Classics are classics for a reason. But at Gus’ Sip & Dip, the new River North cocktail bar from beverage director Kevin Beary and bar manager Scott Kitsmiller, classic cocktails are rethought with such a laser focus that they can make you think about a drink you’ve imbibed for years in a whole new way. Take the gin gimlet. Typically made with equal parts Rose’s lime juice and gin, here it’s made with gin, housemade lime cordial, and a drop of absinthe that fully opens the drink up. “The gin gimlet is a staff favorite,” Kitsmiller says.

The menu at Gus’, located at 51 West Hubbard Street, offers 30 cocktails, and while you’ll find well-known drinks like White Russians and Cosmopolitans, other classics will be new to many, like a Cameron’s Kick. But what they all have in common: Each is perfectly dialed in. For instance, the dirty martini is made with a brine of gordal olives blended with salt solution and distilled vinegar. It’s topped with shaved ice for that “chippy ice feeling you get from a well-shaken martini,” Beary says. The grasshopper is also a must-try. “It’s a drink the Midwest does so well, and we wanted to elevate it,” Kitsmiller says. Here the team adds green Chartreuse and finishes the cocktail by shaving an Andes mint over the top. “We wanted it to be one of those drinks where people ask, ‘Have you had the grasshopper at Gus’?’ ”

There’s much for cocktail geeks to explore, but the most talked about part of Gus’ is the price, a very affordable $12 per drink. Beary (who is also the beverage director at Three Dots and a Dash) and Kitsmiller (another Three Dots veteran) reimagined the menu at R.J. Grunts in 2023, creating a list of cheap classics, which are just $5 during happy hour. That experience laid the groundwork for Gus’. As Beary says, “We realized that the demand was going to be there.”

And the demand definitely is there. On a recent Friday night, the wait for seats was two and a half hours — not exactly the plan. “We were hoping it would be accessible at all times,” Beary says. To avoid the line, arrive when it opens at 4 p.m. (bonus: the $6 daily cocktail from 4 to 5 p.m.) or visit later on a weeknight.

That wait speaks to a craving for two things mostly lacking in today’s cocktail landscape: affordable drinks and an emphasis on classics. “We’re seeing it really resonate with a younger crowd, but we’re also seeing an older crowd absolutely championing this,” Beary says. To achieve that $12 price point, the team uses just 38 types of booze, which allows for bulk purchasing, while making juices and syrups in-house.

You’ll find lots of folks dining early at Gus’. No surprise: Although the food items are pricier, the menu is robust. Among the standouts: a shrimp cocktail ($23), served with crudités, spicy cocktail sauce, and Louis dressing, and a savory smoked ham dip ($23), a brown-sugar-glazed pork roast sandwich on Spanish pan de cristal bread with mustard jus for dunking. While the cocktails are the star, having good eats was also important to the team, since Gus’ is a neighborhood bar at heart. Says Beary: “Serving food consistently and late are things that good bars do.”