Chicago Cocktail Hit List

[gfron1]

I'm heading to Chicago next week for an r&d trip to Smyth, and wondering where we should go for cocktails - not just bars, but possibly restaurants doing amazing things. They need to have all sorts of vials and squirt bottles and mason jars full of house-made stuff that goes into their cocktails. Thoughts?

[Dave the Cook]

These are probably already on your list, but just in case: The Aviary and The Violet Hour are two of the most outstanding cocktail establishments in the country.

[Alex]

Dave's two, of course. Also these:

Bar Sótano, Rick Bayless's new speakeasy underneath Frontera Grill,

Kumiko, "a formal bar," by former Oriole folks (the restaurant, not the baseball team)

The Albert, a restaurant, features "science-minded cocktails" (Albert = Albert Einstein)