Aug. 07--Speak-easies are enticing by the clandestine nature of their histories alone, but The Drifter holds a special allure. Inside, a time capsule of early 20th-century Chicago awaits, with an impressive collection of circus memorabilia, a stage for evening cabaret shows and a Prohibition-era door accessed via phone booth. Cocktail choices are printed on decks of vintage tarot cards, many of which rotate in and out of the deck daily, said beverage director Liz Pearce.
One drink sticking around for the summer: the Essential Monsters ($12), offered on a card featuring the illustration of a surly half-man, half-ram creature flanked by a duo of nymphs. This cocktail pulls off a tricky combination with aplomb: Jeppson's Malort, Combier Pamplemousse, Giffard Vanille de Madagascar and a cleansing dash of lemon, with each ingredient both complementing and ameliorating the flavor of the next.
Pearce said she created the drink because she loves Malort, a local liqueur with a polarizing bitter flavor, and enjoys changing people's perceptions of it and similarly "difficult ingredients" by balancing them in a cocktail.
"It's one of my favorite drinks to date, with a lot of complexity and evolving flavor as you drink it," said Pearce. "It may not be for everyone, but those that get it, love it." 676 N. Orleans St., 312-631-3887, www.thedrifterchicago.com.
Leah Pickett is a freelance writer.
