The first half of the menu at Apogee, the Dana Hotel’s luxe rooftop bar, looks more like a high-end magazine than a drinks list. Printed on glossy paper, it shows strikingly beautiful cocktails set against a black backdrop that highlights the drinks’ myriad colors. Knowing what the options look like can be useful for ordering, but Apogee approaches aesthetic gratification as an end in itself.
Their frilly appearance doesn’t mean the drinks lack substance. The 1-Up, served in a vessel that resembles a toadstool and garnished with pastel-colored candy, combines gin, chartreuse, absinthe, and oregano over crushed ice for an appealingly herbal concoction. Much like the Sixth’s ever-popular Silly Rabbit, the Sancerre involves fruit-flavored ice cubes—in this case grapefruit, lemongrass, and pear—with a little beaker of liquid you pour over the top. Gin is mixed with an aperitif (Aperol when I visited), and on first sip the drink is pleasant but unremarkable. As the ice cubes melt it becomes more interesting, with the fruit and lemongrass becoming more apparent, but also sweeter.
2 W. Erie 312-202-6060apogeechicago.com
