We all know the wide range of unique Chicago cocktail bars means it’s likely you’ll occasionally stumble across one that’s offering some kind of drink concoction with a price that makes your jaw drop.
With such a diverse range of establishments and bars that have been named among the best in the world, it’s inevitable that some go above and beyond to stand out from the crowd. One beloved Chicago watering hole, however, is taking it to new heights.
Three Dots and a Dash, for those who don’t know, is a tropical oasis hidden below the bustling streets of River North. As Chicago’s premier tropical tiki bar, the Polynesian paradise is known as an exceptional craft cocktail destination serving freshly pressed cocktails in iconic tiki containers.
Inside Three Dots and a Dash, the exclusive hideaway known as the ‘Bamboo Room’ offers an even more refined cocktail experience with intimate guided rum journeys through time led by beverage director Kevin Beary. It’s here, on the menu of this 22-seat bar-within-a-bar, where guests will soon find a mai tai with a price tag of $800.
Cocktails concocted at Three Dots and a Dash are known for their meticulous commitment to providing the most flavourful experience. From the freshest exotic fruits and potent spices that go into the drinks to the tiki totems, clamshell bowls, and treasure chests that bear them, it’s an impressive all-encompassing spectacle you won’t find elsewhere.
With the incoming new Mai Tai option though, Beary and his team are going back to basics. First created in 1944, the Mai Tai according to Eater.com, “started as a rum cocktail so popular it supposedly depleted world rum supplies in the 1940s and ’50s.”
When the cocktail was invented by Victor J. Bergeron, also known as Trader Vic, it wasn’t the sugar overload that it came to be, it simply highlighted the strong flavor of a 17-year-old J. Wray and Nephew Jamaican rum.
The story goes that after presenting a Mat Tai to Tahitian friends one of them was so impressed they shouted “Maita’i roa a’e!” meaning something along the lines of “out of this world! The best!”. Bergeron consequently named his new invention Mai Tai translating to “the best” and that is exactly what the new drink at Bamboo Room seeks to provide.
The $800 “Vintage Mai Tai” will contain “1940’s Wray and Nephew 15 Year Old, 1940’s Vintage Curaçao, Lime Juice, Cane Sugar, Almond Orgeat” says the Three Dots and a Dash website. It’s these ingredients, sourced from nearly a century ago are the reason for the hefty price tag.
Due to the scarcity of these ingredients that will be used in the $800 Vintage Mai Tai, there will be an extremely limited number on offer likely to be around 10 or so when it is made available in the coming weeks.
For now, we have our eyes peeled for a sight of this extravagant spectacle. You can do so too by following the Bamboo Room Instagram page or checking in at threedotschicago.com.