Cocktails inspired by Chicago

Chicago steakhouse junkies, this one's for you. To celebrate the first Morton's Steakhouse, established in 1978 on State Street, order the Morton's State Street Manhattan. The cocktail is a blend of Woodford Reserve bourbon and Carpano Antica vermouth, which is infused with Luxardo cherries and orange peel. To top it off, you'll get a slice of New York strip as a garnish.

This picture-perfect Chicago cocktail is a stunner. It's made with two types of gin (Waterloo barrel-aged and Hendrick's), egg white and lime, but the decorative garnish is what caught our attention. Topped with four red stars and two blue lines, just like our beautiful Chicago flag, this is the one you'll want for Instagram.

Just behind summer, fall is a celebrated time of year for Chicagoans—and we like to savor every last drop of the season. The Duck Inn's Autumn Kaleidoscope pays homage to that feeling with whiskey, Becherovka, honey and cherry-apricot liqueur. The combination has us dreaming of crunchy fall leaves along the lakefront and day trips to the apple orchard. 

With top-notch views of the city, it only makes sense to have a drink that matches. This amber-colored cocktail at LondonHouse transcends the seasons with vanilla and orange cognac, amontillado sherry, Cointreau and sparkling wine.

Chicago is serious about its Bloody Mary game, but this one takes the cake. The Spaghetti and Meatball Bloody Mary at Bar Lupo celebrates our Italian community with a classic spaghetti and meatball garnish on a spicy bloody mary base. Plus, there's house-made giardiniera, cheese curds, a sport pepper and a celery salt rim to boot.

Served in a saline solution bottle (just like the kind they used to throw into the fire of 1871 to keep it from spreading), the Chicago Fire Extinguisher at Arbella mixes Scotch with Amaro Abano and smoked Angostura bitters then traps smoke from wine-barrel wood chips to further the smoky cocktail's taste. Mrs. O'Leary's cow may have started the fire, but we'll celebrate the subsequent rebuilding of our city with this drink.