Have you ever heard of Madame Zuzu’s Café, located in Highland Park, Illinois? Probably not. How about William Patrick Corgan Jr.? Now that might ring a bell for some of you, since he is better known as Billy Corgan, front man of The Smashing Pumpkins.
Why am I asking you these annoying rhetorical questions, you ask? Well, Few Spirits (read previous reviews here), one of our favorite local distilleries in the Chicago area, has partnered with Corgan to create the latest offering in their Music Collaboration series. Given that this bottle just hit the shelves, it makes sense to give it a review “Tonight, Tonight”.
History
Evanston, located just north of Chicago, was the birthplace of the temperance movement that spawned Prohibition in the United States. For nearly a century following the end of prohibition, the city continued to maintain some of the most restrictive laws regarding the sale and consumption of spirits, but all of that started changing in 2001.
Paul Hletko didn’t start out in the distillery business. Engineer, patent attorney, and rock and roll band member, Hletko took a rather unconventional route to the whiskey business. According to Hletko, the biggest inspiration for his turn to distilled spirits came from his grandfather, who owned a large brewery in Poland prior to the outbreak of World War II. His grandfather was forced to flee the country and spent the rest of his life unsuccessfully fighting to get it back. That determination and love for alcoholic beverages was a family tradition Hletko wanted to continue.
Between 2001 and 2011, Hletko was instrumental in getting the laws changed in Evanston to allow for alcohol distribution and production to resume. The path now clear, he opened his very own distillery called Few Spirits dedicated to doing things right: in-house production using local ingredients.
The FEW Spirits distillery was founded in 2011 in a small warehouse next to the train tracks and down a side alley in Evanston, Illinois. When asked about the inspiration for the name, Hletko simply responds that it was because “we didn’t make a lot”. They were a small craft distillery operating in the days before craft distilling was a common thing, buying second hand equipment wherever they could find it.
Product
- Learn More: What Is Bourbon Whiskey?
FEW Spirits’ Straight Bourbon Whiskey starts as a dry mix of 70% corn, 20% rye, and 10% “two row” malted barley (which is a regional variety of barley). Given the small size of the distillery, FEW Spirits does not mill their grain on site – not to mention, the fine grain powders that are produced during the milling process creates an explosive risk.
The grain is mixed with some of Lake Michigan’s finest, cooked into mash, and then fermented in one of the massive tanks in the distillery. For fermentation, a specific form of yeast that’s typically used in the production of Saison beer (a typically lighter and crisper form of beer) is used. This yeast is 100% lab grown to ensure consistency in each batch.
The fermented mash is initially distilled on-site in their column without first filtering out the grains. Filtering may be common practice at other distilleries, but as the grain is heated some additional flavor can be introduced at the distillation phase. The second distillation is done in a hybrid still, and the final distillate is barreled in charred new oak barrels and placed in an off-site warehouse, where it sits for at least one year (current batches are rumored to be three years old) before being bottled.
After aging is complete, the high proof bourbon is brought down to bottle strength. Normally, this is done by adding water, but in this case Midnight Rose Tea (from Corgan’s own tea shop in Highland Park) is used. This is the second release in their Music Collaboration series, following the success of their previous release Few Spirits All Spirits Known, with Alice in Chains. As Few Spirits describes it, “this unique partnership – unlike any in the rock-whiskey world before – blends the bold flavors of our exceptional Few Bourbon with the avant-garde musical spirit of The Smashing Pumpkins, known for their influential alternative rock sound showcased in iconic albums like ‘Siamese dream’ and ‘Mellon Collie & The Infinite Sadness.”
Packaging
I’ve always liked the FEW packaging, but only appreciated it even more after learning more about amount of effort put into their branding. As Hletko says, “people don’t buy liquor — they buy stories”. What they eventually landed on was the 1893 World’s Fair, hosted in Chicago. This was a moment in time that not only saw a monumental amount of rapid change and innovation that they would pay homage to, but it was a place and time with a distinct style in which the folks at FEW Spirits could anchor their product lines. Not everything about the branding is obvious at first glance, and that’s by design: it allows people to discover the story behind the design choices and experience their product themselves, rather than having it spelled out for them.
I love the rectangular bottles they use. As I tend to have a number of FEW products in my cabinet at any given time, the packing density is great. Plus, it’s easy to hold and pour. And even more interesting is that the shape is also meant to mimic a deck of Bicycle playing cards – which were introduced at the Chicago World’s Fair (and is also a nod to the “involuntary investments” made by Paul’s friends at the poker table).
This bottle is unique — the label is not in the turn of the century style as the rest of Few’s products, but instead takes a unique album art approach. While it does not directly pay homage to a specific Smashing Pumpkins album cover, it definitely pulls iconography that reminds me a lot of the band. The moon and stars seem to allude to the cover of Melon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, while the roses on the dark background are a clear nod to Madame Zuzu’s Midnight Rose Tea.
I really like this bottle — it is clearly a Few Spirits product, but embraces the collaboration and embodies the artist.
