Hidden away in a repurposed automotive repair shop in an ally off of Chicago Avenue in Evanston, Ill., FEW Spirits LLC faced one major hurdle upon its founding. Evanston is known to many as the birthplace of the Temperance Movement, and, until the founding of FEW Spirits in 2011, no alcohol had been produced within the city limits.
“Why Evanston? It’s because I live here, my kids go to school here, my kids grew up here, I have my friends here, this is where my kids are, this is where life is — it’s family — and that’s why here. I think it’s a sheer coincidence that it happens to be the birthplace of prohibition, but certainly that doesn’t hurt in the marketing either,” explains Paul Hletko, FEW Spirits founder and master distiller.