Tasty small batch spirits to add to your home bar.

While you might think small batch craft distilleries are overrated and are the purview of the waning hipster trend, we would disagree. Just like we saw with the craft beer trend, the popularity of small batch spirits is actually growing. The tastes of imbibers all across the U.S. have really only been whetted and they are pretty much always on the lookout for the latest and best new small batch American spirits.

Learn about some of our favorite small batch spirits to add to your home bar.

5 of the Hottest American Small Batch Spirits

1. Bluecoat American Dry Gin – Philadelphia, PA

Philadelphia’s Bluecoat Gin is something special. Bluecoat keeps it real by using just four botanicals—juniper, coriander, citrus peel, and angelica root. It’s also aged for at least three months in American Oak Barrels, which gives it a very grown-up finish. It’s strong in flavor, but so incredibly smooth. It’s great straight, with tonic, or even in a martini.

2. Blonde Whiskey – Asheville, NC

Blonde whiskey is distilled with heirloom turkey red wheat and white corn, which is sourced in the lowland hills of Western North Carolina. The varieties of corn and wheat used in this whiskey have been grown in the area since the 1800s. Modern varieties of corn and red wheat have bigger yields and are more resistant to weather and pests, but according to the Asheville Distilling Company, the company that crafts the whiskey, the older grains have a flavor and softness the newer versions can’t match, and that makes this whiskey super smooth.

3. Blueshine Blueberry Moonshine – Maine

Blueberry moonshine might not be your go-to spirit, but it’s certainly one of those special items to add to your home bar. Made from barley from the fields of Maine, fermented in a large wooden fermenter, and run through a copper still with a whole bunch of wild blueberries and finished off with Maine maple syrup. It’s smooth and sweet and quite a treat.

4. Barr Hill Gin –  Hardwick, VT

Barr Hill Gin is a wonderful treat that features raw northern honey. Added just before bottling, the raw honey imparts unique floral qualities that vary with season and blossom. Imagine what a wildflower meadow next to a pine forest would taste like–that’s Barr Hill. The distillery, which is located on the banks of the Lamoille River in the Northeast Kingdom in Vermont is part of a community of farms where the production of milk, cheese, timber, grains, honey, seeds, and herbs is infused in this tasty spirit.

5. Rumble Whiskey – Texas

Rumble Whiskey comes highly recommended and is also crafted utilizing honey–it’s actually made with fermented Texas wildflower honey, Mission figs, and turbinado sugar. A truly elegant and distinctive spirit is produced through the twice distilled process and maturation in premium oak casks. This one-of-a-kind Texas creation, crafted by Balcones, is a must-have for your home bar.

Related on EcoSalon

4 Retro Cocktail Recipes Making a Comeback

5 Must-Have Home Bar Tools Every Grown Up House Should Have

Creating a Home Bar: 3 Budget Solutions and DIY Inspiration

Image: Bourbon Whiskey via Shutterstock

The post 5 of the Hottest American Small Batch Spirits for Home Mixologists appeared first on EcoSalon.

Raise a glass for locally-owned craft distillers!

Ever heard of artisinal vodka? You may be surprised to learn that craft distilling is a fairly new but growing industry. The American Distilling Institute says that micro-distilling has grown by 30 percent since January 2010, and the number of licensed craft distillers has doubled. Just as local food and local brews, local spirits are now all the rage.

“The renaissance has happened to wine, beer, bread, vegetables … even sauerkraut,” ADI President Bill Owens says of the craft revolution. Now, he says, is simply spirits’ turn, with the industry poised to imitate the rise of craft beers that America experienced in the ’90s.

And it’s already quite lucrative.

“The beauty of spirits is the margins are a lot better than cookies,” said Scott Blackwell, owner of High Wire Distilling Co. in downtown Charleston, South Carolina. “A case of cookies costs $18. A case of spirits costs $200. The effort that goes into one unit gets you a lot further dollar-wise.”

Craft distilleries make a big splash

In my home state of South Carolina, micro-distilling is exploding, a microcosm of the larger national picture. According to The Post & Courier, they’re borrowing a tactic from West Coast spirit producers: the first distillery to open in Charleston is rife with local products, like Southern-grown herbs, corn, sugar cane, and sorghum.

“We live in a really vibrant agricultural community,” said Ann Marshall of High Wire Distilling Co. “There are a lot of things we can do.”

Although craft distillers aren’t strictly defined, the term generally refers to a distiller who produces under 100 gallons of spirits a year. In comparison, huge distilleries like Bacardi produce 100 gallons of spirits in a day.

Firefly Distillery on Wadmalaw Island was first on the scene in South Carolina, making the process easier for the craft distillers that would follow. Firefly paved the way for newcomers Charleston Distillery and Striped Pig Distillery by successfully lobbying for a reduction in the distillery licensing fee in 2009.

“When we got the law changed, it was the end of the world with the recession,” Scott Newitt, president of Wadmalaw Island’s Firefly Distillery, told The Post & Courier. “I think it’s starting to flourish now. But these craft distillers are going to have to come up with a story, like we did: We’re using all-American stuff and keeping it all Southern with sweet tea. Places struggle if they don’t have a story.”

Related on EcoSalon:
Hop in the Saddle: A Guide to Portland’s Beer Scene By Bike
I Was Told There Would Be Beer
A Beer Ad That Doesn’t Degrade Women But Instead Inspires and Empowers

Image: Joel Olives

The post Got Local Liquor? Our Growing Thirst for Craft Distillers appeared first on EcoSalon.