Having "meant to" go for a visit to
Ward Eight for a while now-
we finally made our Maiden Voyage 2 nights ago.
We had a great time talking shop with
Anders and
Cody-
hearing about both of their backgrounds
and all things- neighborhoody. (Anders hails from Door County - and- I mean-who has EVER
met anyone from Door County before?-even though half of all Chicagoans
have vacationed there in their lives!)
While I find the attention to detail- and
the "depth" of fixin's to be deeper at
The Violet Hour and
Yusho's and
Billy Sunday's I have to commend these
youngsters- for the warmth and grace they exude + the tasty cocktails
they execute.
One classic Craft Cocktail I use as a "yardstick" by which to measure/compare bars- is a
Dark and Stormy.At
The Violet Hour- the bartenders get to their gig- a full 2 hours early-
to preform such tasks as "juicing"/ expressing Fresh Ginger Root- to create from-scratch-Ginger Juice-
to make their Dark n Stormy's- as well as having the proper TWO Rhums to make it with-
one of which is
the Dark- almost molassely
Cruzan Black Strap,
they layer atop the drink,
along with
Brugal Anejo & lime.
Cody's version- just wasn't at the same level of Ginger-ey-spice and LIME(ey-ness) that other
Dark and Stormy's are-
but, certainly-there are plenty of other ways
to imbibe your way through their Menu of Cocktails.
As a bonus- a local talent was dropping by to grace the room with some Blues-based harmonica music- an Evanston
Native (Evanstonian) who's name eludes me at the moment-
but certainly had the "look"- sunglasses and dark-brimmed-hat, to complete his
stage presence.
Give this place some love.
A Great Neighborhood Spot!