Much-lauded cocktail bar GreenRiver is hard enough to find in and of itself. Its new sister spot, Annex (259 E. Erie St., Streeterville, 312-337-0101), is even trickier. Once you get to the spot's reception area on the 18th floor of a Northwestern medical center building, you have to walk in the opposite direction of the bar itself, to a dark, unmarked door. When you finally find your way in, you'll discover an intimate haunt for lingering over cocktails.

Fair warning: It's pretty dark in here, so dark that it's almost impressive that the staff (including head bartender Julia Momose) can even find the ingredients to make the menu's twelve drinks. Each focuses on a particular spice, such as the green peppercorn-infused Honey Cartel. If you can find your way to it, it's one of the more interesting beverage selections in town.

Here's what all we saw when we stopped in.