Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/359372
august 2014 / the tasting panel / 101 Koval Whiskey and North Shore Vodka are both made in the Chicagoland area and are prominently featured on the Omni menu. Cocktails Go Local With it's flurry of micro-breweries and distilleries popping up every year, one of America's finest drinking towns keeps getting better thanks to Chicago's local beverage scene. While we're not quite seeing any Lakeshore Drive wines yet, the city is embrac- ing local spirits and using them to create cocktails that represent a sense of place. At the Omni Chicago Hotel, F&B Director Dawn Hooks works to pair Chef Hasho's hyper-local cuisine with a beverage program to match. "It's an exploding scene here in Chicago, and we are constantly using local brewers and distillers," she says, pointing to Koval and North Shore distilleries as among the most prominently featured on the menu. As in the kitchen, the cocktail list is seasonal, with an emphasis on what's available and what's fresh, but the bar benefits from an on-property garden that will grow mint and other fresh herbs year- round. "We're working with one of our farmer partners on that, which is important to us, as we want to support our local folks. We want to keep our program specific to this hotel, and we want it to be something our customers will come in and say, 'Wow! I can't get this anywhere else.'" Dawn Hooks is the F&B Director for the Omni Chicago Hotel. 676 Restaurant Executive Chef Joshua Hasho and Executive Sous Chef Phillip Bollhoefer in the restaurant's charcute- rie cooler, where all cuts are made in-house.