Steppin' Out.

At The Libertine, Mondays Just Got Fancy.

Monday is the worst day of the week. It has a bad reputation, and rightfully so. No one likes Monday. Even those kittens that dangle from tree branches and tell you to hang in there hate Monday.

But head bartender Mate Hartai over at The Libertine has found a way to fix that.

From now on, Monday night at The Libertine is Fancy Monday.

It started like this: One week, the staff at Libertine decided that, in order to combat the beginning of the week blues, they would all dress really nice. It was a pretty big hit, so they decided to turn it into a special thing every week.

They even added drink specials, too — but only for those who, like the staff, dress up all fancy-like.

The event is just in its second week, but it's already turning into a really fun little night. Last night, quite a few people dusted off their fancy clothes and came in. One guy even showed up in a tuxedo.

There was a special drink not on the board called the Coburn that a few of us got to try. Hartai infused Rittenhouse 100 Rye with morel mushrooms, then combined that with Amaro, Cynar and Sweet Vermouth. It goes into a glass that is flashed with a mix of orange oil and bitters. Flashing a glass just means hitting it with a burst of flame to impart some flavor. The glass is then dressed with a porcini smoked sea salt rim. It sounds completely crazy, but it's earthy, smoky, and has this perfect balance of sweet to round it out.

That's why people keep coming back to the Libertine, right? They make really good drinks.

And, now on Monday nights, if you come in wearing your finest, you get two dollars off that week's special drink — or two dollars off the Aviation, Sidecar or Americano.

Basically, Fancy Monday is one of our new favorite things.

Turning a total bummer of a day into an excuse to look really good and drink really nice cocktails? That's just awesome.