Old Fashioned @ Longman & Eagle

Beyond Beer: The Old Fashioned

Like the Dos Equis guy, I don't always drink beer (unlike him, though, I don't prefer XX). Longman & Eagle is a new whisky-centric bar/inn in Logan Square co-owned by the guy who brought us Empty Bottle. If you think that sounds like a fantastic place, you're right. I didn't try any of their food, and was mildly disappointed in their minimal (and pedestrian) tap beer selection, but oh man do they mix up one fine Old Fashioned. They don't use the finest bourbon, or infused ice, or exotic bitters (like other "mixology" bars cropping up around the city), but it's crafted with patience and utmost care. Although the bar was packed, and people were lined 3 deep waiting to place orders, the bartender carefully mixed, tested, and balanced the Old Fashioned until it was just-so, going so far as scoring the orange zest and squeezing the fruit at a distance from the glass to imbue only a fine mist of the citrus juice. And it worked, brilliantly. A+