A brewpub, however make it liquor: Take Flight Spirits lifts off in Skokie

Brewpubs have develop into cornerstones of the nation’s huge beer panorama, locations the place the beer made on website is basically, if not totally, consumed in the identical place it’s made. In contrast to manufacturing breweries, the mannequin isn’t about getting onto retailer cabinets or on faucet at bars — it’s about cultivating distinctive experiences.

Take Flight Spirits, which opens this month in downtown Skokie, is taking its cue from the brewpub mannequin, charting a course uncommon within the spirits trade: the distillery pub.

Owned and operated by the married staff of Carrie and Andrew Cole — she’s the proprietor, he’s the distiller — Take Flight is taking off with a number of acquainted spirits, together with rum, gin and whiskey. However the Coles are specializing in small and frequent batches, with few speedy plans to promote their spirits past 8038 Lincoln Ave.

The precedence, Andrew Cole stated, is cultivating “visitor expertise, fairly than constructing a model.” Such speak could be heresy at many new distilleries, the place the model is the whole level.

However at Take Flight, “We wished to give attention to the folks coming to work together with us,” he stated.

The Coles would love their spirits to achieve a number of close by eating places for cocktail-making functions, however for at the least the primary couple of years, they’re content material to maintain issues small.

“For us, truthfully, the aim is to be a household enterprise,” Carrie Cole stated. “The aim isn’t to get into Binny’s tomorrow. It’s to make merchandise we’re happy with and share them with a group we’re very keen on.”

Slightly than a stately distillery filled with rows of barrels ageing whiskey, Take Flight is extra of an enthralling and breezy operation, tools packed into the manufacturing area behind the tasting room. Slightly than age spirits within the traditional 53-gallon oak barrel, the Coles are utilizing 5- and 10-gallon barrels sourced from Crozehead Cooperage, in suburban Monee, which permit for sooner ageing and experimentation.

[ Judson & Moore distillery opens after a decade of planning — and a fire, the pandemic and an untimely death ]

Take Flight additionally serves a trim roster of beers, wines and spirits from different distilleries — together with the legendarily bitter Jeppson’s Malort, owned by CH Distillery in Pilsen — to attraction to a broad viewers. Take Flight even spikes milkshakes from the bakery two doorways down, Kneads & Needs Artisan Bakery and Cafe, with a shot of rum or gin on Thursday nights.

The aim, the Coles stated, is just to experiment, have enjoyable and develop into part of Skokie’s downtown revitalization, which incorporates a newly opened 12-story apartment building and the 2020 arrival of Sketchbook Brewing. The village gave the Coles practically $100,000 in tax cash to rehabilitate a long-time flower store.

Andrew Cole is a first-time skilled distiller, and never above getting ideas from YouTube movies as he maintains his day job in human sources. The penchant for experimentation comes throughout in delicate methods, resembling Take Flight’s home gin, Sasha, which is redistilled from Take Flight’s rum and made with a up to date bent, that includes juniper, cardamom, lavender, recent orange peel and recent grapefruit peel. Andrew Cole known as it “gin for individuals who suppose they don’t like gin.”

It’s featured in a number of cocktails, together with a gimlet ($10) and the Bee’s Knees ($10). The menu will flip over continuously primarily based on the newest spirits. On the way in which are Take Flight’s first whiskeys, together with a bourbon, a malt whiskey and an Irish-style.

There are additionally extra overt experiments, resembling spirits distilled from Revolution Brewing’s Belgian pale ale A Little Loopy and Extra Brewing’s Mozie, a hazy IPA. Each beers had been about to end up of code, (ageing past its promote date), when the Coles snapped them as much as give them second lives as spirits.

The result’s Full On Loopy ($12), made with the A Little Loopy spirit, plus housemade grapefruit juice, easy syrup and membership soda. It’s a jarringly distinctive cocktail with the primary sip: calmly candy and brightly refreshing, however earthy and floral with a contact of spice poking by from the beer’s hops. Most vital, it really works. However Andrew Cole took no umbrage at a swift response of, “Oh that’s bizarre” after a primary sip.

“It’s very unusual,” he agreed. “The very best praise I received was it tastes like Malort if Malort was good.”

Spirits are served as straight pours and in flights, however the cocktails, up to now, are Take Flight’s attraction. The opening listing consists of bold experiments resembling Full On Loopy and a rum-based Outdated-Usual ($12) that hits a welcome intersection of candy, boozy and nutty. It could actually get a extremely advisable further wrinkle with smoke within the glass from a lighter put to a barrel stave.

The menu additionally options primary cocktails many distilleries wouldn’t trouble with, resembling a gin martini ($10) or a Cuba Libre ($8) — primarily rum and Coke with lime.

The Coles stated they wish to attraction to a broad vary of shoppers whereas discovering their method in a second profession expedited by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We wish to play and experiment,” Andrew Cole stated. “We don’t wish to placed on airs that we all know every thing we’re doing and every thing is ideal.”

Carrie Cole known as Take Flight the couple’s “pandemic child.” They weighed such a transfer earlier than the pandemic — or possibly opening a brewery or a bar — however as occurred for thus many others, the pandemic reordered their priorities and sped up obscure plans. Carrie Cole give up her job within the operating trade and plunged into the mechanics of opening a distillery.

“My psychological well being is rather a lot higher since specializing in this,” Carrie Cole stated. “I don’t know if I might have been in similar headspace if pandemic hadn’t occurred.”

The Coles are Wilmette residents who stated they appeared to open in that suburb or in adjoining Glenview earlier than settling in Skokie, partially due to the village’s curiosity in luring the enterprise.

Take Flight started distilling in March and is slowly including touches to its tasting room, together with plans for artwork on the partitions, bookshelves and an electrical hearth. Cocktails are the spine of the operation, however additionally they promote bottles of white rum ($30) and gin ($35) to go.

“We wish to work with folks in our neighborhood,” Carrie Cole stated. “Hopefully we’re filling a necessity.”

jbnoel@chicagotribune.com

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