The Distillery-Bar Concept Becomes Reality In Chicago

Chicago’s first distillery-bar, CH Distillery, has opened in the city’s West Loop neighborhood. The owners are Mark Lucas, 47, and Tremaine Atkinson, 49, both with no previous spirits experience. Lucas owned a courier messaging service in Austin, Texas, and Atkinson was a money manager and home brewer.

Named for the carbon and hydrogen elements that make up ethanol, CH has seating for 55 in a small-plates lounge with a full picture window view of the distillery, dominated by four German-made 900-gallon fermenters and three separate stills, with a current capacity to produce 8,000 cases a year. Open since August, the plant is currently running at about one-third of capacity.

The owners are sourcing all the grains in their mashbills in Illinois. There is a classic London dry gin and a second gin infused with key limes, along with a triple-distilled vodka made from wheat and rye harvested 60 miles west of Chicago. Each is priced at $35 a 750-ml. and about $9 for a 2-ounce pour in the lounge.

CH is also laying down barrels of whiskey and rum, with white and lightly aged whiskies made from corn and rye offered in the lounge. The aging is being done in a mix of full-size and small barrels. The rum is in used Bourbon barrels and is expected to be ready next summer. Next up are both an oat whiskey and a limoncello, the latter to be priced at $30 a 750-ml. during the upcoming holiday season.

“We’re grain-to-bottle,” says Atkinson, who is the distiller. The grain is transported by truck to CH in one-ton sacks. The company has succeeded in gaining distribution so far with small retailers and high-end restaurants.

Tagged : bars, Chicago, craft spirits

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