Ring In Spring With The Violet Hour: 35 New Cocktails For The Season
By Ben Kramer in Food on Mar 31, 2015 3:40PM
Photo by Chloe List
Several standouts come across the menu, including Occasional Hurricane, a tequila Old Fashioned masterminded by bartending consultant/mixologist Toby Maloney. The base, Hacienda Vieja Reposado, lends notes of vanilla which work beautifully with the grapefruit bitters and coffee-chicory syrup. The Occasional Hurricane is a great option for anyone looking for the tenacious straight-forward style of an Old Fashioned minus the whiskey.
Stone Cold Fox is described as a sexy, spring time tiki drink and it certainly looks the part. Built off of Encanto Pisco, the increasingly popular Peruvian grape brandy, the drink gets some tropical feel by the addition of pineapple juice. Present is a little caramel kick, brought to you by the bittersweet flavors of Amaro Montenegro. Red wine floats towards the top of the glass forming a sunset-like layer. If you let it, this drink can seduce you into giving other pisco cocktails a go, assuming you haven’t in the past.
It’s not all spirits here— a couple of beer cocktails make the list and include Hop Skip Jump. Designed to showcase their House Pale Ale, lemon is used to play off the citrus, piney flavors of the hops. Cynar, a quirky artichoke-based liqueur, gives the drink a deeper flavor and boosts the body. Basically, Hop Skip Jump acts as the bridge between Chicago’s craft beer drinker and craft cocktail lover. It has a little bit of something both sides can enjoy.
Bear in mind, this is just a microcosm of what’s available and there are plenty of other superb offerings, like Steeple Chase, Tommy Gun, Space Coyote, Exuberance of Love and So Far, So Good. Each drink basks in its bitters, swings with its garnishes and does not disappoint.
The Violet Hour is located at 1520 N. Damen Ave. and is open Sunday through Friday 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. and Saturday 6 p.m. to 3 a.m.