Greenleaf Avenue, just steps away from the Rogers Park Metra was the scene. A collection of four neighboring businesses held an open house Spring celebration that included copious amounts of beer and whisky. Electric Jungle was ground zero for the beer. Handsome Bastard Barber Shoppe took care of whisky. Across the street at State Farm was a wine station including a bottle of 1985 Bordeaux. and a pair of Austrian Rosès.

Handsome Bastard Barber Shoppe 1766 W. Greenleaf, Chicago, IL 60626

Illuminated Beer Works can be a bit intimidating on the store shelf with titles Jr. Astronaut Juice and Lucifer’s Offerings. We last saw this frequent Electric Jungle collaborator at the November beard competition / bottle share. This time around for a little balance Evanston’s Temperance had their mainline offerings (Smittytown, Gatecrasher, Escapist) in the lounge. Gatecrasher of course is their classic English style IPA that has landed the Evanston brewery two Great American Beer Fest medals in the last five years.

Peachy O, the white stout with peaches and cinnamon was the highlight of Illuninated’s eclectic bottle collection. Its also the base for Café Peachy. A not to be missed variant using a pair of blends from Chicago based Abacus coffee. Vietnamese Casia + Washed Kochere Ethiopian Coffee.

Rogers Park Provisions curated the Handsome Bastard’s booze selection.

The only one we remember is Infuse Spirit’s Cask Condition Broken Barrel Whiskey. The bold, decadent single barrel whiskey is 166 proof aged and aged using broken oak staves.

The sleeper surprise offering from the 3 locations was Babitos Bites. The catering service blessed each venue with a righteous cheesy mac w pulled turkey confit.

Shouts out to Babito’s for the solid catering options.

We all talked about the strange non –descript bar next-door Electric Jungle. At 6pm on a Saturday it was closed, in fact we thought it was vacant. Maybe it was just wishful thinking because we all really want in on the synergy happening on The Greenleaf. Neighbors making it a point to celebrate on what is quickly becoming one of the coolest blocks west of Clark in Rogers Park.

Skipped across the street for the wine tasting

Electric Jungle (1768 W. Greenleaf)
Handsome Bastard Barber Shoppe (1766 W. Greenleaf)
Nick Koseik State Farm (1771 W. Greenleaf)

When you have a record shop (Electric Jungle) next door to a barbershop (Handsome Bastard) apparently the thing you do is host a bottleshare /beard competition the day after FOBAB. Strangely it’s the perfect antidote to end Chicago’s most revered festival week.

Electric Jungle 1768 W. Greenleaf, Chicago, IL

Electric Jungle’s décor is true to its name, lush greenery over most corners of the main floor and a fuzzy stage complete with a vintage Palmetto Rockola 450 jukebox. The vinyl collection is effortlessly displayed in a collection of repurposed rolling garment carts typically found at laundry mats. It’s a brilliant move that makes inventory more accessible…and of course carts can shift to make space to host events like this one.

Moveable carts to move inventory around.

Illuminated Brew Works heard about the hang and sent a pair of mixed culture ales and more to share. Pareidolia, was a buckwheat farmhouse aged on Asian pears with Amchur used to accentuate the fruit. It was aged for a year in third use Virtue Cider barrels that previously held whiskey. The Fulton Market brewers known for their notorious invite only bonfires mentioned they might be looking to move up to Norwood Park of the northwest side of the city.

Illuminated Brew Works tasty donations to the party

A local comedian hosted handsome Bastard’s Beard Competition. All contestants received a balm and oil from their Whiskey & Wax grooming collection.

Whiskey and Wax can be be found at 1766 W. Greenleaf, Chicago, IL

Judges were granted permission to touch beards in most cases. The local chapter of the Bearded Villains, Chalonda White (Afro Beer Chick) and 49th Ward Aldermanic Candidate Maria Haddon. Open since June, Electric Jungle is the newest concept from the crew that ran Logan Hardware Records. Conveniently located across the street from Rogers Park Metra, the urban vinyl garden located on Greenleaf Avenue is the type of concept we wish we had come up with. A listening station sits in front of the wall with boxes full of Chicago House and Stax Records.

Rogers Park, tucked away on the deep north side has a resident base made up of every walk of life. It’s one of those city neighborhoods that really feels like its own small town. Most of us live a mile from the lake and enjoy connecting with people who cant wait to share where their favorite spaces are in this corner of the earth. The bottle share yielded everything from coffee liqueur to treats from New Glarus.