October 11, 2009

I went to The Violet Hour last night for the first time and it was the BEST most pretentious, once-a-year-due-to-how-expensive-it-is experience in my life. Oh yes, it certainly lived up to the hype and I can not complain about standing in line (thankfully inside) for 30 minutes when I still remember how that first drink tasted while slipping down my throat.

If you’re not familiar, The Violet Hour is located in Wicker Park, half a block off the Damen blue line stop, behind a graffitied, camoflaged door. The bar has specific house rules such as no cellphones (one I can thoroughly appreciate). The photo above, although a stock image, is entirely representative of the space. Minus a few people sitting at the bar, a diverse crowd of people of all ages sat at individual tables in elegant, high-back leather chairs that made you feel important even if you’re just some lowly part-time worker like me. They also gave you space, something you don’t realize you want when going out until you get it.

I’m not someone who is particularly picky about bars. If I want to go dancing, I have certain spots I like to hit up. However, I am picky about what I am drinking (increasingly so) and I’ve found myself, within the last year or so, trying to frequent bars that have a wide variety of drink options (The Hopleaf, The Map Room, The Bluebird). If a bar has a varied and international beer selection, despite the fact that I am not a huge beer drinker, I will go there. Placing attention on your beer selection usually means you place attention on your wine and spirits selection. They tend to go hand in hand.

The Violet Hour is known for their cocktails and although they are certainly expensive, they are WELL worth it. If you’re someone like me who enjoys really good gin, vodka, or whiskey, you’ll salivate over the choices here. My favorite drinks of the night were The Riviera, made of gin, pineapple infused bombay, lemon, egg white, and campari and The Indian Summer, made of gin, plymouth, lime, lavender syrup, and house-made tonic. The first sip was heavenly, near-orgasmic. Hours earlier I had been complaining that I couldn’t find a perfume with jasmine as the dominant accent at Sephora because the store was full of scents such as “Cookies” and “Cupcake Batter” and “Vanilla Sugar.” (I am a 22-year-old woman, not an 8th grade student going to my graduation dance). I can still taste it now, over 12 hours later and it just makes me smile at how delicious it was. Their cocktails illicit a sort of visceral reaction. You don’t realize how much you need a place like this or a drink this good until you experience it.

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