Cocktail Bar Opens in Partnership With Sticky Rice

A new bar on the Lower East Side serves creative cocktails with an emphasis on house-made ingredients.

Located just off of Brady Street, SlyFox Cocktail Bar quietly opened at the end of July in the same building as the recently-opened Sticky Rice location. The building, 1692 N. Van Buren St. was previously occupied by The Truck Stop.

Andrew Logman, managing partner of SlyFox told Urban Milwaukee in an interview that his goal is simple: provide good cocktails, good service and a comfortable atmosphere.

When both businesses are open, guests can bring their food to the SlyFox space, which seats about 25, or enjoy a drink in the Sticky Rice dining room, Logman explained as he whisked away a curtain to reveal French doors connecting the two businesses.

Logman, who holds degrees in history and anthropology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, got his industry start at City Bar in Madison. Back in Milwaukee, he helped open Ale Asylum Riverhouse and worked on the cocktail program at Brunch. He is also a veteran of Enlightened Brewing Company, Pabst Brewing Company and the now-closed 1983 Arcade Bar.

Logman teamed up with two of his former coworkers to launch SlyFox. The trio have a combined 30 years of experience, so “everybody’s pretty well-versed,” Logman said. “Everybody’s interested in creating cocktails and we’re just bouncing ideas off each other and learning, so it’s fun.”

He also strives to make many of the drink components in-house, such as the pistachio orgeat featured in the bar’s namesake drink, the Sly Tai. Served in a fox-shaped ceramic mug, the drink includes white rum, orange liqueur, lime juice, pistachio orgeat, dark rum float and a mint garnish.

The orgeat makes another appearance in the non-alcoholic Pistachio Limeade, one of two mocktail options on the menu.

Creating non-alcoholic drinks was an interesting challenge, said Logman, explaining that he wants non-drinkers to be able to participate in “the cocktail experience.”

SlyFox also has its own carbonation rig for seltzers and a nitrogen infuser, which Logman hoisted onto the counter to show how he makes the Nitro Bulldog, which includes vodka, coffee liqueur, Mexican Coke syrup and heavy cream. He explained that the nitrogen infusion creates tiny bubbles, giving the drink a creamy mouthfeel and a more developed flavor.

Aside from cocktails, the bar has a variety of bottled and canned beers including non-alcoholic options, plus ciders, seltzers and wine.

The current menu was just for the launch, said Logman. As the bar settles in, he plans to expand the menu and add a rotating weekly cocktail special.

The bar is open Wednesday through Thursday from 4 p.m. until 12 a.m. and Friday through Saturday from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m.

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