Neat
At first glance, there is nothing unique about the aromas coming from this bourbon. You get the expected flavors of caramel and vanilla, which you’ll typically see in just about any bottle of bourbon you might find. Behind that bourbon, however, is the first hint of some of the uniqueness that we’re here to see: a very mild kiss of earthiness that reminds me of black tea.
While the aroma might have merely hinted at something different going on here, the first sip makes it abundantly clear. Right out of the gate you get that bold bitter earthiness that is distinctly black tea, with just a hint of sweetness to it. Then you start to taste flavors normally associated with bourbon (caramel, vanilla, dark cherry, and baking spices), which actually seem to replace that initial black tea note instead of mixing naturally with it.
Generally speaking, the flavors are not surprising. We knew from the label on the bottle that we’re getting black tea and bourbon, and that’s exactly what we taste here. But what I do find surprising is the order in which the flavors come at you. When I think of a finished bourbon (spending time in a second cask to impart additional flavor), the additional flavors can usually be found toward the finish. However, this bourbon — which was proofed-down with tea rather than finished — seems to have additional flavors at the front. It’s a unique flavor profile for a bourbon, but I mostly get additional bitterness without a lot of other complimentary flavors.
It’s not bad by any stretch of the imagination, but I’m not sure I could call it good either. It reminds me of the Smashing Pumpkins hit “Today”: a song that starts by framing intense misery (in this case, a bourbon that is not great neat), with an ironic line of “today is the greatest day I’ve ever known”.
Let’s hope, like the song, things do not get any worse.
On Ice
The Smashing Pumpkins song “1979” is Corgan’s coming of age story (despite him only being 12 in 1979… let’s face it, 1985 just does not rhyme as well). While you could argue there is a certain amount of teenage rebellion to use tea to proof down bourbon, we could also consider the ice as the coming of age story for this bourbon: just the addition of a few rocks and this drink absolutely slaps.
The ice helps to open up all of the flavors, and now you start to get all of the notes start to finish instead of as distinct phases. The tea flavors are absolutely delicious now with some added complexity – nutty, citrus, leather, fruit, earthy, and just a hit of sweetness. Thanks to the added ice, the tea flavors actually blend and mix with the bourbon notes, allowing the caramel and vanilla to round out the overall flavor profile.
This is really great. It takes the foundational Few Spirits bourbon and cranks it up. It’s amazing what a little bit of ice can do – making a bourbon as smooth as (the melody of) “Mayonnaise”.
(And no, the song puns are nowhere near finished. Brace yourselves.)
Cocktail (Old Fashioned)
“Bullet with Butterfly Wings” might be Corgan’s ballad about dealing with celebrity, but this cocktail is certified rock star. (Also, wow, Bulleit Distillery really missed out on a great collaboration opportunity here.)
This cocktail is smooth and balanced — the bourbon is playing in perfect harmony with the rest of the flavors. The earthy flavors of the tea keep the drink grounded, while the bourbon, orange, bitters, and sugar do the rest of the heavy lifting. I think the tea flavor might be a game-changer in the old-fashioned world — it even inspired me to grab a bottle of Earl Grey Bitters for future experimentation.
The memorable lyrics may say “Despite all my rage, I am still just a rat in a cage ” but please, do not keep this cocktail caged — it’s delicious.
Fizz (Mule)
Yet another winner from this spirit. And I say that as someone who doesn’t always love a mule – they are often too sweet for me.
Here, though, the earthy note from the tea keeps the entire cocktail grounded among the bright and bold ginger beer and lime juice. But what really makes this special is that even with the dominant ginger beer flavors, you can pick out individual flavors from the bourbon. Finding a spirit that can pull off this kind of a trick (which is why we use a mule as a barometer — it’s a tough challenge that only the best whiskeys can accomplish).
This cocktail is delicious enough that I might even go back for an encore.
Overall Rating
I think the attitude of the song “Cherub Rock” sums this bourbon up well: the song is generally seen as a complaint of indie bands selling out and losing their identity. But The Smashing Pumpkins have managed against all of the odds of fame to retain their identity over the years — and even though Few Spirits is technically now owned by Heaven Hill, they keep an arms distance and also retain their unique identity. Leave it to these two authentic entities (the rock star who owns a tea shop and a distillery who uses tea to proof down bourbon) to team up and create such a great spirit.
It’s unique for sure, some might even call it alternative, but sometimes you have to do something different to really make an impact.
In a few months, I’ll be at Wrigley to see The Smashing Pumpkins open for Green Day. And you better believe that I will be enjoying a glass of this bourbon in tribute before the show.
| Few Spirits Smashing Pumpkins Straight Bourbon Whiskey Produced By: Few Spirits Production Location: Illinois, United StatesClassification: Straight Bourbon Whiskey Aging: No Age Statement (NAS) Proof: 46.5% ABV Price: $55.99 / 750 ml   |
Overall Rating: 4/5
A truly alternative bourbon that deserves an encore.