I have two gins from the Chicago distillery Letherbee in The Collection, and I would like to add more. I really like their Original Label Gin and I have ordered it a number of times at The Longfellow Bar. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find it in Massachusetts. I do, however, have two of their special release gins.
no. 010 – Letherbee Vernal 2017
no. 063 – Letherbee Autumnal 2020
gin no. 010 – Letherbee Vernal 2017
- Letherbee Vernal is an annual special release gin from Chicago, IL.
- Vernal 2017 is inspired by Southeast Asia.
- I purchased my bottle at a liquor store during a work trip to Chicago.
The first gin I wrote about, when I started writing about gin, was Letherbee Vernal 2017. I traveled to Chicago for work in November of 2017 and bought a bottle at a liquor store while I was there.
The 2017 Vernal Gin is inspired by Southeast Asia. The dominant flavors are lemongrass, ginger, and citrus. The lemongrass gives the gin a slightly green hue. It is a strong gin, 96 proof, and not ideal for drinking neat, but the strong flavors make for a wonderful gin and tonic.
Because it is a limited release, only 3240 bottles were produced, it is nearly impossible to get ahold of. I paid $40 for this bottle in 2017, an expensive bottle, but worth the splurge. Gin no. 010 is one of my favorite gins in my collection. Just wait until you hear what I paid for the other one.
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gin no. 063 – Letherbee Autumnal 2020
- Letherbee Autumnal is an annual special release gin from Chicago, IL.
- Autumnal 2020 is a barrel aged version of Letherbee Original Label.
- This was at one point the most expensive gin in my collection.
I liked gin no. 010 so much that I really wanted to get another bottle from Letherbee. I tried for over a year to find the Original Label Gin in Massachusetts with no success. I tried to get a bottle of the 2019 Autumnal Gin, but that didn’t work out either. Finally, with some help from a Chicago wine merchant, I was able to buy the 2020 Autumnal, gin no. 063 of The Collection.
Autumnal 2020 is a barrel-aged version of their Original Label Gin. They began the aging process in May of 2015 using new, lightly-toasted 53 gallon American oak barrels. They continued to add new barrels from time to time and eventually selected. Depending on the barrel, the gin was aged anywhere from one to four years, and when the time was right they blended them resulting in Autumnal 2020.
You can enjoy Autumnal 2020 neat, but it has a powerfully medicinal flavor. Mixed with a small amount of tonic, it retains its strong flavor but is more balanced. Because of its strength, you can treat it like a whiskey and make some interesting cocktails that don’t usually feature gin.
Vernal 2017 sold for $40. Autumnal 2020 was a steal at $37.99, but then I had to pay tax and shipping. In the end, I spent $72.26, the most I had paid for a bottle of gin until I bought no. 096. It was the year of COVID. We all did crazy things.
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Concord Culinary Lyceum 
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