Spirits
Illinois
WOOD SPECIES: WHITE OAK (Quercus Alba)
MASH BILL: 72% CORN, 23% RYE, 5% BARLEY
TASTING NOTES: BAKING SPICES, CARAMEL CORN, GOLDEN RAISINS, TOAST, CAMPFIRE
Illinois is one of the most fertile places on the planet.
Before European settlers and their plows came west, prairies extended for thousands of unbroken miles. Grasses sent roots deep into glacial deposits and over millennia created rich topsoil several feet deep. Oak savannas punctuated the prairie landscape and provided respite for bison, elk and deer and the indigenous tribes that would use controlled fires to maintain these biodiverse areas. Split Spirits combines this iconic tree with Illinois corn, rye and barley to create a spirit rooted in Illinois.
Jim Collins
1 egg white
1 dash Angostura
Tsp 2:1 syrup
0.5 oz Allspice Dram
0.75 oz Lemon Juice
1.75 oz Split IL White Oak
Combine ingredients in a tin, dry shake. Add ice and shake again and double strain in a highball glass with ice and top with club soda. Garnish with an orange round and Luxardo cherry.
606 Highball
2 oz Split IL White Oak
4-6 oz soda water
Fill highball glass with ice. Pour Split IL over ice and top with very cold soda water. Garnish with a lemon twist.
Ginger Grange
1.5 oz Split IL White Oak
5 oz ginger beer
Juice from ½ lime
Fill highball glass with ice. Squeeze lime half and pour Split IL over ice. Top with spicy ginger beer. Garnish with lime wedge and piece of candied ginger.
Allspice Sour
1.75 oz Split IL White Oak
1 egg white
1 dash Angostura
1 Tsp maple syrup
0.5 oz Allspice Dram
0.75 oz Lemon Juice
Combine ingredients in a tin, dry shake. Add ice and shake again and double strain in a coupe glass served up. Garnish with lemon zest and a few dashes of Angostura bitters. (To make a Jim Collins, top with club soda and garnish with orange round and cherry)
The Heart Warmer
(makes 4 servings)
6 oz Split IL White Oak
2 dash Angostura Bitters
1 Cinnamon Stick
1 Tbsp Allspice Berries
1 oz Ginger Syrup
1 oz Demerara Syrup
2 oz Rhine Hall Apple Brandy
16 oz Apple Cider
Combine ingredients in a pot and cover with a lid. Heat on the stove over Medium heat, boil then simmer for 10 mins. Serve in a Gx or mug. Garnish with grated cinnamon.
Midwest Manhattan
2 oz Split IL White Oak
0.5 oz Sweet Vermouth
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Combine ingredients in mixing glass, stir for 30 seconds, and strain into a chilled coupe glass with a Luxardo cherry.
IL Old Fashioned
2 oz Split IL White Oak
0.25 oz Demerara Simple Syrup
4 dashes Orange bitters
Combine ingredients in a mixing glass and stir. Strain into chilled Double Old Fashioned or rocks glass with one large ice cube. Express an orange peel, and garnish with a twist.
The Lion's Tooth
1.5 oz Split IL White Oak
1 oz Dandelion Mead
0.5 oz Black Walnut Liquor
1 dash Orange bitters
Combine ingredients in a mixing glass and stir. Strain into chilled coupe glass and garnish with a lemon twist.
Sugar and Spice
1 oz Split IL White Oak
1 dash saline
2 dash Angostura
0.5 oz Cinnamon Sorghum Syrup
0.5 oz Fig Jam
0.75 oz Lemon Juice
0.75 oz Genever
Combine ingredients in a tin, shake and double strain over large ice cubes in rocks glass. Garnish with mint and sliced fig.