The Chicago Style Cocktail Conference is not your average booze-fest. The three women founders behind this new cocktail conference coming to Chicago in May, are making it a point to address some much needed issues in the cocktail community - such as diversity, sexism and inclusion. They will even touch on substance abuse and sustainability in their featured panels. For this week's episode, I spoke with Shelby Allison, owner of celebrated Chicago tiki bar Lost Lake, and one of the founders of Chicago Style about why this kind of forward thinking conference is filling a much needed void in the industry.

Shelby also shared with us her go-to cocktail of the moment, a simple creation from NYC bar Attaboy, The Florentine.

This week's recipe:

The Florentine
1 oz Cynar (Italian bitter liqueur)
1 oz Cocchi Americano (aperitif wine)
1 oz Dolin Dry Vermouth
optional garnish: Orange Twist 

Add all ingredients to a mixing glass and fill with ice. Stir until well chilled, and then strain into a cocktail glass. Express the oils of the orange peel over the glass and garnish.