Barrelhouse Flat In Chicago Perfects Classic Cocktails

The shaker-wielding power team behind Barrelhouse Flat researched and perfected approximately 70 classic cocktails for the Lincoln Park bar's opening menu last fall.

The next logical step, of course, was to derive a cocktail menu of their own.

A handful of months in, the bar's staff–headed by Stephen Cole of The Violet Hour and Greg Buttera of Aviary/The Office–introduced a modest list of rotating house cocktails ($11 each). This month, their imprint is official: Ten originals were rolled out August 1, and the same pattern will continue monthly.

Named for the remote corner of Door County where Buttera's inlaws have a cabin, the Gills Rock Phosphate (pictured) is all summertime soda fountain, with Mezcal and Cynar stained a festive fuchsia by cherry phosphate syrup.

The Mosquito Valentine is an effervescent August spritzer. Rum and Green Chartreuse mingle in a flute with house-made Falernum, the lot topped with a splash of Champagne.

In the Triple Word Score, gin, Green Chartreuse, Campari, honey and lime are colored by orange juice, and lent a verdant finish by celery bitters. With seven other drinks, there's plenty to keep us quenched until early September, when a new batch will be introduced.

Barrelhouse Flat, 2624 N. Lincoln Ave.; 773-857-0421 or barrelhouseflat.com