Mike Miller may be the owner of Chicago bar Delilah’s, “but my business card says ‘whiskey enthusiast,’ ” he says.
When the Lincoln Park institution opened in 1993, it carried 150 whiskeys. Today, more than 1,000 bottlings line the shelves, including plenty of rare limited editions and custom bottles created exclusively for the bar.
“We’ve been here for 30 years,” says Miller. “When I started this journey, there was no such thing as a whiskey bar, no internet…We were the first place to identify whiskeys in a more analytical way.”
But don’t confuse “analytical” with “stuffy.” Someone not familiar with the expansive collection of bottles on the shelves might easily mistake Delilah’s for a sports bar, or a casual dive better known for pinball and games of pool. That’s just fine with Miller.
“We’re a dark rock ‘n’ roll bar,” he says. “We just happen to have a lot of whiskeys.”
That’s a modest assessment for a bar that’s regularly named as one of the best and most important bars for whiskey in the United States. The accolades started early: in 1995, the Louisville Courier-Journal raised hackles in the whiskey community by naming Delilah’s the best whiskey bar in the country. Just imagine a reporter in the heart of bourbon country anointing a Chicago bar as the best. It surely helped put Delilah’s on the radar for whiskey lovers, and just two years after the bar opened its doors.
While it’s possible to just walk in and enjoy a pour, Delilah’s also offers classes and tastings, including opportunities to meet the distillers who put the bar on their whistle-stop tours.
“It’s like booze school every day,” says Miller.
Courtesy Delilah's
In addition to that world-class whiskey selection on the main floor, Delilah’s also has a strong beer list with 300-plus offerings, and a couple hundred agave spirits, the latter located on the bar’s second floor.
Part of the allure of Delilah’s is that it’s about more than just whiskey. Miller describes it as “a punk-rock bar.” But the dark, friendly, quirky space also extends to a rotating art gallery on the walls, and old movies on the TV screens—that is, unless there’s a Buffalo Bills game on, in which case football trumps all, as Miller is an avid Bills fan.
“The drinks part is what you do while you spend time here during Bowie night,” says Miller. “That said, people come here to try whiskeys, then they might get involved in the music.”
Just don’t ask for the cocktail list, because there isn’t one. While highballs or beer-and-a-shot combos are always available, this is the place to order a straight pour.
So what’s the best seller at one of the biggest whiskey bars in the country? Maker’s Mark bourbon. “We have a bottle counter on the wall,” says Miller. “Every 5,000 bottles, [CEO] Bill Samuels from Maker’s Mark comes up to celebrate. Last time they brought a red wax machine.” The Maker’s counter at Delilah’s stands at 17,989 bottles consumed, at the time of writing. By the time you read this, it may be close to breaking the 18,000 mark.
While he readily acknowledges that the quirky atmosphere “is not for everyone,” the bar has a steady group of regulars, including some who have been coming almost since it opened. So what’s the secret to three decades of whiskey-soaked success?
“My focus is to entertain people,” says Miller. “It’s a party every day. Rare spirits keep it fun.”
