Moneygun
Moneygun ranks here because it has cracked the formula for a room where the classics are executed precisely and the energy is genuinely fun, not performed.
Moneygun opened in 2016 on West Lake Street and has since expanded into the adjacent space, adding capacity without losing the particular looseness that defines it. The midcentury-modern interior — dark wood, swiveling vinyl barstools, sleek lines — sets up a contrast with the volume level, which runs loud. Mitchem built the concept around 40 handcrafted cocktails with an “Essential 30” classics program: nail every canonical drink, then earn the right to experiment.
The Dirty Thirty Club — finish all 30 classics, get a punchcard punched — sounds like a gimmick but functions as a curriculum. Esquire has called it one of America’s Best Bars, and best bar in Chicago specifically, which is defensible if you weight accessibility and execution over experimentation. The strawberry margarita and the White Russian made with fresh espresso are the drinks that convert people who didn’t think they liked either.
- The fresh-espresso White Russian
- The strawberry agave margarita
- A Last Word from the Essential 30
