Evanston, a dry community for more than a century and former home of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, welcomed its first micro-distillery Thursday.
Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl and Ald. Melissa Wynne (3rd) were on hand as FEW Spirits, 918 Chicago Ave., officially opened shop.
The distillery’s founder, Paul Hletko, was flanked by assistant distiller Tom Reedy and brand manager Brooke Saucier as city officials greeted what would have been a criminal operation in Evanston 40 years ago.
FEW Spirits’ name is an homage to Evanston’s dry history. In its brand logo the name is stylized as “F.E.W.,” as it in part refers to the initials of Frances Elizabeth Willard, the noted women’s suffragist and WCTU president, Hletko said.
Hletko moved to Evanston in 2003, when he had little motivation to begin an alcohol-based business, he said.
Hletko said he chose Evanston for its proximity to his work – he was a lawyer until he found a new niche in his now full-time operation – and its public schools and its being “generally a nice place to raise a family.”
Hletko’s idea to start FEW Spirits originated a year and a half after moving to Evanston when his grandfather, who was also a distiller, passed away.
“I started looking for ways to honor his memory and build something new that would play into the family legend,” Hletko said.
And with that intention, Hletko decided to turn his 20-year hobby into a business.
FEW Spirits has so far received numerous “highly recommended” ratings from tasting institutions based in Chicago, and recently, its White Whiskey was recognized as the best in the world of its kind by the New York World Wine & Spirits competition . That competition awarded the product with its Double Gold medal.
FEW’s other product – the American Gin – is distilled, along with numerous other locally grown grain, flower and hops, which Hletko mentioned are grown right in his backyard. He said being able to produce his own alcohol with his own grains gives him exceptional control over his products.
“Every aspect of the process was optimized to produce the kind of flavor,” Hletko said. “The fact that we actually make our own alcohol gives us the opportunity to make the FEW American Gin the way we want to make our FEW American Gin. That kind of attention to detail shows up in the glass.”
Although Hletko said he hopes to introduce his acclaimed spirits to a wider audience, he doesn’t appear to be in a hurry.
“The name FEW Spirits was arrived at in an effort to convey the fact that we are small, rare, exclusive,” he said. “We really don’t make a lot. You see a lot of brands that pretend that they’re small, but every time you go into a store anywhere in the country, you’ve got 15 cases of it.”
Hletko added his company actually lives up to that promise of being a close-knit operation.
“Our stills over there are one of the smallest in the country,” he said. “Right now, I just want to work on getting this case out. We’re FEW Spirits. We don’t need everybody, we just need a few.”
