Tie One On: Distillers Night

There’s no shortage of ways to tie one on in Chicago. This is the city of 4 AM bars and liquor stores with drink menus. And lately, I’ve taken to sipping on some small batch hooch made by local liquor distillers—it is perhaps my favorite way to to live the dream of the 1890s in Chicago.

Now for many years, I drank the devils I knew. The monoliths of the liquor industry. No need to say them by name. And there’s nothing wrong with Big Liquor. But when people just a few miles away are making great, complex spirits, why not wet your whistle with local elixirs? Whiskey doesn’t have to be made near the Mason-Dixon line to be delicious, and vodka need not come from Europe to be smoother than Drake lyrics. And some of the best gin in the world does not have anything to do with British imperialism.

On February 8, I hoisted my three sheets and set sail to Jerry’s in Wicker Park, to an event that allowed people to meet local distillers. Four purveyors of the good stuff showed up, Koval from Chicago, Few Spirits from Evanston, North Shore Distillery from Lake Bluff, and Journeyman Distillery from Three Oaks, Michigan. I asked a representative from each distillery which of their spirits they enjoyed most for tying one on, and what their cocktail of choice has been this fine winter. Their responses below.