Beer cocktails

Photo: Danielle Schon

Beer Sambatini at Sushisamba Rio (504 N Wells St, 312-595-2300) What the heck is muddled avocado doing in this combination of St-Germain Elderflower liqueur, tequila blanco, lime juice, cilantro and Kirin Ichiban? Go ahead and taste it—preferably without the straw—and you’ll see. (Hint: It’s all about the smooth mouthfeel.)

Beergarita at Small Bar (2049 W Division St, 773-772-2727) This “beertail”—a combination of fresh-squeezed lime juice, Cuervo Gold, Monk’s Café Flemish sour ale and Framboise—may have been invented on a slow Sunday afternoon by a couple of bored bartenders, but with its awesome balance of tart, tangy and sweet, you’d think it took years to perfect.

Wild Berry Shandy at the Fifty/50 (2047 W Division St, 773-489-5050) On paper it sounds simple enough: Bacardi Razz and fresh ginger with Hoegaarden wheat beer, black-cherry lambic and raspberry lambic. But the secret weapon is lemonade blended with fresh berries, which is strained and added to the mix. Regulars know to ask for it in a 24-ounce cup, and now you do, too.

Hibiscus-Ginger-Cardamom-Kaffir Lime-infused Rum with Matilda at Nacional 27 (325 W Huron St, 312-664-2727) GM/mixologist Adam Seger’s no stranger to local ingredients, but with this drink it’s personal. The star ingredient is Hum, a two-years-in-the-making infused-rum “spirit tonic” he created with North Shore Distillery. Pairing it with another famous local, Goose Island’s Matilda, is a no-brainer.

French Connection at English (444 N LaSalle St, 312-222-6200) Don’t let its girly hue fool you—this magenta-colored drink packs a big wallop. We imagine the hefty shot of Stoli Vanil poured into the ice-filled glass of the raspberry-infused lambic beer Framboise has something to do it.

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