River North Prohibition Cocktail Tour in Chicago

WONDERFUL! It was such a fun afternoon! The tour was a perfect blend of fun and information. Our tour guide was great ! As native Chicagoans, and one a history teacher we anticipated a good time but not learning what we did. This is a great fit for locals and visitors alike. I can't wait until we have visitors to go again!

Very informative and interesting tour. The guide was highly knowledgeable, and very personable!

Jonathan was a phenomenal tour guide on an incredibly fascinating historic tour! He is very knowledgeable clearly passionate about prohibition era facts and dispelling romanticized Hollywood myths about the era. From start to finish, the tour is fascinating and fun, with opportunities to see a number of bars off the beaten path with historical significance. The tour starts (or at least started for us) at Butch Maguire's. When we first walked in, Jonathan said we would be there for about 45 minutes, which made several of us nervous at first because we were anticipating seeing more "hidden speakeasy" type places (i.e. glamorized Hollywood nonsense). But rest assured, Butch Maguire's has some very important history, and the first 45 minutes is for setting the scene about prohibition prior to the trip to other bars. So don't worry, you will be able to see Butch's through new eyes if you've already been there before Overall a truly great experience, I definitely recommend!

Jonathan was great; so much knowledge and great energy. We met a lot of great people and found some cool spots along the way.

And Jonathan was exceptionally knowledgeable about prohibition history and the history of prohibition in Chicago, specifically. We learned a lot, and saw some extremely interesting bars.

Elizabeth was great! Knowledgeable and fun, tying together prohibition, drinking and gangsters (inevitable given the timeframe) into a great story of Chicago through the era. Would definitely do again!

Fun & informative

Elizabeth was a fun tour guide.

Fascinating tour of Chicago's history throughout prohibition. Our tour guide Sydney was very knowledgeable and personable, and the tour was informative and such a fun time!

Exciting, fun, and VERY educational!! Fantastic tour guides!!

My husband and I had a great time on this tour. We highly recommend our tour guide Sidney. We were amazed that we could laugh so much while learning so many interesting facts. All the bars had cool vibes and interesting drink selections. Definitely a great experience!

Very informative and super fun!

Sydney, the tour guide, is extremely knowledgeable mixed the perfect sense of humor. The bars/speakeasies we visited were great and had phenomenal drinks! Highly recommend!

Great history, lots of laughs, good drinks, interesting locations. We live in Chicago and we hadn't been to these places! A++

This tour was incredible - lots of history shared, and really cool stories. Sydney was our tour guide, and kept our attention the entire time. She was very knowledgeable, hilarious, and really knew how to keep the group's interests. Very personable, made sure everyone was happy.

Great tour! I thought the nature of the tour would cause it to be more directed at tourists, but the places and info are interesting to Chicago residents as well.

This tour was a fabulous mix of history and alcohol. I loved the history, my husband and I both loved the drinks. Elizabeth did a great job of combining humor with the facts to keep everyone entertained.

Absolutely fun and informational. Sydney was amazing, and the drinks were great!

The Prohibition tour is fantastic! Learning about the history of the bars, the bootleggers, and the gansters is so fascinating! Sidney the tour guide is amazing with her wealth of knowledge! She was so funny and made the trip amazing! The bars they chose to visit are unique, cool, and did a great job accommodating our large group. Highly recommend this tour, you will not be disappointed! The best weekend we’ve had in Chicago!

Came with my wife as a birthday celebration. We are both interested in Chicago history and fine cocktails, and both aspects were well covered. The Green Door was probably the best stop on the tour, since it has a true speakeasy that still operates. We will definitely bring friends there. My only regret was there was not time to include the Green Mill on the tour too (too far north). The tour guide was very personable and well versed, and the other tour-ists were friendly. A fun time all around.

Really enjoyed the experience -- very informative and fun. Our guide was fantastic. Would have been great to have drinks/samples included in the tour.

I am a Chicago resident and I was impressed with both the knowledge and forum selection for the tour. The Prohibition Tour is definitely a keeper.

The Prohibition Tour was really awesome. Our tour guide, Jonathan, was really knowledgeable.

It was interesting and informative, but our guide did a lot of unnecessary swearing.

Too expensive

Fun time! Interesting topic that was covered in depth. My only complaint was that the tour got a little disorganized at the more crowded bars, but it was still fine.

We had a great time learned a little about prohibition and we had a fun group!

tour leader very knowledgeable

I enjoyed the four visits and the historical knowledge provided by the guide was excellent. However, I must share my personal opinion about her use of "adult language." I have been an adult since long before Sydney was even a glimmer in her parents' eyes. I don't find it necessary to use vulgar language (the correct term for the language she used throughout) to make my point. Use of this style language has become all to common in today's society and is just further evidence of our loss of civility between human beings.

I felt the price for the experience was expensive. The price included the guide and a bus ride to 3 bars within a 3 mile radius. A ride back to where we started and where our car was parked was not provided. The guide was very knowledgeable about the history of the Prohibition, but I felt she did not do anything to get the group to get to know each other. Everyone just minded their own business and sat with the party they came with. I think it would have been more fun if she (Sydney) would have got the group talking to each other. She was young (just turned 21) so maybe she just needed more experience working with a group of people. I was amazed at her speaking ability. She really was a good speaker, but gave us a lot of information which was hard to process after a few drinks. The information was interesting but I got lost at times because of the vast amount. With a few changes, I think it would be a really fun experience.

While it was acknowledged that there may be profanity used throughout the tour, I truly did not feel it was necessary nor did enhance the experience in anyway. Also, the 21-year-old guide just didn't pull off the use of the profanity with much finesse, so why bother.