North Shore Distillery is the original craft distillery in Illinois, established in 2004 by a creative husband and wife team with a deep passion for spirits and cocktails. As an award-winning artisanal establishment, the distillery makes spirits by hand – spirits that are not possible on a mass production scale – with fresh, original flavors. Every bottle is infused with a bit of chemistry and chemical engineering knowledge as well as artistry. This talk will give us a behind-the-scenes look at the materials and processes that go into the production of a range of distilled spirits, their flavorings, and what makes the end products appeal to discerning connoisseurs and laypersons alike.

BIOGRAPHY

Derek Kassebaum holds a BS in Chemical Engineering and an MBA. Over the years, he has read and experimented wildly and is one of the most knowledgeable people around about grains, herbs, spices, fruits and distilling them. He has led seminars with scientists of many disciplines, as well as herbalists and others who use these base materials in other ways. Derek designed every aspect of the distillery’s manufacturing, and loves the process of layering and building flavors and smells through infusion, distillation and aging. He is the creative force behind all of the distillery’s amazing spirits.

Co-con-spirit-tor biography: Ethel the Still (depicted below the abstract) was hand- and custom-made in southern Germany to our specifications. Derek worked with the still manufacturer in Ethel’s design, and she has several custom elements that make her truly one of a kind. Her capacity is 250 liters, or the equivalent of about 60 gallons, and she has a role in every single product North Shore Distillery produces. She is one of the smaller stills in commercial production today – but she is versatile, skilled and loves making spirits: it is what she was born to do!