He asked our server to give us another drink showing off the elderflower liqueur. Toby chose for us his version (also off menu) of a classic cocktail called the White Lady. The “Madmoiselle” is a frothy, light and utterly enchanting drink with egg whites, gin, the St. Germain and something else I am forgetting. Two astounding and revealing drinks in one sitting was almost too much

I was actually was not there last night. My guess is that you mean Troy. It's only one letter different. I am so glad you had such a good time.

Toby

Mea culpa Troy! He did a great job making us feel welcome. I'd love to get the recipe for that Madmoiselle though, I want to try it at home.

There's a nice interview with Toby at Chicagoist (with a link to the 'Homemade Violet Hour' thread):

http://chicagoist.com/2008/10/03/interview_toby_maloney_the_violet_h.php#more

Had a nice time at The Violet Hour on Saturday night (maybe a 20-minute wait for four around 10 PM, which was much shorter than I'd expected). The Autumn Old Fashioned is an awesome drink - smooth, orangey, and as perfectly balanced as I've come to expect. As much as I'd like to recreate it, I doubt I have the stamina to deal with making my own falernum. Any ice-program haters would be well advised to taste how well the giant chunk works in this drink.

Headed to the Violet Hour last night. It was our first time there, and not at all what we expected. We quite enjoyed it.

From the lack of signage, the discussion in this thread, and the general notion of a fancy schmancy cocktail joint in Wicker Park, we expected it to be more of a see-and-be-seen, dog-and-pony-show scene. We were delighted to find out that this is not the case. There were plenty in jeans and T-shirts, and though classy, the vibe at Violet Hour was extremely laid back and comfortable. We settled into a cushy corner of the room and started reading the terrifically detailed menu. Having just come from trying the Publican, we only had room for liquids, so can't comment on the food. The drinks, however, were unique and delicious. Here's what we had:

Juliet & Romeo Beefeater, Lime, Mint, Cucumber, Rose Water
The Riviera Pineapple Infused Beefeater, Lemon, Egg White, Campari
Slim Tanqueray, Lime, Aperol, St. Germaine Elderflower Liqueur, Fruta Bomba Bitters
The Berliner Tanqueray, Lemon, Gilka Kummel, Apricot, Egg Yolk, Tangerine Bitters
Woolworth’s Manhattan Buffalo Trace Bourbon, Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth, Root Beer Bitters

Neither REB nor I have ever really experimented much with this type of non-standard, creative cocktail, so I will have to somewhat limit my comments. In a word, yum. Favorites were the Slim (WTF are Fruta Bomba Bitters?) and Berliner (egg yolky good). We will return to try some others.

Went there tonight. They have a ways to go....

They weren't too busy; most people were sitting by the bar; few people were at tables.

My partner ordered caipirnhas; loved them.

I ordered Old Raj martini's--two of them. Disappointing.

The first one--was served in an ice cold glass, as would be proper, but the remaining liquid was to be poured in a room temperature mini-carafe (not cold). I asked that it be poured in another ice cold glass and the mixologist gladly and politely complied.

The problem with the martini was that the taste of vermouth was prominent. This was true of the first martini, and the second. For the second, I asked that it be served "very, very dry." It still tasted predominantly of the Noilly-Prat vermouth.

We asked the mixologist what ratio he used for gin to vermouth: he replied "two to one." (The last weekend when we were there, the mixologist said "three to one" meaning three parts gin to one part vermouth).

The vermouth was prominent; could not taste the Old Raj gin in either of my drinks.

My suggestion would be to get the proper ratio of Old Raj to vermouth down; then serve the remainder that doesn't fir in the first glass (as Pegu Club, for instance) in a carafe over ice to keep it cold. Never should it be put in a room temperature carafe.

To me, its still a work in progress.

DutchMuse wrote:We asked the mixologist what ratio he used for gin to vermouth: he replied "two to one." (The last weekend when we were there, the mixologist said "three to one" meaning three parts gin to one part vermouth).

The vermouth was prominent; could not taste the Old Raj gin in either of my drinks.

