Cocktail Corner: Old Fashioned, Side Car, Other Stuff @ The Exchange

I stopped into the brand new Wicker Park bar The Exchange in the old Lava location this past weekend. Billed as something of a combination of now-defunct Sonotheque and Violet Hour, The Exchange offers a long menu of specialty cocktails, beers, and even a few punch bowls for sharing. The prices are reasonable, the atmosphere is on the swankier side of things, but nowhere near as stuffy as Violet Hour. The problem is, the drinks are downright lousy. I had a couple of things off the specialty menu on my server's suggestion, and was very disappointed. I then asked if I could order off menu, and she said I was limited to "old timey" cocktails (her words, not mine, which I loved anyway). I ordered a Side Car (lousy) an Old Fashioned (lousy) and a Dark and Stormy (lousy). By this point, though, I was thoroughly shitfaced. Oh, and I had also been drinking beer for 8 hours at this point, so maybe my judgment wasn't exactly perfect. So, I'll try the place again, but my initial impression was one of disappointment. The place is lovely, and the employees are attentive and cheerful, so I'm hoping that I was just in a bad frame of mind. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt, and rate the drinks that I tried as a C.