I Tried Three Unique Small Batch Whiskeys. Here's My Honest Review

Celebrity spirits are all the rage these days, especially in the tequila world. But FEW Spirits, a craft distillery located just outside Chicago in the suburb of Evanston, IL, has its own take on the celebrity-backed spirits category. This small whiskey maker is doing something very different from the big brands backed by The Rock, Kendall Jenner and George Clooney.

Acquired by Kentucky distillery Heaven Hill a few years ago, FEW's roster includes bourbon, rye, single malt and a new cherrywood smoked grain whiskey called Chicago Smokeworks, as well as three major rock band whiskey collaboration releases.

The bands FEW has collaborated with all rose to popularity in the 1990s and early 2000s and are still widely recognized names: Alice in Chains, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and The Smashing Pumpkins. All three bottles have been released as a set called Icons of Rock, each produced entirely in-house and with a very interesting twist.

I had the chance to visit FEW Spirits last summer and spoke with founder and master distiller Paul Hletko about the inspiration behind each whiskey and how he decides to work with a particular group.

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The first release is called All Secrets Known, a collaboration with Alice in Chains and named after the title track of their fourth album. Whiskey is the distillery's base bourbon; It is finished in tequila barrels for six months and bottled at a stronger 101 proof.

The second release is Motor Oil, a collaboration with Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. It is a blend of bourbon finished in rum barrels, bourbon finished in vermouth barrels, and mesquite smoked wheat whiskey, also bottled at 101 proof.

The latest and newest release is aptly named The Smashing Pumpkins Bourbon, which is cut with tea instead of water. This tea is Midnight Rose from Madame Zuzu's Emporium, a tea shop run by Billy Corgan and his wife, Chloe Mendel Corgan.

FEW Spirits' three new bottles, from left to right: The Smashing Pumpkins Bourbon, Motor Oil and All Secrets Known.

Courtesy Image

Before making whiskey, Hletko played in bands, ran a small record label, and even made guitar pedals; So he definitely has a background in rock music, but obviously not as extensive as those bands. Some of the musicians who dabbled in these whiskeys are now sober, while others still enjoy drinking whiskey. But whether the band drinks or not doesn't really matter, because Hletko sees certain parallels between making music and making bourbon or rye.

“In essence, there is no difference between the art of writing songs or playing music and the art of creating whiskey, but they are of course different arts,” Hletko said.

According to Hletko, for a collaboration to happen, there needs to be a real connection and interest, not just a desire to make money. He said he approached the Smashing Pumpkins about five years ago and they weren't interested, but later got back to him and they were open to the idea.

“If your primary motivation is money, let's shake hands and be friends because that's not going to work,” he said. “We will never be able to write a check big enough to make you happy. And if we could write that check, I don't want to do that. “It's not fun, it's not creative, that's not why I do it.”

All three of these whiskeys are definitely creative, fun, and different from any other whiskey you've tried. Smashing Pumpkins Bourbon is probably the most different, as the Midnight Rose tea really gives it a rose flavor along with notes of incense, vanilla, and spice. In the Alice in Chains collaboration, there are earthy agave notes underneath the sweetness of the bourbon, and Motor Oil combines vanilla and spice with a hint of mesquite smoke underneath. You can find all three of these whiskeys individually online and in stores nationwide and now as the Icons of Rock Collection for $150.

Related: I Only Drinked Whiskey Until I Learned the Truth About Ice

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