The act of shooting an oyster and downing a shot are superficially similar—both often end with an overturned vessel on the bar. But where the latter can be sipped or lingered over, if desired, eating an oyster is inevitably a fleeting affair.

At Chicago’s Sink|Swim, the seafood-centric restaurant from Scofflaw Group, however, the short-lived ritual is drawn out by creating a portmanteau of the two. Before depositing the spent shell, guests are offered a pour of grappa or Old Tom gin, to be sipped directly from the shell.