Michigan Avenue - Niche Media - Michigan Avenue magazine is a luxury lifestyle magazine centered around Chicago’s finest people, events, fashion, health & beauty, fine dining & more!
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photography by anjali pinto (three dots and a dash) Rum RunneRs this spring, rum is sweeping ChiCago as the disCerning tippler's spirit of ChoiCe. by sarah freeman Whisky isn't the only brown liquor having a moment; these days, rum has taken over as Chicago's trendiest spirit. "It's really picking up momentum," says Bill Terlato, CEO of Lake Bluff–based Terlato Wines, whose premium new Don Pancho Origenes rums are made from 100 percent estate-grown sugarcane molasses and are aged eight, 18, and 30 years. "Brown [spirits] have had a strong resurgence," Terlato continues, "and people are interested in higher-quality products for sipping." "Rum is a rogue, pirate spirit—no rules," says Erin Hayes of Logan Square tiki bar Lost Lake (3154 W. Diversey Ave., 773-293-6048; lostlaketiki.com). Beverage manager Paul McGee stocks 275 varieties of the spirit, divided by country of origin, from Martinique to Guyana and Trinidad. While the Logan Square oasis offers trios of rum tastings for imbibers to experience the spirit's full range, Hayes and McGee recommend the Daiquiri of the Day, a changing cocktail made simply with lime, cane syrup, and a different highlighted rum. The undisputed daddy of Chicago's revitalized rum scene is Three Dots and a Dash (435 N. Clark St., 312-610-4220; threedotschicago.com), which first reintro- duced Chicago to the spirit via the Hawaiian-shirt-wearing and flower-covered movement that is tiki. "It's a lifestyle," says beverage director Diane Corcoran, "because it's so much about having fun and almost taking people on vacation, even if it's just for a cocktail." Libations rely on layering rums to contrast house- made juices and syrups. The classic Three Dots and a Dash—adapted from a Don the Beachcomber recipe circa 1940—blends aged rhum agricole and Guyanese rum with honey, lime, falernum, allspice, and Angostura bitters. Before banana dolphins and seven-ingredient cocktails, there was grog, a drink dating to 1655 that's made by combining diluted rum with sugar and cit- rus. A modern version is available at Boystown's Dive Bar (3445 N. Halsted St., 773-770-4618; chicagodivebar.com). Co-owner John Dalton is a bit choosier with the rum selection in his Navy Grog, though: "Rums can totally make or break a drink," he reasons, opting for Bacardi Gold, Plantation Light, and Cruzan Black Strap to balance lime and grapefruit juice, Demerara, and honey syrup. MA from left: Lost Lake's Paul McGee mixes up a communal cocktail called Wave of Mutilation/A Fish Tank Needs Sharks; Three Dots and a Dash's eponymous cocktail blends aged rhum agricole and Guyanese rum; Dive Bar's Summer Lei. Drink Me: Summer Lei "The Summer Lei is perfect for Dive Bar," says Tony Potempa, creator of the Boystown hangout's cocktail menu. "The rum has a smooth richness to it because it was aged in bourbon barrels, [giving] it a mellow vanilla character. By adding just a hint of sugar, you have a refreshing cocktail perfect for either a summer beach party or a steak dinner." 2.5 oz. Bacardi Oakheart 1 oz. simple syrup 3 lime wedges 2 muddled cherries Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake, strain, and serve in a snifter flled with crushed ice. Garnish with an orchid. 92 michiganavemag.com taste Cuiscene