May 20--CH Distillery bar director Azrhiel Frost tells me that she can dream up a cocktail to suit any taste or whim, but I really wouldn't know. Every time I go to this West Loop bar and distillery, I order the same thing: the Cease and Desist ($11). Each sip is an onslaught of smoky, spicy and bright citrusy notes that light up my palate like a pinball machine. The distinctive smoke comes from CH's London dry gin, which is infused with lapsang souchong tea from Ravenswood's Rare Tea Cellar before it joins ginger syrup, lemon juice and a single spherical ice cube.
Early visitors to CH may recognize this drink by another name; opening cocktail-menu consultant Kyle Davidson created the recipe and called it OxyContin in 2013. I remember smirking at the thought -- on a rough day, a good cocktail is a kind of painkiller, no? -- but the drug manufacturer didn't see the humor and pegged it as unlicensed trademark use, hence the new name.
No matter what you call it, though, this drink won't be going anywhere anytime soon. "No matter how many times I change the menu ... the Cease and Desist will always remain," Frost says. CH Distillery, 564 W. Randolph St., 312-707-8780, www.chdistillery.com
Lisa Arnett is a freelance writer.
