This week, we raise a glass to the moms who hold it down in the House (and the Senate) with a concoction as American as apple pie—fragrant applejack, tough whiskey and snappy lemon and ginger. 

To honor the first women of Chicago’s City Council, we mix smoky mezcal and bright grapefruit juice. It’s sweet but not too sweet, sharp but never bitter, and tough enough to duke it out with the best (or worst) of ‘em. 

From the start, young Miss Potter was a virtual word machine, publishing a book of verse at age 12. This week, we mix up a deceptively delicate cocktail inspired by the original pink drink. Cheers!

We raise a glass to a pair of sisters who made a fortune as brothel owners in the City of Big Shoulders with a ladylike drink.

For decades, the steel industry forged Chicago’s industrial spine. Now, we forge a no-nonsense drink for the no-nonsense lady who brought the titans of steel to their knees.

We raise a glass to one of the first female architects in the U.S. with a rum-based sipper that creates beauty from the sour, the bitter and the strange.

We toast the analytical chemist and former South Side resident by switching up the elements of a classic Manhattan.

Try our smoky twist on the classic bloody mary in honor of a crime scene pioneer who trained police detectives with her gruesome dioramas.

We salute the sparkling stage presence of a turn-of-the-century star with a cocktail made with Prosecco, limoncello and summer fruit.

Unless you run in nerdy history circles, chances are you’ve never heard of Cora Strayer, private detective. Belly up to the bar for a history lesson—with a spirited twist.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning poet would have celebrated her 100th birthday this week. We take some poetic license ourselves with the Jazz June, a gin-based cocktail with a spring of fragrant lavender. 

Chicago loves its history as much as its hooch, so we’re back for another round of cocktails that celebrate Chicago’s finest – or most infamous, and we’re kicking the series off with the undisputed queen of Chicago society.

Our summer series of politically inspired cocktails has come to an end but goes out with a bang as we look back at a man who encompassed just about everything wrong with Chicago politics – longtime alderman Fred Bruno Roti.

Thomas Hoyne

The saddest ballad of all is the ballad of what never was – like the ballad of Thomas Hoyne, who was elected mayor of Chicago, but never served. Belly up to the bar and get a little taste of Chicago’s spirited history.

Our latest cocktail, inspired by Chicago boss William Dawson, brings north and south together with the sweet peaches of Dawson’s ancestral Georgia and the Irish whiskey of Chicago’s rough politics.

Levi Boone and the cocktail he inspired us to make.

Levi Boone was arguably one of the most disliked mayors in Chicago history for his crackdown on immigrants and alcohol. He inspires a frosty, boozy melting pot of Americana.