Forthave Spirits, "Amaro Reserve" [1.75L]

RESERVE 1 is the inaugural release of an aged amaro by Forthave Spirits. We intend all our offerings to be age-worthy, and this new line of spirits — the Reserves — lets us experiment with aging our botanical spirits in-house. From the inception of Forthave Spirits, we have collected vintage botanical spirits. The collection spans continents, styles, and decades, and has informed our approach to methods, processes and ingredients. The choices of using only organically certified botanicals, raw sweeteners, and natural corks contributes to to the age worthiness of the spirits. The RESERVE line serves to further this methodology and intention.

In the winter of 2017 we distilled the spent herbs from a batch of Marseille to see what the expression would be. The resulting distillate was complex and compelling. We decided to use this distalate as the base to make a RESERVE following the same recipe as our Marseille Amaro, and adding age. The Marseille Amaro is made up of 36 different botanicals — roots, tree barks, leaves, and seeds — and sweetened with three types of raw honey from Tremblay Apiaries in Ithaca, NY. Once complete, it is aged in a mixture of oak barrels, glass demijohns and stainless steel tanks for an additional three years. After blending the different barrels and tanks it is bottled in 380 large format bottles. With notes of rhubarb root, lemongrass, chamomile, caramel and eucalyptus, RESERVE adds a layer of depth, complexity and a further integration of Marseille that is both delightful and delicious. Enjoy it neat after a meal or with a good book.