Amnesiac
: Acadia bar director Michael Simon took his inspiration for this mind-numbing drink from a George Kappeler recipe, published in 1895, called the Brain Duster. Simon’s homage, the Amnesiac ($12) similarly includes Italian vermouth and absinthe, but with a twist; Simon creates absinthe ice cubes (with half the alcohol removed so the cubes are solid), over which he strains yellow chartreuse, an amaro-style liqueur called the Bitter Truth EXR and orange bitters.
It’s topped off with a complex, osmanthus-tea soda Simon designed, and the finished product is light, herbaceous and slightly sweet. And as the ice melts, the anise notes from the absinthe grow more noticeable. “I love absinthe, but it can be very brash,” Simon says, which is why his drink dispenses it slowly. Best of all, it doesn’t overpower the senses for the elaborate flavors of chef/owner Ryan McCaskey’s cooking. Acadia,
1639 S. Wabash Ave., 312-360-9500.
