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North Shore Distillery's spirits and service shine in Green Oaks

Trendy tap rooms and distilleries are popping up all over the suburbs, serving craft beer and spirits in intimate spaces.

The North Shore Distillery in Green Oaks is not one of the new distilleries: It's had a successful business in the back of a local industrial park for almost 12 years, and was the first craft distillery in Illinois.

Last summer, husband-and-wife owners Derek and Sonja Kassebaum moved their business to a much larger and more visible spot down the street, near the Route 176 exit of I-94, with a tasting room that's 10 times the size of its old one.

While the new setting might not be perfect, the friendly, knowledgeable service and the quality cocktails endure. So does “Ethel,” the custom-made still used to make their spirits.

<b>Motif: </b>The new 11,000-square-foot distilling area and tasting room occupies an old luxury custom kitchen and cabinetry showroom, so each little pocket of space is lined with different styles of cabinets. While it's a big improvement over the old 14-seat tasting room, the vibe at the new location - next to a Harley Davidson dealership and near Lambs Farm - feels a bit off. Maybe it's because of the tasting room's bright lighting.

“We're still working on the space,” Sonja Kassebaum said.

The tasting room includes a lively kitchen bar, and a small living room with comfy chairs and a fireplace (that's the best spot, if you can snag it). We reserved a table for our party of six, and were seated in a private room away from everything with a long table that had twice the seating we needed and, yep, more cabinets. On the plus side, it was quiet, so we could talk.

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  North Shore Distillery in Green Oaks hosted a Friday Boozy Snow Cone Night with Melissa Yen getting a laugh out of David and Cheryl Heisler of Glencoe. Mark Welsh/mwelsh@dailyherald.com

Crowd:</b> Young adults, middle-aged couples and even a few seniors all happily co-mingle here. The customers, like the staff, are very friendly and there's a festive vibe. During our visit on a night celebrating the Swedish Midsommar, several customers made flower crowns and joined in on a maypole dance. North Shore regularly has special events, including a Boozy Snow Cone Night earlier this month.

<b>Food: </b>The menu consists of only a few appetizers, but everything we sampled was delicious and paired perfectly with our drinks. For the charcuterie and cheese plate, we picked our own meats (dry salami, soppressata, prosciutto) and cheeses (cave aged cheddar, chipotle, Brie, mahon), which ranged from $4 to $6 each. The cost added up quickly, but they were high quality meats and cheeses. Same with the dark chocolate-covered salted caramels (three bite-sized pieces for $5). The restaurant was out of mixed nuts during our Saturday night visit.

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  Co-owner and self-described "chief cocktail nerd" Sonja Kassebaum checks out the latest batch in the backroom at the North Shore Distillery in Green Oaks. Mark Welsh/mwelsh@dailyherald.com

Liquid consumption: </b>There's a large menu of homemade spirits, plus a long and ever-changing list of specialty drinks. So start with the $5, three-spirit tasting menu. Not only is it a good value, it'll help you decide what you like best before ordering a cocktail or a full glass. The one-third ounce pours can be served chilled, on ice, neat or with mix-ins. The bartender happily mixed fruit juice into my taste version of the Sol Chamomile Citrus Vodka, making it into a delicious summer drink. The creamy and smooth Tahitian Vanilla Vodka came with a mini ice cube in the glass. Other standout drinks we tried included a refreshing gin gimlet; a strong, smooth and unique tasting Aquavit - Private Reserve, served perfectly cold; and a sweet nonalcoholic drink, Shirley's Sister, made with nonalcoholic ginger beer, fresh lime juice and real grenadine.

While the rums and whiskeys were solid, we preferred North Shore's clear spirits - vodka, gin, aquavit - which had more distinctive flavors.

  Rum is among the offerings at North Shore Distillery in Green Oaks. Mark Welsh/mwelsh@dailyherald.com

In the small gift shop, we picked up a bottle of gluten-free Bloody Mary mix to use at a family brunch the next morning.

For those interested in how the distillery makes its spirits, North Shore offers tours. There's a 60-to-75 minute tour, for $10 per person, that includes some tastings. You'll get to see “Ethel,” a small, custom-made still that produces 60-gallon batches of spirits. Once a month, North Shore runs a three-hour Geek Out Tour, led by the master distiller. It's $25 per person.

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  Co-owner and self-described "chief cocktail nerd" Sonja Kassebaum checks out the latest batch in the backroom at the North Shore Distillery in Green Oaks. Mark Welsh/mwelsh@dailyherald.com

Service:</b>A-plus. Not only did employees know the drink menu inside and out, they were good-humored, attentive and made great recommendations.

<b>Overall: </b>While the ambience misses the mark, North Shore Distillery is worth the trip for quality spirits and appetizers served by a friendly and knowledgeable staff.

North Shore Distillery

13990 Rockland Road, Green Oaks, (847) 574-2499,

northshoredistillery.com

Bar hours: 4 to 9 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 4 to 10 p.m. Friday, 1 to 10 p.m. Saturday, 1 to 7 p.m. Sunday

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