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Sonja Kassebaum is a self-described "cocktail nerd" and one of several Chicago women on a mission to save the Grasshopper.

Beginning with the hit movie "Swingers" and the swing dance craze of the mid-'90s, classic cocktail culture has experienced a renaissance over the past decade, and such drinks are being celebrated for being works of art as much as they are libations.

Kassebaum is the founder of the Chicago chapter of Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails (LUPEC).

The group formed in Pittsburgh in 2001 to "breed, raise and release cocktails that are endangered or even believed to be extinct." Since then, LUPEC chapters have formed in eight other cities across the country. Chicago's chapter is the newest.

Kassebaum, co-owner with her husband of the North Shore Distillery in Lake Bluff, came across the LUPEC Web site while researching cocktails online.

She contacted the Pittsburgh chapter for permission to start a Chicago chapter and also got in touch with members of LUPEC's Boston chapter, which is very active in that city setting up fundraisers for women's charities.

Once Kassebaum received LUPEC's blessing, she starting gathering the ladies.

Her first call: Bridget Albert, mixologist at Southern Wine and Spirits of Illinois, a student of modern mixologist Tony Abou-Ganim and the author of Market Fresh Mixology: Cocktails for Every Season (Agate Publishing, $17.95).

"I was familiar with LUPEC from some of the ladies from the Boston chapter," says Albert, whose mother and grandmother also were skilled bartenders. "I liked that these were ladies banding together making cocktails. I also loved the educational aspect of the group in their researching of classic and near-forgotten cocktails."

The women convened their first meeting in April. Among LUPEC Chicago's nine members are a banker and a vice president at Vienna Beef.

Each member hosts a monthly meeting. That host plans the cocktail discussion, researches drinks to be highlighted, occasionally plans a menu of foods significant to the era of the featured cocktail and even brings in guest speakers.

A November meeting focused on cocktails with guest speaker James Teitelbaum, author of Tiki Road Trip. The meeting also marked the first time a man attended a LUPEC Chicago meeting.

"Although LUPEC is a group for women to bond over cocktails, men are never discouraged from attending," Kassebaum says.

Another thing that LUPEC doesn't frown upon is showcasing sticky sweet, frou-frou cocktails or adding personal twists to classic recipes.

"Although I wouldn't personally make those cocktails, I certainly feel there's a time and place for them," Kassebaum says.

Adds Albert: "I think there's room for taking some of the recipes we find and adding seasonal ingredients."

Both Kassebaum and Albert spend much of their time conducting tastings, seminars and developing cocktail menus for restaurants and lounges throughout the Chicago area. As word has spread about LUPEC, each has begun to field questions from inquisitive female bartenders, waitresses and women just looking for something beyond an appletini.

Kassebaum and Albert are keen to using LUPEC as a forum to support local women's charities and other community activism. Proceeds from a Repeal Day event in December at the Clark Street Ale House and the Drawing Room went to Greenhouse Shelter, which provides advocacy, legal assistance and counseling to women trying to get out of abusive relationships.

Kassebaum and Albert also see LUPEC as a bridge to learning new skills for future jobs. "LUPEC Chicago is so new that we still spend a lot of time educating each other," Albert said.

Chuck Sudo is a Chicago free-lance writer.

For more information about the Chicago chapter of Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails, go to www.lu pecchicago.blogspot.com.