The Milk Room

"Milk Room is a speakeasy-esque bar in a hallway of the Chicago Athletic Association Hotel. And this place is tiny, with only an intimate eight-seat bar. So since space is limited, we highly recommend booking a reservation (each seating also comes with a time limit ranging between one to two hours). The cocktails often involve some very rare scotches, whiskies, and other spirits, and each feels like a small investment ($24-$75). Their expert bartender will help you find the ideal cocktail based on your preferences—unless, of course, your preference is cheap bottom-shelf stuff." - adrian kane, john ringor

"Hotel guests and visitors at the palatial Chicago Athletic Association are spoiled for choice when it comes to dining and drinking options but Milk Room, its cocktail den, is singular in its devotion to hard-to-find spirits and vintage ingredients." - Naomi Waxman, Ashok Selvam

"During restoration, the Milk Room, a prohibition-era bar, was discovered hidden behind drywall. Now it is a popular microbar in the hotel." - Mitchell Friedman

"Forget what you thought you knew about the barhopping experience when you enter through the doors of this blink-and-you-miss-it spot, where just eight coveted seats are available to patrons. That’s because no two bottles are alike in these parts—which makes sourcing, training, and execution particularly rewarding for spirit savant Paul McGee and his team. Craving Campari? They likely have one from the '70s. Fancy some Fernet? Try the 1957 vintage. Cocktails are no less specific: The A la Louisiane features an eight-year-old Redemption Rye, 1950s Benedictine, and Vieux Pontarlier Absinthe, while the Baby Darling boasts Neisson 15 Year Rhum Agricole and 1980s-era Isolabella Amaro 18."

"This is the second reopening this week for corporate parent Land & Sea Dept.; Milk Room, the dimly lit and intimate bar in the Chicago Athletic Association Hotel, is also back." - Ashok Selvam