Three Dots and a Dash

Chicago’s tiki haven, Three Dots and a Dash, gets its name from a classic Don The Beachcomber tiki cocktail—so naturally the fruit-forward libation makes an appearance on the menu, albeit in highly customized form. The bar’s take on the drink is made with both a funky rhum agricole (beverage director Julian Cox likes the Rhum J.M. 100-proof aged 1-year) as well as a gold Guyanese rum (El Dorado 5-year, preferably). The bar also updated the cocktail by eschewing typical mass market ingredients for house-made. “Instead of the curaçao typically found in this drink, we brighten it up with fresh squeezed orange juice,” Cox says. “We make our falernum with almond, clove, allspice and lime. It has a beautiful citrus note that nicely dries everything out.” While we recommend home bartenders keep the fresh orange juice, making your own falernum and allspice might be a bridge too far. If you’re going store-bought, Cox recommends Velvet Falernum and St. Elizabeth for your allspice dram.