Once A Pharmacy in the 20's, Now A Bar in the 10's: Spilt Milk Tavern
By Ben Kramer in Food on Sep 16, 2016 8:55PM
Photo by Richard Shilkus
Clarified milk, tree tonic, sarsaparilla marsala; these are ingredients not typically seen on a cocktail menu. And yet, they are here at Spilt Milk Tavern (2758 W. Fullerton). The herbs and mixers are eye catching, but serve as more than just a gimmick. They pay respect to what the building on Fullerton and California used to be nearly a century ago: a pharmacy.
Strange as it seems, medicine and cocktails do have history together, dating back to the 19th century in this country. Known as “apothecary cocktails”, drinks made with herbs, bitters and booze were prescribed to cure anything from bad digestion to the common cold. Spilt Milk isn’t looking to cure anybody with their drinks, but the use of pharmaceutical-like ingredients is a sly gesture to the past. “That’s a light nod to those days,” says Matty Eggleston, co-founder of SMT along with veteran bartenders Tony Selna and Jason Turley.
A fine example would be the Green G&T: Hendricks gin, infused with herbs, served tall with fever Tree Tonic. It dazzles in it’s bright, pine green appearance. There’s a value on presentation at SMT, as the look of the drink may influence someone’s decision across the bar.
“Like the Concord Grape Julep,” mentions Eggleston. “People say, that looks delicious, I’ll have it. I don’t need to look at the menu necessarily.”
Concord Grape Julep right, Daily Dose center, Sarsaparilla Zazerac left. Photo by Richard Shilkus
It should be noted that Spilt Milk is not a cocktail bar first. It’s a house for all drinks. A neighborhood tavern that considers itself “Bar First”, they don’t serve breakfast, lunch, or dinner. The focus is on the drinks. That being said, they have an expansive beer list, both draft and packaged. There’s a healthy mix of European beers, Chicago breweries, from Revolution to Whiner, and cheap stuff like Miller High Life. Wine drinkers are accommodated as well, with a good mix of White, Rose, and Red on the list.
Opening right at the start of September, Eggleston is glad to have his friends Selna and Turley running Spilt Milk alongside him because, “To get together, there’s always a benefit in having more than one voice in the room. And also more than one set of shoulders to take on that set of responsibilities. Because it isn’t as easy as, ‘Oh there’s a bar. Let’s go open up.’”
Concord Grape Julep right, Daily Dose center, Sarsaparilla Zazerac left. Photo by Richard Shilkus
Together the three formed Equal Parts Hospitality, partnering up with Footman Hospitality to create Spilt Milk Tavern. The name itself refers to a few things, such as “Don’t cry over spilt milk”, the fact that “milk” was once slang for alcohol, but most importantly the name to Eggleston, “Serves a nice reminder to all of us to not take ourselves to seriously.”
Spilt Milk Tavern is located at 2758 W. Fullerton and opens at 4 pm every day. To check out the menu, click here.