As the Temperance Movement approached boiling point, America’s most beloved liquid vice found itself under heavy siege. While connoisseurs saw abstinence creep across the country, the city of Chicago began its preparations to host the most elaborate of fairs.

Only a few miles North, Frances Elizabeth Willard and her league of temperance supporters had turned Evanston into a stronghold for their cause.

Founded as a dry community, Evanston was home to many influential advocates for Prohibition who effectively kept the city free of alcohol for more than one hundred years.

Though the city legalized drinking in the late Nineties, it took the perseverance of our Master Distiller, Paul Hletko, to reverse the antiquated liquor laws. With roots going back to some of Europe’s fabled brewing families, Paul and FEW Spirits have marked the end of Evanston’s Prohibition and given the city its very own craft distillery.

Our spirits are new takes on the timeless liquors of the past. Each a gesture to an older time of drinking, these liquors embody the tradition of quality spirits. Every batch is distilled from the very best grains, bottled in-house, and handled with the utmost care.

AMERICAN GIN

At once an homage to the Dutch genever and a reinvented classic, our American Gin is the harbinger of progress in a new era of tippling. Nuanced by notes of vanilla and citrus peel, this spirit slowly reveals its more subdued juniper flavor awash in our own house-distilled grain spirit. Equally satisfying sipped with ice or blended into one of our craft cocktails, this is a gin essential to any stalwart of fine drinking.

WHITE WHISKEY

Exactly as it comes from the still with no frills. Clean and crisp, our White Whiskey goes unkissed by the barrel as part of our revitalization of the Prohibition era staple. More refined and intentionally left unfiltered to preserve flavor, this throwback is a showcase of our quality grains and the craftsmanship of our masterful distillers. Pour it from your growler onto the rocks or mix it into one of our artisan cocktails.