Discourse To Debut New Cocktail Bar in January
Equal Parts' menu will offer each cocktail in alcoholic and non-alcoholic formats.
A lineup of classic cocktails from Equal Parts. Photo courtesy of Equal Parts.
After just over a year of operating its downtown cafe, Discourse will usher in 2024 with a brand-new concept. On Friday, Jan. 5, the coffee shop, 1020 N. Broadway, will begin moonlighting as Equal Parts, a cocktail bar offering both traditional and non-alcoholic versions of each beverage on its menu. By day, the coffee shop will continue as usual.
The concept is the result of more than a year of intensive study, exploration and experimentation. “Every component has been meticulously considered,” said operating partner Kat Doughty, whose career includes work at Morel and Shanghai. “We’re simply a group of drink makers obsessed with what liquid has been and what it can be.”
The opening menu, A Journey Through Time, will feature more than a dozen cocktails including classics like the Aviation, Margarita, Negroni and Espresso Martini, along with experimental offerings such as Jurassic, a mezcal old fashioned cocktail scented with geosmin (a chemical compound responsible for that post-rain smell) and The New Frontier, featuring brown butter-washed whiskey and house-spiced apple cider served hot with a flaming cinnamon stick.
Another experimental cocktail, the Interstellar, is especially intriguing, having borrowed its flavor notes from the supposed taste and smell of the Milky Way. A 2009 discovery revealed that the center of the universe contains plentiful ethyl formate, a chemical that tastes like raspberries and smells like rum. Equal Parts turned that concept into liquor form, producing a cocktail with rum, sweet white wine, pandan-infused red tea, raspberry and acidified pineapple.
Cocktails will be served with identical presentation whether they contain alcohol or not. The Discourse team says it has also gone to great lengths to ensure that both versions are equally flavorful, working magic with non-alcoholic spirits, botanicals, bitters and other inventive ingredients.
“Our mission at Equal Parts is to create a social movement of conscious drinking empowered by choice: with all of the sophistication, comfort and charm of a world-class cocktail bar,” said Robert Colletta, partner and director of photography for Equal Parts.
Aside from cocktails, Equal Parts will serve a variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beers and wines, as well as a selection of house made sodas.
“I’m a huge believer in accessible luxury,” said Ryan Castelaz, service director for Equal Parts and co-founder of Discourse. “There’s no room for pretension in our space, but we’re always going to ask you if you’re done enjoying before we swipe your glass and your water will never be empty. Our entire focus is on the creation of truly magical moments, equal parts whimsy and wonder. Come as you are, and we’ll do the rest.”
Discourse will also change its decor to reflect the shift from day to night, transforming from a cozy cafe space into a dimly lit and opulent oasis. The cafe is located just below street level and attached to the Direct Supply Information and Technology Center.
The Equal Parts team, which also includes bartender and forager Alanna Szezech, brings more than two decades of combined experience to the new venture.
Starting Jan. 5, Equal Parts will be open Friday through Sunday from 6 p.m. until late, according to a news release. The bar will not offer standing service or accept reservations.
Another concept from Discourse is in the works less than a mile south of the downtown cafe. The team will operate a coffee shop inside Radio Milwaukee, 220 E. Pittsburgh Ave. A build-out is in progress. The cafe is slated to open in early 2024.
Discourse previously operated The Counter, a dedicated non-alcoholic cocktail bar at Crossroads Collective.
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