# Letherbee Distillers

> Independent craft distillery in Chicago, Illinois. Incorporated 2011, first spirits released 2012. Produces gin, fernet, bësk, absinthe, dry cordials, aperitifs, and twice-yearly seasonal gins. Has never taken outside investment.

Letherbee makes three bitter European traditions — bësk (Sweden), fernet (Italy) and absinthe (Switzerland) — alongside its gin program. Winner, "Best Local Spirit," Chicago Reader Best of Chicago 2016. Good Food Awards 2020 (Original Label Gin) and 2022 (Fernet). Ships direct to consumers, and sold through retail and bar accounts across the United States and in Denmark.

## Reference pages

- [What Is Bësk?](https://www.letherbee.com/besk): Bësk is the Swedish family of wormwood-based bitter spirits, dating to the 1400s. What bësk is, how it relates to amaro, fernet and absinthe, and how to drink it. Letherbee Bësk is 100 proof, 750 mL.
- [What Is Fernet?](https://www.letherbee.com/fernet): Fernet is a style of Italian amaro with no legal definition — intensely bitter, mint-forward, usually 35–45% ABV. Its medicinal origins in 1845 Milan, why Argentina drinks roughly 75% of the world's supply, the bartender's handshake, and how to drink it. Letherbee Fernet is 70 proof, 750 mL, a 2022 Good Food Award winner.
- [What Is Absinthe?](https://www.letherbee.com/absinthe): Absinthe is a high-proof spirit requiring wormwood, fennel and anise. Its Swiss origins, the 1910–2007 ban, why it clouds (the louche), and how to drink it. Letherbee Absinthe Américaine is 126 proof, 375 mL, aged nine months in American oak.

## Core pages

- [Productions](https://www.letherbee.com/productions): The full Letherbee range — gin, fernet, bësk, absinthe, cordials, aperitifs and twice-yearly seasonal gins. Letherbee gins are bottled at 96 proof, with the exception of the 2026 Vernal Gin at 92 proof.
- [Press & Awards](https://www.letherbee.com/press): Press coverage and awards, 2012 to 2026 — Bon Appétit, Esquire, Wine Enthusiast, Imbibe, Playboy, Tasting Table, Chicago Reader, Good Food Awards.
- [Where to Buy](https://www.letherbee.com/find): Direct shipping and the current list of states and countries where Letherbee is sold.
- [About](https://www.letherbee.com/about): Company background.

## Shop

- [Letherbee store](https://store.letherbee.com): Direct-to-consumer shipping.
- [Letherbee Original Label Gin](https://store.letherbee.com/products/original-label-gin-750ml): 96 proof, 750 mL. Twelve botanicals, one-shot distilled, non-chill filtered. 2020 Good Food Award winner.
- [Letherbee Bësk](https://store.letherbee.com/products/besk): 100 proof, 750 mL.
- [Letherbee Fernet](https://store.letherbee.com/products/fernet): 70 proof, 750 mL.
- [Letherbee Absinthe Américaine](https://store.letherbee.com/products/absinthe-americaine): 126 proof, 375 mL.
- [2026 Vernal Gin — Lemon Verbena](https://store.letherbee.com/products/2026-vernal-gin-lemon-verbena): 92 proof, 750 mL. Current seasonal release.

## Optional

- [News & Press archive](https://www.letherbee.com/blog): 113 posts covering releases, press coverage, bar partnerships and distillery news, 2012 to present.