First Impressions
Evanston, Illinois was dry for over a century. The city was home to Frances Elizabeth Willard, president of the Women's Christian Temperance Union and one of America's fiercest prohibition advocates. When Paul Hletko — a patent lawyer whose grandfather's Czech brewery had been seized by the Nazis during World War II — opened a distillery in downtown Evanston in 2011, he named it F.E.W. after Willard's initials. The irony was deliberate. Every bottle carries a scene from the 1893 Chicago World's Fair on its label, tying the spirit to another defining moment in the city's history.
Tasting
Eleven botanicals go into this grain-to-glass gin, including Cascade hops grown in Hletko's own garden — a nod to his beer-brewing past. Tahitian vanilla, elderflower, lemongrass and cassia join the more traditional juniper, coriander and citrus peels. The base spirit is distilled from corn, wheat and unmalted barley to a lower proof than most gins, allowing the grain character to come through. The result is closer to genever than London Dry: a malty, warm nose with lemon meringue and toasted edges, a creamy palate where vanilla and hops create a texture more reminiscent of a well-made white whiskey than a classic gin. Juniper is present but politely restrained.
The Bottom Line
FEW American Gin earns a 7 for sheer personality and backstory. It excels in Negronis where its grain character adds depth, and in Martinis with quality vermouth. In a G&T, pair it with a bitter tonic and lime rather than cucumber or berries. This is a gin for whiskey drinkers, for genever enthusiasts, for anyone who appreciates the irony of a distillery named after a woman who spent her life trying to make sure places like it could never exist.
