ALT-ROCK SUPREME AND SMASHING PUMPKINS FRONTMAN BILLY CORGAN TEAMS WITH FEW SPIRITS ON A NEW RULE-SHATTERING BOURBON BLENDED WITH BLACK TEA
BY WILL HARRIS
When it comes to alt-rock-inspired alcoholic beverages, FEW Spirits has made a major splash in the field…and, yes, we realize that it’s a relatively niche field, but it’s fair to say that they’re near the front of the pack nonetheless. Based in Evanston, Illinois, the distillery has already offered up collaborations with Alice in Chains (All Secrets Known Bourbon), Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (Motor Oil Whiskey), and Flaming Lips (Brainville Rye Whiskey). Now, FEW is shifting from making a splash to delivering a smash.
T hat’s right: FEW’s latest effort is Smashing Pumpkins Bourbon, which takes FEW’s signature straight bourbon aged four years and cuts it to bottling strength by using Midnight Rose black tea from Madame Zuzu’s Emporium, the independent boutique tea shop run by none other than Smashing Pumpkins’ frontman Billy Corgan and his wife, Chloe Mendel Corgan.
FEW founder and master distiller Paul Hletko is the man behind the music inspired liquors, so you may not be surprised to discover that he’s also a big Smashing Pumpkins fan.
“Whether you’re making music, painting, blending tea, or distilling spirits, you’re making art,” said Hletko in a statement. “As a Chicagoan, I felt a personal responsibility to match the raw, primal energy of the Pumpkins. Songs like ‘I Am One,’ the opening track of the band’s first album, Gish, provided a ton of inspiration. Press play and you’re immediately struck by these thumping, propulsive drums, joined seconds later by a tight bassline groove before crunching guitars kick in to round out what, for me, is such a signature sound. That’s the driving, yet symphonic quality we wanted to bring to this liquid.”
FEW described the nose: “Bright aromas of rose water and ripe honeydew melon peek out above more familiar vanilla and caramel.” The palate then provides “signature bold, sweet and spicy bourbon notes, along with flavors of rose water, sandalwood, caramel, vanilla, and black tea, all backed by a full body and long finish.”
The bourbon’s bottle designed by artist Katelan Foisy, who has worked with Smashing Pumpkins on their tour backdrops and also designed interior art for Corgan’s solo album, Ogilala may be even more distinctive than the bourbon’s taste. Foisy took inspiration from vintage tea tins and labels and then blended them with an Art Deco and Victorian sensibility, then added on the back label a lyric from the song “Tonight, Tonight” (“Time is never time at all”).
In “Suffer,” Corgan once instructed listeners, “Drink from the reasons that hold you alive.” To that end, put on a vintage record and savor the sip.
Smashing Pumpkins Bourbon