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Adam Seger Hums Along With New Liqueur

By Chuck Sudo in Food on Aug 18, 2009 8:20PM

When it comes to naming the city's best mixologists, Adam Seger's name is usually one of the first to roll off one's tongue. The general manager of Nacional 27 is a Certified Culinary Professional and worked the lines in kitchens before hearing the sirens' call of the bar. Seger takes the approach of a chef to his cocktailing, sourcing artisan products, growing herbs and spices in the planters lining Nacional 27's sidewalk seating and infusing spirits in-house.

One of those infusions will soon be making its way to retail and back bar shelves throughout the city. Hum Spirit is a rum infused with a proprietary syrup Seger concocted using hibiscus, cardamom and ginger. The first time Seger ran Hum Spirit past this willing guinea pig was in some wheat ale last winter. The balance between the hibiscus and cardamom made this a unique, but not out of place, fireplace sipper. In the months since, Seger has been tweaking the recipe, letting the ginger subtly announce its presence without distracting from the hibiscus or cardamom. Seger said that, barring any roadblocks by the government, Hum Spirit should be available for sale by fall. The rum used in the launch is a 100 proof small batch distilled by North Shore Distillery's Derek Kassebaum; adding the syrup to the mix brings Hum Spirits alcohol content to 70 Proof. Future bottlings will use a South American cane sugar rum Seger and his partners sourced.

The initial rollout will also be limited. Thanks to Seger's contacts and those of his partners, select bars in London and Chicago will be serving Hum Spirit. Seger told us that he wants to keep Hum Spirit's growth stable and decided on London because of its very strong cocktail scene, which he compared favorably to Our Town's.