 Botanical Spirits from Forthave Spirits
I became familiar with the Forthave Spirits several years ago when I discovered their distillery right down the street from my apartment in Brooklyn. Since then, I have been absolutely hooked! Founded and operated by Daniel de la Nuez and Aaron Sing Fox; both of whom are dedicated to making only plant-based spirits and liqueurs. They never use artificial additives or coloring, and almost all ingredients used are USDA certified organic (the rest are thoughtfully grown by small farmers or foraged from the wild by Daniel and Aaron themselves). More importantly, the products are balanced and absolutely delicious (not to mention made by some of the nicest people in the business). Their aperitivo ‘Red’ is my personal favorite in the lineup and a fantastic alternative to Aperol in a spritz, or Campari in a negroni. The flavors are clean, clear, and taste authentic, rather than artificial. This is the kind of aperitivo you could pour over ice with a twist of lemon or orange and be perfectly content on a hot day. Of course, it also blends seamlessly with their flagship gin ‘Blue’, a delicate, floral style with notes of mint, juniper, and angelica. With espresso martinis making a comeback these days, I cannot stress enough how incredible the ‘Brown’ coffee liqueur is! This was a collaboration with coffee roastery Café Integral who roast and brew single origin Nicaraguan coffee beans especially for Forthave. Just the right amount of organic turbinado sugar is added to cut the bitterness of the coffee making it ideal for cocktails or on its own as an after-dinner treat. For those who love amaro, and especially for those who have always been curious about amaro, the ‘Marseille’ amaro is excellent. On the spectrum of bitterness, this blend is milder, with the emphasis on baking spices rather than an intense herbal quality. The recipe for this liqueur comes from four medieval thieves caught stealing from plague victims (hence the plague mask on the bottle) whose punishment was to reveal their secret recipe! Michelle DeWyngaert | 
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