Spirits | United States | Forthave | Yellow

Yellow

NOTES

Forthave sources flowers from a friend in the Savoy who grows white génépi and allots them a small portion of the annual harvest (the rest goes to local producers); the distillery macerates the flowers twice before infusing them into a fortified wine base fermented from Cayuga grapes grown by Liten Buffel in Middleport, New York. Winemaker Zack Klug, who specializes in low-intervention releases, worked with Forthave to develop a cuvée that would complement the notes of elder, chamomile and papaya that are released during maceration. “We wanted something clean, high-acid and very precise, similar to Chablis. The Cayuga is lemony and high-toned with some minerality, and dovetails well with the floral elements,” explains de la Nuez.

Those pronounced characteristics are balanced with a touch of raw turbinado sugar, resulting in an aperitif that offers an alternative to the brasher, spirit-based génépy expressions currently on the market. “We wanted something lighter and delicate that could be consumed on the rocks or in a soda or Spritz,” says de la Nuez.

Génépi flowers are rare plants that grow in the French and Italian Alps. Liqueurs and infusions prepared from génépi have historically enjoyed a panacea status in alpine folklore and herbal medicine, especially as thermogenic agents, remedies for fatigue, dyspepsia, and airway infections.
Due to their extreme rarity and remote habitat, génépi flowers prove quite difficult to cultivate. They are largely limited to growing in the moraines of glaciers and rock crevices above 2,000 meters. Génépi is part of the Artemisia family of plants, which include much tougher and bitter plants such as wormwood and mugwort.

Most, if not all, commercially available génépi liqueurs are high-proof spirit based, and often served as an après-ski warm up. For Yellow, Forthave chose a fortified wine approach, as it shows a more delicate expression of the flower.

This is a seasonal product, so availability is limited.