This Trendy Chicago Bar Raised $400,000 On Kickstarter To Fund A Cookbook

The Aviary is one of the hippest bars in America, and now you don't have to schlep to Chicago to mix drinks like the experts. The team at The Aviary is crowdfunding their first cookbook. Chef Grant Achatz and business partner Nick Kokonas (Alinea, Next), announced their venture on Twitter, and in a post on Medium explained why they've chosen to go the independent route. (Long story short: It will be much more lucrative to avoid the red tape associated with publishing houses.)

"Cocktail books usually fall into a very narrow category in terms of style and design: 'The Gentleman's Guide to Cocktails.' The small, black book. Few pictures, if any. Kitschy illustrations, and recipes that are portioned for a single drink," the Kickstarter page says. "For any book, publishers seek to ensure profit and minimize risk. ... Further, the bulk of profit generated for a book goes to the publisher; restaurant cookbooks generally only see good publicity for the most part."

Already the Kickstarter campaign for the cocktail book — which is set to be released July 2018 — has raised $423, 627. Their original goal was $50,000, just one-tenth of the fiscal attention the project is already getting. The finished product promises 100 cocktail recipes set against sleek black-and-white backgrounds with eye-popping photos, as well as tips, techniques, and the stories behind the carefully crafted drinks.

The Aviary is just one of these 8 Cutting Edge Cocktail Bars that we've rounded up.