Q&A: Paul Hletko, F.E.W Spirits
- Mar 29, 2015
- 5 min read
So, how did it feel being the first distillery in Evanston, Illinois, to fire up the stills since prohibition? It must have been a lengthy process. Did you come up against any animosity?
I’m proud to run my own business in the community where I live – being a part of my town is important to me. It just so happens that where I live is the birthplace of Prohibition. To be sure, it is kind of fun to fire up a still for the first time and reverse a century and a half of history, but it feels even better to be part of where you live. Getting the approvals required a substantial volume of work, but we really haven’t met any animosity, and the community and city have been great and very welcoming.
And why set up another craft distillery? What did you feel was missing from the market?
Well, when we started, we weren’t really just 'another craft distillery' – there were only about 5 or 10 like us in the world. We have been around for a couple years, and when we started, there was almost nobody making spirits from scratch. Even today, most of the ‘craft distillery’ brands, aren’t – all the spirits are sourced and resold.
You have lengthy family history involved in the alcohol industry, with your Grandfather owning a major pilsner brewery, but what made you choose the spirit route? Why not continue brewing beer?
I chose to not make beer to avoid being in the shadow of history – I want to create something new, and rebuild a family legacy. I want the spirits to speak for themselves, and I want it to be positive. I couldn’t figure out if I wanted to make pilsner, or not make pilsner, and how to determine if I was making, or not making, for the ‘right’ reasons.
What was your main inspiration?
I’m always inspired by the opportunity to create. I greatly enjoy building and expressing my passion for art, family and spirits too.
How has the business grown since 2011? You currently sell your American Gin, Barrel Gin, Rye Whiskey, Bourbon a white whiskey but are you experimenting with any other products at the moment? Do you hope to grow your product line further or are you happy with the way things are now?
The business has grown over the last couple years, and our products are now available on 4 continents, across 20 states and 25 countries. Our product mix is always something we are reviewing to make sure we are making the products that we want, and in the quantities that we want. We don’t intend on adding too many new products in full production over the next couple years, but we are also always trying new things. We all work in the distillery for the opportunity to create, so we will often have limited edition spirits!
Have your spirits evolved at all since your first batch? If so, how have they progressed over the past 4 years?
We are always looking for ways to improve, and try to improve a little bit every day. Our recipes have remained constant, but there are always little variations and small tweaks. I think we are producing better spirits each and every day, but I also think we produced some of the best spirits in the world when we began.
You starting exporting your spirits to the UK in 2012. How did they take at first? Did you find it a difficult market to get in to, to compete in?
The UK has been a great place for us, and we love the UK. We saw some pretty quick success in London, and that just continues to grow. It is a challenging market, for sure, as the tax structure is quite punitive, and the costs of shipping in small-ish volumes are punitive as well, so our products tend to be on the pricier side. But we have also found that people are willing to pay a bit more to enjoy the spirits that we offer.
And with popularity comes more orders, but you maintain your ethos as a handcrafted distillery and are involved in every aspect of the process from grain to glass. But as the business and orders grow, how will you maintain this ‘craft’ label if you are needing to produce higher volumes of alcohol?
Well, we remain a tiny insignificant player. We are indeed producing more volume of alcohol these days, but it still takes us almost two weeks to produce what a larger bourbon distillery spills each day. The larger distilleries product our monthly output in a matter of minutes. So, I don’t think we are in any ‘danger’ of losing our small batch size.
We’d like to talk a little more about your American Gin, so talk us through it. What were you trying to achieve with this gin and what makes it so different?
The American Gin is a different take on gin, than the traditional London Dry. There’s lots of distilleries making some amazing London Dry gins, so we decided to try a different approach. We make the American Gin from a bourbon distillate, as what is more American than Bourbon? Baseball? Apple Pie? We then get a much sweeter gin than a dry, and we flavor the sweeter gin with juniper (of course) as well as citrus and vanilla, and a touch of cascade hops that we grow just outside the front door of the distillery. So, we are trying to achieve a new take on gin, perhaps a bit more akin to genever, and I think we succeeded!
We certainly love winning awards, and it is always rewarding to be recognized for producing great products, but it's really just a bonus. We are more concerned with people enjoying the spirits with family and friends, than concerned with winning competitions or the like. It's an honor, but not as important as people actually enjoying the liquid.
You use white whiskey as a base for your American Gin before infusing it with botanicals, which notably gives it a unique character, but what flavour profile were you trying to achieve for this gin?
We were really trying to have a great citrusy gin, with a good deal of texture and sweetness and have it all tie together.
Did you consider using a more neutral base?
We certainly considered using a more neutral base, but again, those products already exist.
What made you settle on your selection of botanicals?
We settled on the selection based on what we wanted to achieve. We wanted it citrusy with sweetness, and then worked backwards from there to add bitterness and richness as desired.
How do you best like to drink your American Gin?
Often.
Tell us an interesting fact about F.E.W: Our distillery is located down an alley, so many people can’t find it, even when they are standing only 20 feet away!
Describe F.E.W American Gin in three words:
Gosh darn delicious. Yummy in tummy. Best served frequently. Serve to friends.
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