Market Watch, April 2018

APRIL 2018 MARKETW ATCHMAG COM MARKET WATCH 79 PHOTO BY RIGHT KEVIN J MIYAZAKI PLATE Its now set to expand its plant from the current 11000 square feet to nearly 50000 square feet to be filled with new stills and fermenters as well as a second bottling line At the opposite end of the spectrum is tiny Copper Fiddle Distillery in the northern Chicago suburb of Lake Zurich Copper Fiddle was founded in 2012 by former golf pro Fred Robinson and his business partner and neighbor José Hernandez an architect They set up in an old warehouse with a single 13 gallon still and less than 200000 in capital The distillery operates on a small scale and sold 600 cases last year all of it in Illinois To hype the business Copper Fiddle hires bands to perform in the tasting room on weekends entertaining as many as 80 visitors at a time Robinson is trying to forge a distinctive path for Copper Fiddle His lineup currently features three gins two rums a Bourbon whiskey and no vodka It makes us unique says Robinson When we were getting started I noticed the vodka aisle at our local Binnys was about half a mile long The gin section you could throw your arms around The companys Fyren Gin 45 a 750 ml features classic gin botanicals but also includes a roasted serrano pepper thats inserted directly into each bottle Suburban Stars Though Koval may have been the first distillery in the Windy City since Prohibition the true godfather of Chicago area distilling is North Shore Distillery which opened in 2004 outside the city limits in the northern suburb of Lake Bluff Founded by former chemical engineer Derek Kassebaum and his wife Sonja an attorney North Shore was the first craft distiller in Illinois introduced at a time when there were just 60 craft players nationwide The couple developed their business by holding tastings at supermarkets and bars every weekend and today they distribute to half a dozen states Were happy being a regional player says Derek We never set out to be really big that wasnt the lifestyle we wanted Among North Shores esoteric offerings are Sirène Absinthe Verte 60 a 750 ml the second absinthe made in the U S after it was legalized a decade ago and Ethels Eye of Newt Cordial Ethel is the name of the Kassebaums still made with mustard seed turmeric garlic and damiana leaf 36 We dont do me too products here Kassebaum emphasizes Our limited releases are sometimes off the wall but being a small company we dont have to answer to anybody else F E W Spirits one of the craft markets national stars is located in Evanston just north of Chicago Chicago has been a great supporter of craft spirits like ours says Paul Hletko F E W s president and master distiller In Delilahs on Chicagos North Side you have one of the great whiskey bars in the world Scofflaw in Chicago is one of the very best gin bars anywhere And the Binnys chain employs one of the best spirits buyers youll find Brett Pontoni whos been a staunch supporter of all the craft distillers in the area There was a time when Brett had zero reason to care about F E W but he has always cared and thus been instrumental in our growth F E W s spirits range from traditional expressions with a twist to the more unusual For instance F E W makes a Breakfast Gin 35 a 750 ml with juniper lemon peel and Earl Grey tea F E W s 465 abv Single Malt whiskey 70 is made with malted barley thats smoked with cherry wood rather than peat The cherry wood smoking ensures it wont end up tasting like Scotch Hletko explains Single malt whiskey started as a novelty among American distillers but its building in popularity now Its a coming trend F E W s Rye 55 has a relatively traditional mashbill 70 rye 20 corn and 10 malted barley but is made using a wine yeast imported from the Loire Valley that gives the product an unusual floral and fruity taste Overall the company sold 15000 cases to 40 states last year up from just 2000 cases in 2014 with nearly 25 of sales coming from its home state F E W has plans for further growth and joined the craft spirits portfolio of Miami based Samson Surrey in 2016 Multiple Chicago area distillers are looking to expand their distribution Fox River Distilling barrel left is currently interviewing distributor candidates in other states while Chicago Distilling Co lounge right plans to add five more states to its current four state footprint this year