Another month of fun events, along with a review of new tonic waters and more - read on!
Upcoming Events
Thurs 7/12 - we're part of the Summer BBQ Festival in Lincoln Park to raise money for the Green City Market
Weds 8/1 - Tasting Event at Fiddlehead Cafe Chicago (see our website for more info)
In-store tastings & other events - click here for the latest
New Tonic Waters - Are they Better?
Several new tonic waters are coming out, and its G&T season so we tried them. Click here for tasting notes.
Cocktails of the Month - try the North Shore Aviation (our take on the classic) or Raspberry Mint Lemonade
New Retailers - get your North Shore at any of these great new places (or visit our website for full list)
Check out the New Tonics
For a long time, there haven't been many options for tonic water - mostly Schweppes, Canada Dry and some private label brands. Recently, we've found two new tonic waters in Chicago - Fever Tree and Stirrings. We also hear rumors about Q Tonic coming here, but we've not seen it yet.
We had a staff meeting (all 3 of us) to taste these new tonics with the big brands, as well as another older one we found (White Rock).
All 3 of us thought that the Fever Tree and the White Rock were better than Schweppes and Canada Dry. White Rock had more citrus notes, Fever Tree had more complexity and spices.
The Stirrings tonic was love-it or hate-it. One of us loved it, one thought it was too sweet, and one thought it was good on its own but not good with No. 6 (too overpowering).
Click here for a chart summarizing our tasting notes on the tonics alone, with North Shore Vodka and with Distiller's Gin No. 6, as well as info on where to find them.
Antioch: Rugan's
Bloomington: Friar Tuck's
Brookfield: Phoenix Liquors
Carpentersville: Woodman's
Chicago: Broadway Liquors, Cardinal Liquors (NW Side)
Peoria: Friar Tuck's Beverage
Riverton: Riverton Party Store
Rockford: Pridom Liquors, Woodman's Market
Springfield: Famous Liquors
Donations & Sponsorships
We at North Shore Distillery try to be good corporate citizens, and we donate to local charities when we can (unfortunately we get far more requests than we can honor). Here's an update on some of the of the organizations we've supported recently:
American Cancer Society
Glenview Hangar One Foundation
Illinois Bar Foundation
Chicago Infant Welfare Society
Chicago's Green City Market
Lake County Haven
Prentice Women's Hospital
North Shore Aviation
(our take on a classic 1930's cocktail, now enjoying a resurgence)
2 parts Distiller's Gin No. 6
1 part Fresh Lemon Juice
½ part Maraschino Liqueur
(use Luxardo - see note -->)
Shake ingredients over ice, strain into martini glass. Garnish with lemon.
Raspberry Mint Lemonade
2 oz North Shore Vodka
1 oz Raspberry Liqueur (recommend Mathilde)
Lemonade
3-4 mint leaves
Fill glass with ice, add mint leaves. Pour vodka and liqueur over mint
leaves & ice, then top up with lemonade. Stir, and garnish with an orange
wheel (yes an orange wheel - trust us, its worth it).
Trivia Bits
When working on the Aviation recipe, we discovered that there are big variations in the flavor and sweetness of maraschino liqueurs. Seek out the Luxardo if you try ours, or adjust proportions based on taste.
The Aviation cocktail was first written about in 1916, but was popularized in the 1930's along with the rise of aviation. It was one of the classic cocktails of its time.*
(*Source - Jonathan Forester on AOL Slashfood Blog, 1/07)
North Shore Distillery is the first and only artisanal distillery in Illinois. We have a passion for spirits, and for developing creative new products. Learn more about us on northshoredistillery.com. We hope you enjoy our products!