PRESS & AWARDS
Letherbee is an independent distillery in Chicago, incorporated in 2011 and bootstrapped out of a basement boiler room on a bartender's wages. We've never taken outside investment and we've never sold. The Chicago Reader has covered us since 2012. Here's where the work has turned up.
AWARDS
Chicago Reader, Best of Chicago — 2016
Winner, Best Local Spirit. Runner-up, Best Local Distillery.
Good Food Awards — 2020
Letherbee Original Label Gin, recognized by the Good Food Foundation.
Good Food Awards — 2022
Letherbee Fernet, recognized by the Good Food Foundation.
Chicago Reader, Best of Chicago — 2024
PRESS
Xenia Turner named Letherbee among 10 underrated gin brands worth knowing.
The Creepies Vesper, made with Letherbee Gin, named one of the 30 Best Martinis in America.
"With no bartender, the drink itself is batch made and perfectly balanced. Local Letherbee gin, Community Vodka, and a combination of Lillet and Cap Corse provide the subtle yet stiff sips needed as one houses a plate of fries."
Chicago Reader — November 2025
"A Tale of Two Wormwoods: On Absinthe and Malört," by Micco Caporale. A history of wormwood spirits featuring Letherbee's absinthe and bësk, with Brent Engel interviewed throughout.
Chicago Reader — November 2025
Pomme Aperitif featured by Micco Caporale and Mike Sula in a survey of new local spirits.
Letherbee Fernet included in a taste test of American fernet.
Bësk recommended by Olen Amelia and Ben Deter of Minimum Selections in Bon Appétit's holiday gift guide.
Bësk named the strangest spirit made in Illinois.
Freunde von Freunden — September 2016
Berlin feature: "Letherbee Distillers Serve Up a Rebellious Revival of Unfiltered Gin."
Vernal featured in a piece on flavored and infused gins.
Switch — April 2016
"Una Storia Americana." Letherbee featured in the Italian magazine Switch.
Southwest Airlines — December 2015
A feature on the rise of amaro, with a photo of the Letherbee crew and mentions of Chicago bars Billy Sunday, Parson's, Sportsman's and The Office.
Popular Mechanics — December 2015
"Chicago's Bitter History," by Francine Maroukian. Bësk featured in a piece on the city's bitter-spirits tradition.
"A Homegrown Amaro: Letherbee Fernet," by Julia Thiel. Coverage of the fernet launch.
Chicago Reader — December 2012
Letherbee Original Label Gin featured in "Our All-Local Gift Guide."
"Moonshiner Goes Legit: Letherbee Distillers." Our earliest press.
