Old Money: Can a cocktail be a Chicago classic if it’s only 20 months old? Benjamin Schiller, resident mixologist for the Boka Restaurant Group, created his Old Money cocktail for Boka restaurant. “The image in my head,” he says, “was a wood-lined room with a billiard table, where men of a certain sophistication would retire for cigars and cocktails. The drink had to be strong, masculine, American, but put together like a wine, with an aroma and strong finish.” Old Money combines Black Maple Hill bourbon, Aperol (a bittersweet Italian aperitif) and walnut liqueur in a double-rocks glass with a large, hand-carved piece of ice (“so the last sip tastes like the first,” Schiller says) and aromatic hints of orange oil and allspice. When Boka chef Giuseppe Tentori launched GT Fish & Oyster this year, he insisted that Old Money be on the cocktail menu. And at $12, you don’t have to be old money to drink Old Money. 531 N. Wells St., 312-929-3501
