If the city seems unusually—how best to put this—belligerent this week, there's only one thing to blame: sweet, sweet brown liquor. Yes, it's WhiskyWeek in Chicago, a delightfully deliriant weeklong runup to this Friday's 11th annual WhiskyFest. While Friday night's big malthead to-do at the Hyatt Regency is sold out, there's still plenty of other opportunities for rye-induced rowdiness. A full schedule of Chicago's WhiskyWeek events is available here, but we thought we'd run down a trio of the week's more intriguing events.
TUESDAY-WEDNESDAY @ Delilah's
Lakeview liquor hotspot Delilah's always has a ton of the brown stuff on hand, but this week, they'll pour 'til their tattoed arms are sore. Tonight and tomorrow at 8 p.m., Delilah's will offer a free tasting of some choice whiskeys: tonight's selection is Four Roses Single Barrel, while Wednesday's is Knob Creek Single Barrel. Thursday at 8 p.m., they'll pull out some of the first bottles of Evan Williams' Single Barrel and offer up a vertical tasting of Williams whiskeys from 1996-2000. Friday night at 10:00, they'll host a sure-to-be-bleary WhiskyFest afterparty, and Saturday from 7-9 p.m., they'll offer samples of the very new, very distinctive line of Koval Distillery's Lion's Pride whiskeys.
THURSDAY @ Fountainhead
Thursday night at 7 p.m., newish Ravenswood spot Fountainhead will offer up samples of Bulleit Rye and Bulleit Bourbon with self-appointed "Professor of Whiskey" Steve Cole. Two hours later, Templeton Rye will pour their wares and cart out their Mobile Speakeasy, which would appear from the pictures to be a promotional trailer that temporarily houses drunk people. The Feast assumes, after WhiskeyWeek, the floor of the Mobile Speakeasy may need a good cleaning.
SATURDAY @ Koval Distillery
Saturday afternoon, when your head feels like it's throbbed its last, the aforementioned Koval Distillery—Chicago's first boutique spirits-maker, they'll have you know—has got the fix. $10 gets you a tour of their Ravenswood distillery, with a sampling of white whiskey, aged whiskey, and other liqueurs to boot. The tour starts at 2 p.m. and space is limited, so shoot an email to tours@kovaldistillery.com if you plan to attend. Just remember, what might sound good on a Tuesday afternoon's gonna feel a little different after a five day bender.
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