The three-month-old Mezcaleria Las Flores isn’t Chicago’s first agave-focused bar—Masa Azul predates it—but so far it’s the best known. La Mez Agave Lounge, in the basement of Mercadito, followed hot on its heels, and another mezcal bar, Quiote (from former Garage owner Dan Salls), is in the works. With mezcal and its cousins becoming more familiar to consumers, agave-based cocktails are going to have to succeed based not on novelty but on their own merits—and that’s already happening at Mezcaleria Las Flores.
The cocktail list is brief, consisting of just seven drinks, plus two margaritas (which, oddly, are on the beer and wine list rather than the cocktail menu). There’s a wide range even within that short list, though: the Shook Ones Pt. 1 (Del Maguey Vida mezcal, coconut liqueur, lemon, and absinthe, with a cocoa and sesame rim), sweet with notes of anise, is as warm and rich as the Magnetic Pole Reversal is cool and refreshing.
