Forthave Spirits, "Three"

"THREE" is the Single Batch Line from Forthave Spirits, just in time for the holiday season! This is an Amer, a bittersweet digestif in the French tradition. Very reminiscent of aged, vintage amari which carry this pleasantly bitter, "barky" element over and above the more classic menthol-cola, viscous aspects of a young "amaro." Enjoy it neat, or in classic cocktails like a Brooklyn.

The full writeup for the bottling is below, courtesy of our friends at Forthave! Only 2700 375mL (tiny!) bottles were created.

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THREE is an amer, a bittersweet digestif in the French tradition, it is the third in our single batch line of botanical spirits. The Single Batch line allows us to discover and experiment with new recipes and production methods. It provides us the freedom to discover new flavors and aromas, play with different types of macerations, distillations, aging, and more. Forthave Spirits started as two friends making small batches of spirits and tracing them back to their herbal, medicinal roots. With the Single Batch line, we revisit the spontaneity and inspiration of our first experiments. Each release in this line is a one-off, never to be repeated or recreated. Once it’s gone, it’s gone.

The genesis for 'THREE' was in the summer of 2018, when we began exploring French liqueurs. The process started with several aromatic distillations of various botanicals including rose hips, elderflowers and hibiscus. Numerous citrus peels and tree barks were then added and left to macerate for years. The herbs were pulled off and it was distilled a second time before a final maceration. After removing these botanicals, the spirit was slowly sweetened with caramelized sugar and rested. Cinchona Succirubra, also referred to as Quina, is the bark of the Cinchona tree which grows in the Andean forests of South America. It is a classic bittering agent used in Amer. We coupled that with the peel of the Seville Orange, Citrus × aurantium, which provides a refreshing aroma, zesty notes and mellows the bitterness of the tree barks. As avid collectors of vintage botanical spirits, we are interested in the historical practice of producers caramelizing their sugars to sweeten their products. In a nod to this, THREE is sweetened similarly: slowly heating dry sugar for several hours until it blooms. This provides a candied richness that lingers on the palate. With notes of fresh orange zest, light baking spice, and a deep rich sweetness, THREE finishes with a mouthwatering bitter backbone. It can be enjoyed neat, mixed into classic cocktails like the “Brooklyn” or topped with a pilsner.