The country’s most exciting bar right at this moment is the The Violet Hour which just opened in Chicago’s Wicker Park.

The building is still unmarked on the outside. The crowd waiting to get in makes the location pretty obvious.

The curtains separate each of the bar’s three rooms, which house matching periwinkle furniture. The extravagantly  lounge,  in a serene blue and gray palette, crystal chandeliers that designer Thomas Schlesser created especially to provide a private experience.

Bartenders make each with painstaking precision, using housemade simple syrups, bitters and twice-filtered ice cubes. The classic cocktails (Gimlet, Negroni, Paloma) are superb. There’s also a small, carefully chosen selection of champagnes, wines and beers.