The Drawing Room at the Art Club opened in the fall.

1. Birch Road Cellar

The two locations of this members only club, in Lincoln Park and Roscoe Village, offer oases for sharing your best stuff with your best friends—its all BYO, with storage onsite. $89 a month per individual, $119 per couple

2. Bordel

The brainchild of impresario Daniel Alonso (Disco is just his latest hit), this swanky speakeasy mixes Chicago Prohibition with Parisian glamour (and adds some vaudeville for good measure).

3. The Drawing Room

Perhaps the most elegant and modernist of the new places to cocktail, this gem inside the Arts Club is open only to members. Join up, if only for the Hogsalt cocktail program.

4. The Drifter

An ever-changing cocktail menu (and an ever-changing roster of quirky entertainment) keeps the cool crowd coming back to this boite beneath the legendary Green Door Tavern.

5. The Office

This place, an invitation-only spinoff of the brilliant Aviary (itself sort of the cocktail version of Grant Atchatz’ Next) still offers a behind-locked-door thrill and excellent drinks. Private parties can book at theaviary.tocktix.com