Sweet victory

By Megan Ferringer

Whether it was boozing after choosing or chowing down on Obama cupcakes as polling results were called, celebrating the election on Nov. 4 wasn’t just limited to the party in Grant Park.

Bars, restaurants and coffee shops all over Chicago were celebrating history in the making with their own style by offering up unique drink concoctions and other goodies for the city’s riled-up crowd.

The entire city was caught up in the Obamarama, from the bars across South Michigan Avenue to the North and West sides, Chicagoans celebrated accordingly. Moonshine, 1824 W. Division St., gave Wicker Park patrons the chance drink to their favorite presidential candidates by creating drinks strategically named for the big event.

And moving from Obama-martinis, other restaurants, like More Cupcakes, 1 E. Delaware Place, were giving Chicagoans the chance to satisfy their sweet tooth by baking up patriotic cupcakes.

Chris Stoley, co-founder of Moonshine, said the night of Nov. 4 was filled with Obama bombs, Palin shots and a raucous crowd that watched the election from the bar’s several big screens placed throughout the lounge.

The Obama bombs consisted of orange-flavored vodka and an energy drink, which had the slogan of, “Get energized for Obama,” Stoley said. On the other side of the spectrum were Palin shots-“Wild Turkey American Honey”-designed to start out sweet but end with a “ruthless finish.” Joe Biden shots were also offered and consisted of Bourbon, sugar and a drop of grenadine.

Chris Barnes, 23, attended Moonshine’s Election Night Bash and said there was no better way to show off a love for the United States than by getting drunk from Obama-inspired alcohol. He also seemed to appreciate the fact that $3 shots were offered to help everyone out in an economy that’s “gone to hell.”

To balance out the alcohol selection, the bar also created McCain shots with an ironic twist.

“Basically the McCain shot is filled with all of the random leftover crap that our bar has accumulated over the last four years,” Stoley said.

Because Moonshine is also a microbrewery, Stoley said they brewed a special beer just for Obama. Stoley said the new beer is a Harvest Ale that has been called “Change” in light of Obama’s “change” adage. Moonshine also offered an “All-American” hot dog bar that was free for customers who brought in voter receipts.

“We had a great turnout here. Moonshine was definitely Obama all the way,” Stoley said. “We had to root for the home team.”

Whiskey Blue, 172 W. Adams St., brought their own flavor to the election parties by offering $4 drink specials including the Ciroc Obama, Democra-Sea Breeze and the Absinthee Voter. The Fifty/50, 2047 W. Division St., held back on the clever politically named drinks, instead offering people free beers if they presented a voting receipt.

Moving from the pungent to savory, More Cupcakes offered up batches of U.S.-inspired cupcakes for election parties. Lining the store’s back wall were a dozen red velvet cupcakes that were topped with a cream-cheese icing to give off a patriotic red, white and blue eating experience.

Grant Nelton, an employee of More, said they didn’t want to make cupcakes for both candidates because they figured only the Obama ones would sell, and the McCain cupcakes would be thrown to waste. Regardless, Nelton said that the store had several people call in to order cupcakes for their election parties.

“We were hoping that our wall of red, white and blue cupcakes would encourage our Chicago customers to vote and represent Obama,” Nelton said.