My suggestion would be to get the proper ratio of Old Raj to vermouth down

This is a matter of taste. To me, three-to-one is a perfect ratio for a martini, and I mostly have to order them that way or bartenders don't put in any vermouth at all. I don't understand why the "very, very dry" martini drinkers don't just order straight gin and be done with it.

As maconastorstreet put it in the martini thread, "after all, you don't see similar approaches to the Cuba Libre - 'pour rum into a tumbler, add ice, wave a bottle of Coca-Cola in that general direction ...'"

LAZ wrote:This is a matter of taste. To me, three-to-one is a perfect ratio for a martini, and I mostly have to order them that way or bartenders don't put in any vermouth at all. I don't understand why the "very, very dry" martini drinkers don't just order straight gin and be done with it.

I agree. While it is certainly a matter of personal taste, I think there are also some who think it's just plain cool to say you like as little vermouth as possible.

Of somewhat irrelevant historical interest, the term "dry Martini" originally referred to a Martini that contained dry (as opposed to sweet) vermouth, not one that contained a small amount of (dry) vermouth. An ancestor of the Martini is the Martinez cocktail, which contains gin, sweet vermouth, bitters, and Maraschino liquor.

DutchMuse wrote:Went there tonight. They have a ways to go....
...
To me, its still a work in progress.

Are you saying that the entire drink menu at Violet Hour is a work in progress based merely on the fact that you didn't think the martinis were correct?

I've come to find that martinis are kind of like one's own children- the things that one's own children do (the way you like your martini and the way you order it) are the absolute best things in the world, and everyone else's kids are insane, dumb, and incomprehensible.

It's why I've backed off my view of the manhattan as the test of a good bartender.

Hi Joe

No, I guess I shouldn't say that based upon just the martini issue--it does sound unfair, I grant you. But isn't making a proper martini mixology 101?

Maybe just a bad night; we'll try again and look forward to a better experience.

DutchMuse wrote:Hi Joe

No, I guess I shouldn't say that based upon just the martini issue--it does sound unfair, I grant you. But isn't making a proper martini mixology 101?

Maybe just a bad night; we'll try again and look forward to a better experience.

I'm guessing you're talking to me on this. Making a proper martini is very very relative. That's my point.

I'll tell you what is NOT a martini as a previous poster alluded to is when a bartender serves you a glass full of gin. I don't quite get that and it seems to be a pretty common practice.

It is if you're Winston Churchill....

KSeecs wrote:I'll tell you what is NOT a martini as a previous poster alluded to is when a bartender serves you a glass full of gin. I don't quite get that and it seems to be a pretty common practice.

Agreed. And I'll take my gin on the rocks please as I like my gin cold and with a splash of water at least in it. But that's just me.

Just to offer a point of reference, when I learned to tend bar, we were instructed to make a martini thusly: chill the glass, pour in just enough dry vermouth to be able to coat the sides of the glass when swirled around; add chilled gin or vodka. If the customer wanted it dry, we shook out the vermouth; if they wanted it extra dry we didn't add the vermouth at all.

One of my very favorite "y'all are all crazy" moments was when a customer ordered a vodka martini straight up, extra dry, and then complained that there was too much alcohol in it.

Looking for some LTH input to assist with my planning tomorrow night. I'm heading here Friday night for some pre-dinner cocktails, and there will be 7 of us..... probably arriving between 7:00-7:30. What sort of wait, if any, should we anticipate on a Friday night?

rmtraut wrote:Looking for some LTH input to assist with my planning tomorrow night. I'm heading here Friday night for some pre-dinner cocktails, and there will be 7 of us..... probably arriving between 7:00-7:30. What sort of wait, if any, should we anticipate on a Friday night?

That's about when RAB and I arrived a few weeks ago. The back room was almost empty, but filled within thirty minutes of our arrival. The staff tries to seat folks together so that it is possible to seat large groups. My guess is that you'll either have no wait or a lengthy one, as few people will be leaving that early. If you arrive closer to 7, I'd put money on no wait. Granted, this is based on a single Friday evening visit, but it was only a few weeks ago.

I'd agree. You're likely to get a table quickly. Your wait will be for the drink preparations. But it's completely worth the wait!

