I experienced nothing but super friendly bar staff. Some of them are more knowledgable than others but it's obvious that this place just opened so hopefully with time, they'll get it sorted out. This place also has a really great selection of whiskey. Some of it distilled in Illinois! I'm no connoisseur but I don't think you can get some of this whiskey at any other bar in town.
So, where this place starts to unravel in a big way for me is the concept. The beer selection is good but not all that impressive. I only saw one beer on tap that I couldn't remember drinking before and my boyfriend and I had a lengthy discussion where he remembers us tasting it so maybe I had. There's better selection at the grocery store down the street from my house. For a place that supposedly prides itself on "midwestern craft beer", I felt like a deflated balloon when I finally saw the draft list that lists lots of bigger name craft beer with much of it from outside the midwest.
The cocktails are kind of rebranded versions of things I've had at other places in town. They're just not unique. I had the winter mule which was good, a little on the sweet side and kind of just tasted like your average wells drink from a dive bar. Also, the decor in my opinion is a little tired. Lots of "reclaimed" wood and I mean LOTS like floor to ceiling lots! It reminds you of a lot of other craft beer + whiskey bars in town. Even the antique pig sculpture behind the counter seems like a blatant rip-off of another bar thats been doing this concept for way longer. I say come here when that bar gets crowded beyond what you can stand but I'm not sure I'd make a trip just to check this place out. With craft beer and whiskey at the height of popularity right now, they're just not doing enough to really set themselves apart from the rest. They're kind of getting there with the whiskey selection but more could be done to really flesh out the whole concept.