When the Broken Shaker opened its Chicago outpost at the Freehand in May, the menu both reflected the bar's Miami roots and aimed to appeal to a Chicago audience that likes its drinks a little less sweet. The menu featured "Broken Shaker Hits" from Gabe Orta and Elad Zvi’s Miami bar alongside original "Chicago Inspired" drinks from Chicago bartender Freddie Sarkis, who helms the bar here.
While the opening menu nodded to the location with Chicago Politics, a spicy cocktail with Sichuan pepper, Absolut Elyx, sherry and spiced coconut cream, the second menu, which launched last week, takes the Chicago thing further with a Chicago Dog Margarita and a Garrett's Old Fashioned. The two drinks sound gimmicky, but considering how much I liked the Deep Dish Manhattan at the now-closed Tippling Hall, I stopped by to try them.
Of the two, I was more into the Garrett's Popcorn–inspired drink. While no Garrett's is actually used in the drink, the spirit of the caramel-cheese popcorn combo is there—the old-fashioned is made with a popcorn cordial (with corn from Nichols Farm), Old Forester bourbon, Mellow Corn whiskey and salted butter and cheese bitters. It's served over a big ice cube and garnished with a piece of house-made kettle corn. There's a funky whiff of cheese on the nose, which almost seems like misdirection—the cheese doesn't add much, but it also doesn't stand in the way of the well-rounded and butterscotchy liquid. [Side note: Is cheese going to be a big new cocktail ingredient? The same night I went to Broken Shaker I went to GreenRiver and spotted the Macswiney, a cognac cocktail made with mascarpone cheese.]
The Chicago Dog Margarita tasted truer to the original food, but that's likely because there's no mistaking these flavors for anything else—the base is a bright, sour and spicy mustard pickle shrub that's shaken up with lime and Olmeca Altos tequila. It's garnished with a rim of celery salt and poppy seeds and a sport pepper on a skewer. While I found the sourness very intense, this is the kind of savory drink I think would work best with food. My date preferred this one, noting that it seemed more like a completely new drink. He's right—you'd never think this is a margarita, and it's one of the more interesting drinks I've had lately (which is something I say every time I leave Broken Shaker), even if I let my date finish it.
Rounding out the Chicago Inspired section are the Chi City Mule, a sherry and mezcal drink with Chef Hu's Spicy Cordial, a combination of different hot peppers and Sichuan peppercorns named for Lao Sze Chuan chef Tony Hu; Arturo's Paloma, pumpkin and squash tonic with tequila, which is named for bartender hangout Arturo's Tacos; and Bueller’s pistachio mai tai, simply named for Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
Photograph: Jaclyn Rivas