The cocktails at Arbella, the new River North spot from the team behind Tanta, are all over the map—literally. The tagline for the bar is “drink the world,” and the menu is divided into five global regions. It’s heavy on the Americas, with Mexico, South America (and the Caribbean), and the U.S. constituting three sections; the other two are dedicated to Europe and Asia. The bar’s name comes from a ship that sailed from England to Salem in 1630, a six-week voyage on which the passengers and crew supposedly consumed nearly 10,000 gallons of wine.
I preferred the Funky Chicken—Mexican lollipops dissolved in rye, served with lemon puree, beer, and a Tajín rim—which tastes exactly like boozy, spicy Mexican candy: sweet, tart, and salty, with a chile pepper bite. The La Coqueta, with just a touch of mezcal smoke and some nice ginger heat along with yuzu and grenadine, is a slightly funky, dry cocktail.
