Welcome, class, to History of Gin 202.

Don’t sit down just yet.



Today, we’re going on a field trip...



To Whitechapel, a new monument to the most botanical of spirits with 100 cocktails and the largest selection
of gin in North America. It opens tonight on Polk.



Did everyone get the requisite slideshow and menu?



Great.



Now let’s go over your assignments...



Assignment #1: Take stock of the gin.

If you count any less than 370, you get an automatic C.



Assignment #2: Analyze the vibe.

The interiors here take their cues from a Victorian-era Underground station in London. The bar is divided
into three sections: the Distillery (a decidedly steampunk-ish parlor), the Platform (which has a library of
rare gins and a last-call bell cast by the same company that made Big Ben) and the Gin Palace (a public
house of sorts).



Assignment #3: Drink a drink or two.

There’s the Norman Conquest with gin, orange marmalade and absinthe; the Bohemian Grove Accord with
cabernet-barrel gin, Bols genever and sherry; and... only about 98 others.



Assignment #4: Bring in the reinforcements.

In this case, their mussels vindaloo or steak-and-oyster pie.



Assignment #5: Write a 500-word response.

Assignment #5 is optional.