Distiller Paul Hletko next to a bottle of his Bourbon in the Few Spirits tasting room, Evanston, IL. Hletko takes pride in having a distillery in home of Carrie Nation, a radical leader of the temperance movement.

Are you from Chicago/Evanston originally?

I was born in Oak Park, IL, and grew up in Michigan. I moved to Chicago in ‘93, and then moved to Evanston to raise my kids.

What led you to open a distillery in your hometown?

I wanted to open a distillery in my hometown because it seemed like the best place to do so. I’m a part of the community with a lot of community involvement, so it seems natural to have my business be here as well.

How do you get your spirits into cocktail bars in Chicago and around the country? How have you grown your brand?

We get our spirits into cocktail bars the old fashioned way. We work at it. It starts with a quality product, with a message, and then builds from there. We grow the brand by working. Hard.

Tell us how you also became an in demand brand in the UK.

We became an in demand brand in the UK the same way — starting with a unique, high quality product different than what else is available. We expose people to the brand and the product and they react. We’ve been quite lucky, and even got named the most exciting new spirit introduced in the UK in 2012.

Having been to your distillery, I know there are many intriguing barrels and experimental bottles you’re playing around with at any given time. What particular experiments are exciting you most right now?

We have a lot of fun experiments that we’re playing with, but the one that I have a particular passion for is our pilsner whiskey. Prior to World War II, my grandfather’s family owned a major pilsner brewery in what is now the Czech Republic. After Hitler invaded, they no longer owned it, and after my grandfather survived the camps, he spent the rest of his life trying to get the brewery back, unsuccessfully. I made a whisky inspired by that pilsner recipe, and it is currently aging. I’m not sure if we will ever release it, or if I’ll keep it all for my family and I, but it is a whisky that I take very personally, and I’m quite proud to have in barrel.