Just about every element of the craft cocktail scene has been fussed with and fancified. Candied ginger, purple pansies and fresh-picked herbs replace syrupy sweet maraschino cherries. Goblets and etched coupes trump the tired martini glass. Small-batch liqueurs and bitters stand in the place of their mass-produced counterparts.
And throughout Chicago, artisanal ice is chipping away at the notion that frozen water is nothing special. Flavor-infused cubes, hand-chiseled spheres and crystal-clear blocks the size of Rubik’s Cubes are all making a strong case. If you’re still skeptical, here’s your beginner’s guide to some of the most unique ice-centric cocktails happening in Chicago right now.
THE SIXTH
2200 W. Lawrence Ave. 773-433-5959
Since opening in December, the Lincoln Square bar has become not only a hub for liquid masterpieces but also a leader in the artisanal ice game, crafting impressive sculptures with gorgeous flowers, “Game of Thrones” and “Star Wars” action figures, Tonka trucks and even an engagement ring.
Cocktail ice should serve a purpose, and the only way bars can get impurity-free cubes is through a producer or by making them in-house. Only a handful of bars in the city can make their own, however, using a $5,000–$6,000 freezer called a Clinebell. The machine freezes the ice from the bottom up, creating 300 pounds of crystal-clear, bubble-free blocks. A pump circulates the top surface of the water while the bottom begins to freeze. It takes 50 to 72 hours, The Sixth beverage director Benjamin Schiller said. When a block is ready, an engine hoist moves it to a band saw that cuts it into cubes. Schiller said The Sixth produces about a ton of ice on a good week.
The Doris ($12): Named after Schiller’s gardening grandmother, this lighter, floral sip with gin, salt, soda, orange blossom and rose waters and grapefruit and lemon juices features a spray rose suspended in the drink in a rectangular cube of ice. Kind of like The Enchanted Rose with all the beauties and no beasts.
The Silly Rabbit ($12): Schiller had some Trix up his sleeve with this cereal-inspired drink. The play on a classic Southside comes with a collins glass filled with Trix-flavored ice cubes (raspberry red, lemony yellow, orangey orange, grapity purple) and a sidecar of the cocktail—gin, simple syrup, lemon juice and soda—as well as a vial of homemade mint bitters so guests can add as much or as little as they like.
ARBELLA
112 W. Grand Ave. 312-846-6654
Arbella also uses a Clinebell machine to create huge blocks of completely clear ice that are cut down in-house. But aside from its elevated monolithic ice game, the River North bar that opened in late May also makes its own glacial infusions.
Old School ($14): A PBJ with the crusts cut off, this big-kid sip of peanut butter-infused vodka, Concord grape juice and lime juice is served in a jam jar to be poured over a nectarous cube of grape-infused ice in a rocks glass. It’s likely the closest thing to a liquified peanut butter and jelly sandwich you’ll ever taste, proving that growing up doesn’t have to be a trap, so long as there’s booze.
Chilcano ($13): A sphere of kiwi-cucumber ice enhances this sweet-and-sour play on Peruvian bottle service cocktailing with cucumber-infused pisco, ginger beer and sugar. The drink is served in a miniature bottle alongside a glass with the artisan cube.
Singapore Sling ($14): Nope, it’s not something in your drink. It’s just Arbella’s way of incorporating the Cherry Heering (in ice cube form) into this gin classic made with Benedictine and lime juice.
TANTA
118 W. Grand Ave. 312-222-9700
The seafood-centric Peruvian restaurant and bar in River North uses silicone molds to freeze spheres and cubes of flavorful ice that level up already-exciting cocktails as they dilute. The two drinks that feature the specialty ice grow in flavor and booziness as you sip, making them truly interactive. The bar staff makes a new batch of molded ice daily, resulting in several hundred hunks produced every week.
La Rusa ($12): Upon first sip, you’ll detect light floral notes (that’s the St. Germain) and bright citrus flavors (lemon and orange juice). But as the imposing peach-colored Campari ice cube dissolves, this cocktail gets a bitter kick, leaving you with a perfectly dry finish that will make you say “Another, please!”
El Chingon ($13): If spice is more your speed, opt for this blend of jalapeno tequila, mezcal, lime juice and cilantro that’s spiked with a globe of ice that’s infused with rocoto, a South American pepper. It’s sweet, spicy and delicious all over.
GREENRIVER
259 E. Erie St. 312-337-0101
Head bartender and ice expert Julia Momose uses a Clinebell and a specialized hand-chipping technique to create those clear glacier-like, gumdrop-shaped ice balls the Streeterville restaurant has become known for. Each piece is chipped to order and takes about 60 seconds to form. Pro tip: Sit near the bar for a show.
An Aviary vet, Momose also saw an opportunity to use the imperfections that are usually discarded in the process of cutting down ice. The shards and nuggets that some would toss find new life in her selection of eight delightfully simple highballs (a base spirit, mixer and spritz of lemon oil). The odds and ends fit together “like a jigsaw puzzle in a glass,” Momose said, and offer a unique opportunity to see the craft at work.
Lake Whiskey ($15): It’s just the tip of the iceberg (or your sobriety) with this phenomenally boozy sipper that mixes 100-proof whiskey, port wine, cranberry syrup, Zwack Unicum plum liqueur, cinnamon tincture and a housemade Jamaican rum blend. Trust that the hand-carved glacier is only there for your protection.
Hinky Dink ($16): Don’t be fooled by this pink drink, which gets its natural flush from fresh beet juice. Vodka is the base spirit here, but pistachio syrup, horseradish and chipotle tinctures and lemon juice work together to create a flavorful explosion in your mouth. The hand-chipped elongated ice nugget complements the glassware and keeps this cocktail cool to the last drop.
Gray Wolf ($19): One of Momose’s favorite ways to show off that gumdrop ice, this old fashioned-style cocktail combines Japanese whiskey, Benedictine, demerara sugar, plum vinegar and Angostura bitters.
THE AVIARY
955 W. Fulton Market
The famed Fulton Market cocktail bar is an O.G. of the craft ice scene. Two Clinebells produce blocks of ice that are broken down entirely by hand and chipped into seven unique shapes for different purposes, beverage director Micah Melton said.
In the Rocks ($22): Forget having your cocktail served on the rocks; this sipper is served in the rock. Water balloons are partially frozen until a thin shell forms, then the remaining water is sucked out through a hole and the spheres are put back in the freezer to harden. Later, they’re filled with sweet vermouth, maraschino liqueur and rye whiskey, a classic Red Hook cocktail. But perhaps the fun really starts when the drink is delivered with a slingshot used to crack the exterior shell and release the cocktail.
Lebron Chewbacca ($18): Small spheres infused with star anise and Peychaud’s bitters float in a sea of Leblon Cachaca, blackberry, black pepper and lemon, creating a flawless summer cocktail that develops as you sip.
