January Spirits
A modern take on classic spirits and liqueurs: gin, amaro, and genepy crafted by two longtime NYC bartenders.
Today’s sponsored dispatch is available to all readers thanks to the generous support of January Spirits.
Longtime New York City bartenders Jon Langley and Lucky Preksto first met in 2009, and by 2020 began collaborating on developing recipes for what would become their own line of craft spirits.
That journey began when the duo spent most of 2019 throwing pop-up events around Manhattan to test out a bar concept focused on classic cocktails, unfussy presentation, mid-century bar snacks, and ingredients emphasizing handmade, in-house production of amaro, vermouth, and cordials. With the eve of the pandemic-induced shutdowns soon upon them, Jon and Lucky turned their love of esoteric European liqueurs into a potential business and worked together to create their own modern take on these historic spirits and liqueurs.
After a couple years of work they brought their recipes to Matchbook Distilling Co., located in Greenport on the North Fork of Long Island, to produce at scale, and Jon and Lucky officially launched January Spirits in the spring of 2023 with a trio of bespoke spirits, including a floral gin, a coffee and roasted chicory amaro, and a genepy liqueur.
January Spirits is named for Janus, the Roman god of the past and future, god of new beginnings, and god of the open door. “He's our mascot,” says Jon. “We're a couple new guys making old things, living in a new world, making old-world style products. January is also, we feel, an optimistic word, an 'up' word. It feels like the beginning of something.”
Jon and Lucky like to think of January Spirits as a true mom and pop shop, as Jon's partner, Amanda Eli, heads up operations and Lucky's wife, Diana Lang, is the creative director.
“Amaro and genepy are both legendary digestifs; two sides of a coin, one bitter, rooty, the other herbal, ineffable,” says Lucky. “Our five-flower gin accents the earthy quality of flowers. Taken on their own, these styles are aromatic and nuanced; in cocktails, near indefinable.”
You can find January Spirits in select bottle shops and bars in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and Florida along with near-nationwide shipping available via January Spirits’ Online Shop.
Save 15% off any online order using promo code LASTCALL15.
January Spirits Gin
When Jon and Lucky set out to make January Spirits Gin (45% ABV), the goal was to create a “stand-up gin.” Their “five flower” gin is made with 12 distinctive botanicals and makes itself known in spirit-forward cocktails like a Negroni or a 2:1 Dry Martini with orange bitters. It’s an aromatic affair, with earthy floral notes courtesy of chamomile and marigold, along with accents of jasmine and lavender and a bit of bee pollen incorporated into the mix for a waxy body.
Save 15% off any online order using promo code LASTCALL15.
Try it in…
Pick Up
Picture a White Negroni, but with a subtle green hue. Created by Jeremy Hois, former manager of Amor y Amargo in NYC’s East Village, his Pick Up brings in a noticible level of bitterness from Suze and Cocchi Americano, while a bit of January Spirits Genepy adds some heft to the palate and an ethereal herbal quality.
Makes 1 Drink
1-1/4 ounce January Spirits Gin
1 ounce Cocchi Americano
1/2 ounce January Spirits Genepy
1/4 ounce Suze
Garnish: lemon twist
Add all the ingredients into a mixing glass. Add ice and stir until to chill and dilute, but not as long as you’d stir a Martini. Strain into an old-fashioned glass over a big ice cube or regular ice. Garnish with a lemon twist.