North Shore Distillery - Eldergin limited edition

North Shore Distillery opened their tasting room last night to preview their new limited edition spirit, Eldergin. Eldergin should go on sale in about a week at the Distillery and area retail outlets. They clearly had hoped to have it on sale this week, but the government didn't approve the bottle label (!) until Tuesday, and the printer won't have it done for a few days.

I stopped by last night for a first taste. The Eldergin is, as the name implies, based on a gin+elderberry combo, in the manner of a sloe gin. The elderberries come from a private farm in Missouri that cultivates several varieties of the berry. Derek Kassebaum reported that he selected a type that specifically had a decent sugar content. He also told me that he put some of the elderberries in the gin distillation itself, along with using them to flavor the finished product.

Sonja and Derek both said their product is conceived as a liqueur, and at room temperature it was tasty enough neat. The gin flavor itself is not strong, the elderberry an enhancer, and the sugar gives it a clean, pleasant finish. In the tasting room, they were also offering a few cocktails with Eldergin, similiar to Sloe Gin Fizz and the like.

The tasting room was hoppin' for a Wednesday night, and on Facebook the Kassebaum's reported it was their busiest night ever. I talked with a couple of young guys who were serious spirit aficionados, they were big fans of the distillery's Absinthe.

Eldergin limited production is running just shy of 1000 bottles, so I expect it will sell out pretty quickly.

The tasting room will also be open tomorrow, Black Friday, from 8 AM, serving a variety of bloody marys. Sonja reported "I bought out a salad bar to go with the drinks" and that there will be three types available.

North Shore Distillery
28913 Herky Drive, Unit 308 - just off I-94 at IL-176, go east to the first street where the Harley dealer is. Drive all the way down the street.
Lake Bluff
(847) 574-2499
http://www.northshoredistillery.com

I tried this and I think it is terrific. I pre-purchased 2 of the 750ml bottles. It might be a little expensive at $40 per, but I liked it. It is my understanding that they are only going to make 500 of this size. Each will be numbered. I don’t know how long they are going to do it, but I was allowed to select my numbers.

Probably no big thing, but I figured: what the hell, I got my lucky number. I could see drinking this straight, as a great winter warmer this year.

D.

The distillery itself is now sold out of Eldergin (I picked up one of the last two bottles on Friday); a few of the distributors still have it.

edb60035 wrote:The distillery itself is now sold out of Eldergin (I picked up one of the last two bottles on Friday); a few of the distributors still have it.

We grabbed a bottle at Binny's Highland Park last Saturday when Sonja was there conducting a tasting. I don't know if they still have any left at that store, though.

Even though fruit liqueurs are not usually my thing, I really like this one because of the notably fresh-tasting fruit element. The elderberry flavor is very bright and doesn't taste cooked or caramelized at all. I'm pretty sure that's because it's made using fresh berries, some of them grown locally. In any case, the fruit note balances nicely with the peppery aspects of the #11 gin, which is the foundation of the product. Nice stuff.

=R=

I've got the elderberries if you have the gin!

Wine Discount in Highland Park had 3 bottles left on New Year’s Eve, after I bought 1.

D.

They had several bottles of both sizes at the Lincoln Park Binny's. At least two or three of each.

Totally sold out of orange bitters, though.