FEW

An award-winning Chicago Bourbon cut to proof with cold-brew morning joe.

Paul Hletko’s grandfather lost his Czechoslovak brewery to the Nazi’s in World War II and never got it back. Paul was doing home brewing and wanted to go into business for himself and took his family history and experience to heart, founding FEW Spirits in 2011. Ever the rebel, he opened his “grain to glass” craft business in Evanston, Illinois — the birthplace of the temperance movement — from a small building whose only entryway is through a back alley. And we are all glad he did. Over the last eight years, FEW Spirits has grown to three Whiskies, three Gins, and a handful of employees whose motto is “By the Few, for the Few.”

Hang on to your shot glasses, my friend. If you are already a fan, FEW Cold Cut Bourbon is the multi-award-winning, signature FEW Bourbon with it three-grain mash and 46.5% ABV all just how you might remember them. The difference is HOW they get from cask-strength to that 46.5%. The perfectly aged Bourbon is cut to proof… with cold-brew coffee. Really. They get it from a local specialty coffee-maker in Chicago called Passion House. Through a lot of experimentation they found that cold-brew coffee was less bitter — and therefore a better compliment to the natural flavor profile of the FEW Bourbon. But this is NOT a “coffee drink.” It’s remarkably balanced and the coffee note is more of a compliment and lingering finish on this noteworthy dram.

Smartass corner:
FEW Spirits has a nice ring to it, but it’s also a poke in the eye to governmental kill-joys. You see, F. E. W. are the initials of Francis Elizabeth Willard who was a local leader of the prohibition movement back in the day.