Twice I was already outside the Aviary and stupid enough not to reserve so we arranged for a long night and went down to The Office first, as you might have read in another tale and made our way up later on to enjoy this molecular temple. Charles Joly is the Ferran Adria of the cocktail scene.
Masters at work
Unfortunately, he had already left when we visited but the place cherishes his legacy and excellent barkeepers, or rather “alchemists” work there. They have a person, the iceman who is just in charge of making the craziest ice. The bar is not for everyday but it is a place you should see when you come to this city. Get a table close to the kitchen as it is the place where the magic happens. We got lucky and we got placed right in front of it. The downside, you get a standing table but its well worth it. Every bartender is in charge of a station or a group of drinks, sometimes only one drink as most of them are complex to compose. Be sure to also talk a bit with your company as it is hard, one gets drawn to the action and you could loose yourself to what is happening here and there. You see pousse-café style drinks, spheres, dry ice, ice shavings, infusion glass, espumas, smoke, air, dehydrations just to name variety of visuals you come across. The food that comes with the cocktails is excellent too even though a bit pricy for the quantity. We started off with a drink called The Hollow which came in the infusion glass that was designed for The Aviary.
The Porthole
Composed of honeybush, fennel, ginger, saffron and corn Whisky. It was well put together, flowery in taste, complex and round. This was followed by a cocktail called Netflix and Chilcano. It sounded perfect with Falernum, Sauternes, quince, ginger and Pisco. Rather refreshing with sweet and spicy notes but also sophisticated and multifaceted. Last but not least we decided to opt for Edison Square, a warm drink with pistachio, caramel, Ancho Reyes, Rye and Cognac. It is quite unusual as you drink it with a straw and it is warm. It gets served in a round bottom flask with dry eyes so the drink cools down rather quickly so you have both sensations, hot in the beginning and cold in the end – a fun experience and beautiful one to watch as it is very pretty presented. All in all an absolute must for a cocktail enthusiast and well worth going when you visit Chicago. I will be back. Cheers!
© images: Christian Seel
No Comments