9pm start on Monday and it was a full house at underground hideaway, Three Dots & A Dash. The River North speakeasy tiki bar was stop number 7 on the Monkey Shoulder 2018 Distortion Tour. Can’t tell you that I think of Blended Malted Scotch Whisky when I want those classic tiki vibes. This exotic popup changes that perception with some flawless interpretations from the Employee’s Only bartender collective.
Of all the city’s neighborhoods, it’s River North that reigns as the nightclub capital. When leaving the subterranean hidden entrance to Three Dots, I was reminded that I never go to clubs.
What made this event work was that this New York City mixologist crew was equipped with their own DJ and Master of Ceremonies. Over the 3-hour jam you heard everything from Queen to Luther Vandross. A pirate with a real parrot, Polynesian Hula Dancers and the $400 Treasure Chest all made an appearance. It’s a blend of pineapple, guava, passionfruit, lemon, rare rums and Dom Perignon serving 6-8ppl. The popup was a charming, artistic twist on the nightlife experience.
The name Monkey Shoulder refers to an injury that malt men would get as it would leave one arm hanging. They must turn the grain so it maintains the correct temperature and germinates evenly. This whisky consists of three single malt distilleries: Kininvie, Glenfiddich, and The Balvenie. The trio gets acquainted in a tun for three to six months before being bottled on site.
Both Employees Only and Three Dots & A Dash are present on The World’s 50 Best Bars List.
Denver, Detroit, Brooklyn, Nashville, San Diego and Austin were the other Distortion Tour stops.
–Nkosi
Cocktail Menu
Road To Zion
fresh lemon juice, pineapple juice, ginger syrup , simple syrup, angostura bitters, mint
Number 23
tea infused vermouth, fresh lemon juice, mango and cinnamon syrup, orange bitters, saline an orchid flower
Almost There
apricot liqueur, fresh lime juice, simple syrup, soda, angostura bitters and mint
Thunder In Paradise
*served as a slushie
gonzalez alfonso oloroso sherry, orgeat syrup, fresh lime juice, coco lopez, peychaud’s bitters and a brandied cherry
It’s Tiki Time
soda and angostura bitters