I hate to evoke the cliché of being a Second City, but facts are facts: Chicago is not yet a great cocktail town. Good, maybe, but not great. In the past year or so many people have pointed to a handful of great mixologists, like Nacional 27’s Adam Seger, and some amazing bars, deeming them the saviors of this city’s sipping culture. But as good as those drinks are, I think our true savior is John Kinder.
Kinder made a name for himself in an unlikely place: He was working at Moxie, which, if not exactly a sports bar per se, is in close enough proximity to Wrigley Field that the crowd is more beer can than Collins glass. No matter—the owner gave Kinder free reign, so whenever he was behind the bar, the cocktail menu suddenly featured drinks with lemongrass syrup and peach bitters. Kinder would announce these drinks in his email newsletter—he’d go on a tangent about some recipe in the Savoy Cocktail Book, talk about a honey-apricot syrup he’d just made and, inevitably, ruminate about the Florida Gators (the sports teams, not the reptile.)
Since the day I got Kinder’s first newlestter, I’ve followed him wherever he goes. When he jumped from Moxie to the Pump Room, then to a burger joint called Hop Haus, I was right behind. Now at the River West restaurant mk, he has his own station in the kitchen where he devises special cocktails for his weekly “spirited dinners”—a tasting menu where each course is paired with a cocktail instead of a wine. Lately he’s been using a Cryovac machine to create his cocktails, heating packets of neutral alcohol with herbs, fruits, and spices to create almost-instant infusions. Using wine as his guide, he creates cocktails that exhibit expertly constructed acids, fruits, and even tannins.
So, for my money, this is where Chicago’s cocktail renaissance is happening. Of course, nobody knows how long he’ll stick around. Like most restaurant-industry people, Kinder seems to be in a permanent state of wanderlust. (He also graduated from business school with a focus in entrepreneurship, so I’m sure there’s a business plan simmering in that brain of his.) But I’m not worried. He may hop from bar to bar, but as long as he has access to an email account, his newsletter will make it easy to find the most original cocktails in Chicago.
Sign up for Kinder’s newsletter by contacting him at moonshots@hotmail.com.
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