Side note: My usual rule with VH is to visit with ONLY one or two other people and try to get seated at the bar. The magic of the place, in my opinion, is the mesmerizing work of the bartenders. Last time I visited I was, yet again, blown away by the precision setup, preparation, and final pour of two drinks at once into our waiting coupes and carafes. It really is better if you're at the bar. The mad-scientist-like show in front of you is great for conversation, and interacting with the staff is always a pleasure. Plus you get to see lots of the menu in action, especially on busier nights.

Ideally, I would want my first trip to the Violet Hour with just one or two friends... or even by myself. Yet, we had to bring the wives along.... oh well.

Just in case anyone is interested - the Violet Hour gets a nice mention in a NYTimes article about different philosophies of bartending....

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/03/dining/03bars.html?ref=dining

Thought I'd leave a short post about Valentine's Night at The Violet Hour. By way of disclaimer, my wife and I are truly cocktail neophytes, so consider this the "common man's" experience rather than that of the cocktail sophisticate.

We arrived around 7:30pm. The line outside was about 10 deep -- not counting the 10 or so waiting inside. I guessed this meant about a 20 minute wait. Unfortunately, it lasted about an hour. But, under the philosophy of "in for a penny, in for a pound," we waited it out. Boy, was that the right decision.

As far as atmosphere, as most readers of this thread know, TVH is truly a unique setting in Chicago. I can't think of a sexier, more sophisticated, yet more comfortable place. Now, Valentine's Night might be considered "amateur hour," and there were tables that probably didn't fit the usual mold (think suburbanites, lonely hearts with their parents in tow, uncertain first-daters), but this diversity added to the specialness of the night, in my opinion.

My wife started with the Winter Sangria -- loved it. I had to convince her to try something different for the second round. On the server's recommendation, she went with the Juliet & Romeo -- loved it even more. She said it reminded her of a spa, which I guess is a nice feeling for a cold winter's night.

I started with the Riviera on the server's recommendation. I enjoyed the smoothness of the egg white, but it was just a tad too "fruity" for me. Second round was my first-ever Sidecar. It made me wish I had been born two generations ago.

Didn't sample the food, other than a round of hummus. A nice zip to it, with some sort of "fizz" as well. It tided us over nicely until dinner (Francesca's on Taylor -- an old standby for us, but a mediocre meal that I won't belabor here).

A few questions for regulars: (1) What are the absolute must-trys on the cocktail menu? (2) To avoid long waits for a party of two or four these days, is it better to go early or late? What time on weeknights/weekends? (3) Does bar seating require a special request, or are you placed there if it's open?

In sum, can't wait to go back.

ParisCat wrote:A few questions for regulars: (1) What are the absolute must-trys on the cocktail menu? (2) To avoid long waits for a party of two or four these days, is it better to go early or late? What time on weeknights/weekends? (3) Does bar seating require a special request, or are you placed there if it's open?

My preference is to go early (but you'd have to go pretty darn early on a Saturday - I'd aim to be there before 6pm on a Friday or Saturday night). But I like to be home by 11pm, so going late isn't for me.

Last time I went, the host took my name and cell phone number, and called when we could enter. We arrive at 7pm on a Saturday, with a group of 8, and she called us at 10pm. The policy is that you have 10 minutes to get there after they call, or you lose the spot. By 10pm we already had a few rounds of very good cocktails at the bar at Spring, and were about half-way through dinner at Mado. So we skipped Violet Hour.

(We knew the wait would be long and weren't expecting to actually get in. When I added my name to the list, the host told me that three large groups were just seated and there was another large group or two ahead of us.)

If you want to sit at the bar (or in any particular place inside), tell the host when you give her/him your name. If there's only two or three of you in the group, and you are interested in learning about cocktails, definitely sit at the bar. The bartenders usually are happy to talk about their craft, make suggestions, give you tastes, suggest off-menu drinks, etc.

To also answer the previous poster's questions.

Absolute must-try's on the winter menu: Juliet and Romeo, Hush and Wonder, Dark and Stormy, Woolworth's Manhattan, Part and Parcel, Gilded Cage.

