Properly Sauced: A Letherbee Autumnal Gin Cocktail For Thanksgiving

By Anthony Todd in Food on Nov 21, 2012 8:00PM

Letherbee Distillers is rapidly establishing its position as one of Chicago's greatest treasures. Their gin has become a standard, both on our bar and on the bars of some of Chicago's best restaurants. They've just created their own malort, upstarts that they are. Taking a play from North Shore Distillery's book, they also created a seasonal spirit this fall: Letherbee Autumnal Gin. It's freaking amazing. But can it be made into a cocktail?

The autumnal gin is a modification of their standard gin, now with added clove, nutmeg and allspice. When we first heard about it, we were excited but slightly skeptical. Clove? Nutmeg? Hardly your standard flavor notes for gin. It sounded like they were making an alcoholic pumpkin pie. Well, they kind of did. But unlike the horrible, artificially-flavored junk that is dominating the booze market, Letherbee managed to create an evocative, flavorful spirit that still retains plenty of character and complexity. Score one for the little guy.

We've gone through almost half a bottle already. Most of that was just sipped straight, partly because it's so smooth and partly because we couldn't quite figure out how to mix it. Luckily, the mixing geniuses at Longman and Eagle figured it out for us. They created "The Equinox" to showcase this new product. If you're looking for a signature cocktail for Thanksgiving, this is perfect.

The Equinox
1.5 oz. Letherbee autumnal gin
3/4 oz. Plymouth sloe gin
1/4 oz. yellow chartreuse
A Dash of angostura bitters

Stir all ingredients together with ice. Strain and serve, without a garnish, in a coupe.