Given the rise in popularity of craft beers and local food, it was only a matter of time before the artisan spirits industry would be taking off in the United States as well. Once associated with bootlegging during the Prohibition era, the distilling of small batch liquors actually now accounts for approximately 400 small U.S. distilleries – and they’re producing a variety of spirits, ranging from bourbon to rum, vodka, and gin. Among those small distilleries are Sag Harbor Rum, based in the South Fork of eastern Long Island, NY – as well as a number of Illinois-based whiskey producers, including Koval, which is located in Chicago, where it produces a single-barrel, gluten-free organic bourbon whiskey. Evanston-based Few Spirits, as well as the Lake Bluff areas’ North Shore Distillery, are also on the list. Read more