3:14PM
The Silly Rabbit. Photo courtesy of The Sixth.
Last week, we announced that Roots Pizza's new Lincoln Square location was finally opening. The first day was last Saturday, and every time we've peeked in the window, the place has been packed. However, one part of the project didn't open - The Sixth, a much-anticipated craft cocktail bar from Ben Schiller, the mixer behind The Berkshire Room.
A spokesman for the Fifty/50 Group revealed the opening date late Tuesday night: the bar will open next Monday, Dec. 28. In keeping with Schiller's bar philosophy, the Sixth won't be a stuffy cocktail bar; they'll serve everything from cheap canned beer to fancy drinks. In addition, all of the opening bartenders are Lincoln Square residents, so they're definitely committed to making this a place for the neighborhood to love.
The bar is fairly small, with only 50 seats. The complete menu is below, and an early glimpse at a few drinks seems to indicate that this place is going to be a bit whimsical. One drink, the Silly Rabbit, features four ice cubes flavored with each of the flavors of Trix cereal (the cocktail itself is a riff on a South Side). Another, the Spaceman Spiff (named for the Calvin and Hobbes character), combines flavors of mezcal, grilled pineapple, hazelnut and cedar. A few of Schiller's signature cocktails, including the Weston (one of my favorite drinks in the city) and the Old Money will also appear on the menu.
We hadn't heard that the Sixth would even be serving food, but they've now revealed that they'll be serving "veal doner (Turkish-European street food) with different dipping sauces and duck-fat fried frites." We'll definitely have more info once the place opens.
Oh, and the name? There are a few different background stories, but our favorite is that, according to The Social History of Bourbon, at one point one in six men in America were involved in the production of bourbon.
The Cocktail Menu
Doris
gin, lemon, flower water, salt
Named after Schiller’s grandmother Doris who was an avid gardener, the Doris cocktail is gin-forward and crystal clear and served over a custom made ice cube that contains a rose inside the Collins glass. When it is served, an aromatic garnish of flower water is applied tableside with an antique perfume sprayer.
Spaceman Spiff
mezcal, grilled pineapple, hazelnut, cedar
Named after Calvin's alter ego from the “Calvin & Hobbes” comic strip. This cocktail is robustly flavorful and when drunk, the "saucer" part of the cocktail is removed and a rich smoke of cedar and citrus is released that compliments the cocktail. After the smoke clears, an alien scene from a world Spiff visited is revealed below.
Patina
vodka, Aperol, cucumber, grapefruit
A balanced sweet and sour cocktail with a refreshingly crisp and clean cucumber finish. Served in an antique coupe glass.
Autumn Into Summer
apple brandy, bourbon, sherry, clove, vanilla
Big fall flavors are presented in the style of a refreshing and cooling summer cocktail served over crushed ice in a modified pilsner glass.
Statler & Waldorf
white rum, amer bigallet, seasonal fruit, mint
Named after the cantankerous and always-heckling duo from The Muppets, this cocktail has molasses notes from the rum and clean citrus and mint flavors that are complimented by the seasonal fruit. It’s a smash format cocktail (Schiller’s favorite style) that’s served over a large two-inch crystal clear ice cube in a rocks glass.
Saturnus
aquavit, brandy, falernum, ginger
An aquavit variation of the Tiki classic cocktail called the Saturn (Saturnus is Swedish for Saturn). Brandy serves as the bridge between the aquavit, falernum, and ginger. The cocktail is served in a copper pineapple with crushed ice and it is garnished with a Swedish flag and Swedish Fish candy.
Bracer
rye, stone pine, amaro, porter
Bracer is a nod to Game Of Thrones and Eddard Stark - it’s a strong and straight-forward cocktail with alpine spice notes served in an ox horn mug sans ice.
Weston
wheated bourbon, Dark Matter Coffee essence, pipe tobacco
A strong and stirred Schiller classic served over a large two-inch crystal clear ice cube in a rocks glass.