Forgettable: Lady Clover, Tax the Dandy, Riviera, Pimms Cup (a forgettable drink in general), Libertine.

Time to go: early, and on a weeknight. Generally before 7:30 on a weekend with a small group will be fine. Try to avoid going in groups of more than four, and go super early if you've got six or more (also be nice if you're going with a group that huge).

Bar seating: think you have to ask for it.

We were also there on Valentine's and arrived just before they opened at 6:00 and there were already 6 or so people waiting to get in. The place filled up in no time and there was a long line out the door by the time we left at 7:15 to go to Mariza's concert at Symphony Center.

I would concur with the drink suggestions above. Though it's not on the current menu, they will make you a Blue Ridge Manhattan if you ask for it. I would highly recommend it. It was the first drink I had at the Violet Hour and one I will never forget. Saturday I also tried the Velvet Hammer and it too was a thing of beauty.

jsagoff wrote:Bar seating: think you have to ask for it.

We sat at the bar during our last visit. We walked in, were welcomed, and said we were going to sit at the bar. We chose our own seats.

Nice, super-wide stools. Quite comfy.

While it isn't as cozy, I prefer sitting at the bar in order to chat with the fine folks making the drinks. You completely miss the art that goes into the drinks when you don't sit at the bar.

Ronna

I posted this recently on eGullet, but wanted to share it with this audience as well.

I finally made it to The Violet Hour last Saturday night after arriving in Chicago. I called Toby to let him know I’d made it to town and he graciously called in a reservation for me at the bar. I didn’t want to sit anywhere else – otherwise I wouldn’t get to see one of my favorite crafts done right in front of me. After eating the mushroom pasta at Francesca’s Forno (which Toby highly recommended), I arrived just moments before the doors opened. Making my way through the inconspicuous entry, I was led right to the bar where I was introduced to Troy, who would be my bartender for the evening. He was very cordial and had no problem walking me through some ideas for a first cocktail.

Lit only by numerous candles and beautiful chandeliers, TVH felt like more like an opium den than a bar. Everything was meticulously placed, wonderfully laid out, and the bar was loaded with various bottles, shakers, and bitters. I’d also like to point out that they had some really great music playing: Bill Callahan, Radiohead, and several others I’ve since forgotten. It was at this point I knew I was in a place I’d love. AND I was in Chicago – so it doesn’t get any better than that.

It was time to get some drinking done. Have you ever geeked out so much in a place like this that you didn’t even know where to begin when it came to ordering? Well I did. I wanted to say “just start at the top and make one of everything.” Troy, knowing that I was having some trouble deciding on a cocktail, poured me a small amount of Carpano Antica to whet my palate while I perused the amazing menu. That stuff alone is enough to make a person smile. After about five minutes of pondering I went with the Juliet & Romeo. I had read about this one previously and the components really interested me.

At this point I was able to close the menu and just absorb everything around me. Of course, being the booze/cocktail geek I am I vigilantly inspected just about every bottle on display. Finding bottles of Chartreuse VEP, various high-end Amaros, and an almost endless amount of house-made bitters, it wasn’t very hard to get excited about this visit. Soon my Juliet & Romeo was placed in front of me. As quickly as it was placed on the napkin in front of me I could smell the mint and rose water. It was heavenly. But then I took a sip and it got even better. What a fantastic cocktail!

After only twenty minutes I had pretty much inhaled the Juliet & Romeo and it was time to go for something a bit more strong and manly. With my mind on indecisive geeky overload, I decided on a simple old-fashioned cocktail with a big twist of orange. I lamented over this decision afterwards because I really should have gone with something I can’t make at home, but it was a very good cocktail nonetheless. It was a bit strong, which is good because it really made me slow down my drinking. And after spending eight hours in the car, I just wanted something to numb my body and put me in a tranquil state.

By the time I was done with my old-fashioned I was pretty exhausted and it pushed me to the point of envisioning my nice hotel bed that awaited me. It was time to settle up and head out the door. I guess in retrospect I should have stayed a bit longer, but I truly enjoyed myself a lot and have the utmost respect for what this crew does on a daily basis. The next time I am in Chicago I will most definitely go back and do it all over again.

