The dreaded P word ‘prohibition’, sunk the cocktail age into the dark age. Evanston city, near Boston, was the home of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union which relentlessly campaigned to abolish alcohol. Evanston was founded dry and continue to be dry even after prohibition until the early 1970s, and FEW Spirits is the first distillery for the city. Frances Elizabeth Willard, no coincidence that her initials are FEW, was a key figure in the Woman’s Union for women’s suffrage, and prohibition of alcohol. Paul Hletko, the founder of FEW spirits said he chose the name respectfully, and wanted to create a wordplay with the name. “How many kinds of spirits do you make?” “We only make a few.” “Want a drink?” ” Why not have a few?”. It is bottled before it meets the barrel, this white whiskey retains an unadulterated flavour with a crisp, clean bite. Whiskey that doesn’t mature in barrel is usually called ‘grain alcohol’. The flavour profile is a soft, grainy whiskey with a fruity and smooth character. Their square bottle is a nice design, and it is easy to handle behind the bar. As a bartender, using white whiskey will give me more possibilities when it comes to cocktail appearance. FEW Spirits produces bourbon, gin, rye whisky, and white whisky. All spirits are produced grain to glass on site and are mashed, fermented and distilled at the distillery. FEW white whiskey won gold at the International Whisky Competition in 2012. It makes for a fantastic sipping whiskey, neat or on the rocks, and shines in cocktails. Changing tradition can be good. The white whiskey is available at selective Signature BC liquor stores. SKU # 781500, retail for $59.99. Try their Blood & Honor cocktail, a twist on the classic Manhattan.
Cheers!