Thank you Toby and Troy for a great experience. It was a very inspiring visit.

Anyone know if TVH has released their spring menu yet? I saw they had as far as the little munchies go, but I didn't see any new cocktails on the website. I hope there's a new issue coming soon (bring back the Palmer D'Or!).

jsagoff wrote:Anyone know if TVH has released their spring menu yet? I saw they had as far as the little munchies go, but I didn't see any new cocktails on the website. I hope there's a new issue coming soon (bring back the Palmer D'Or!).

Apparently last night was the roll out for the new spring menu. Not my original plan, but I ended up doing a delightful bourbon-based tour of the new menu. Since I let Michael choose my drinks for me and didn't really look at the menu much, I'm a little hazy on the details:

Roman Holiday, which consisted of two Amaros (Lucano and ?Montenegro) and Woodford Reserve.

I'm blanking on the name of the second one (?Zarazumara, or something like that), which had bourbon, muddled blackberries, fernet branca and coca-cola.

Dogwood Manhattan, which had bourbon, Amaro Nonino, Dry Vermouth, and Peach Bitters.

Everything was well-balanced, including the Three Dimes Down I had as a nightcap. I know there are missing ingredients in there, but I'm sure someone can fill in the gaps.

Sounds like I got to try the tail end of the winter menu on Saturday. I don't know how I missed the boat on this amazing place for almost 2 years, but I'm kicking myself for it. I fully intend to make up for lost time in the coming months

We were able to grab seats at the bar in front of Troy, and had a great time. I kicked off with a classic Sazerac, and followed it with an Old Fashioned, then a Martinez, and finally a Mademoiselle (I remembered Troy's post about this drink and hoped I was up to the challenge). All of the drinks were fantastic...the Mademoiselle was especially delicious. Light, a hint of tartness, a hint of sweetness, and just a tiny bit of alcohol "kick" to let you know you're drinking a cocktail. My wife had a Brooklyn (a take on a Manhattan, I believe), a Juliet & Romeo, something gin-based that I can't recall, and then joined me with a Mademoiselle.

We also decided to make a dinner out of their small plates. We started with just the blackened shrimp and the roasted pork shoulder flatbread. Both were really good, but a bit on the small side, so we added the duck & goat cheese wontons, which were great also. Finally, we had the fried peanut butter-banana bites for dessert. I enjoyed these, but wished I'd had a fork...the "bites" were a bit bigger than I would've liked, but since biting them made them start to fall apart, the cleanest way to eat them was whole. Also, I managed to coat my hand with the wildflower honey, which required a trip to the restroom and a few washes to remedy.

On our way out, one of the many people waiting to get in asked me which drink he should try, and I spoke highly of the Mademoiselle. He seemed intrigued & started to ask about its ingredients, but unfortunately an obnoxious girl nearby overheard and shouted, "A 'Mademoiselle'? For a guy?! HAHAHAHAHA!" Ugh. I hope he ignored her abrasive braying and tried this excellent drink.

As far as the planets aligning to create the perfect drinking experience, the drink of the night was the Old Fashioned...the second Troy set it in front of me, someone apparently decided to indulge a Nat King Cole jones. Sitting in a classy, candle-lit bar, sipping a perfect Old Fashioned, listening to "Stardust"...I almost expected to step outside to big, fluffy snowflakes blanketing the street. They played five or six Nat King Cole songs in a row, which was just enough time for me to leisurely sip my drink...I was a bit sad when my drink was finished & the normal music resumed.

Troy went out of his way to answer questions, share info/history about drinks, pour us samples of ingredients that we asked about, and recommend drinks to match our tastes/moods. Sure it was an expensive evening, but for the level of service and the high level of quality & skill put into each drink & dish, we walked out of there not only completely satisfied (and a bit tipsy), but also planning our next visit (in two weeks, when my sister visits from NYC...we'll show her how truly great a proper cocktail bar can be when you strip away the crowded room, snooty staff & the see-and-be-seen vibe )