Welcome to our Happy Hour Question & Answer series, where we ask questions to interesting people in the alcohol world.

This week’s spotlight is on Taras Hrabowksy and Sasha Selimotic and Standard Wormwood Distillery. Founded in 2012 by the lifelong friends and New York State natives, Brooklyn’s Standard Wormwood Distillery pushes the boundaries of Wormwood-derived spirits while also creating a new model for cocktail bars, making everything in-house. Every distinctive spirit, liqueur, and cordial features a surprising depth of flavor imbued by an extraordinary blend of fresh fruits, herbs, and spices, along with locally-sourced wormwood varieties from the Hrabowsky family farm. Learn more at standardwormwood.com and find distinctive Standard Wormwood spirits in select locales around New York. Follow @standardwormwooddistillery on Instagram for upcoming live events, seasonal cocktails, book parties, and more.

Hops & Spirits: What pushed you all to launch Standard Wormwood Distillery?
Taras Hrabowksy and Sasha Selimotic: When we started distilling, we discovered a process that elicited flavors we hadn’t tasted in other spirits. We started the distillery because we believed we had something new to contribute. What intrigued us was the multitude of directions you can go when distilling with bitters, which introduce complexity. Our novel approach to distilling means we are not merely different, but have created an entirely new category of spirits. That was the catalyst for starting the distillery.   

HS: How did y’all settle on the name?
T&S: We distill every spirit we make with wormwood. By developing this method of distilling, we are defining the standard for this approach of distilling with bitters and its influence on the range of different spirits.

HS: For those unfamiliar, what is wormwood?
T&S: Wormwood is a bitter aromatic herb.  It looks like a shrub or bush with silver-green leaves. Chances are you’ve probably seen wormwood or something in the family around and didn’t notice it. Wormwood is a complex bitter that generates unique flavors during our distillations. Whereas some bitter ingredients peak in the palate, wormwood has a layered structure that presents in the beginning, middle and end. There are other bitters that do something similar, but we’ve found that distilling with wormwood creates a distinctive underlying structure in the spirit itself. This helps bring part of what we would traditionally associate with cocktails into the classical style spirits we distill, whether it be rum, gin, agave spirit, or rye.

HS: Why did you decide to run a small-batch distillery and use only your spirits for the cocktail bar?
T&S: The first spirit we made was our Wormwood Rye, from there we distilled our gin, then our agave spirit, then our amaro, one of our vermouths, aperitivi, etc. We eventually crossed an inflection point where we noticed a synergy to bringing all of these together in a cocktail program to make something unlike any other cocktail bar. Once we started down this path, developing and innovating more and more is exciting and an unending passion that fuels itself.  To bring this to people who help support us and share that experience together with them is amazing.  

HS: Why did y’all do the reverse of most and craft the spirits for your cocktails?
T&S: So yes we definitely craft our spirits to be complementary and heighten our cocktail bar and program. But we make every spirit to stand out on its own. Our goal is not to do one or the other, but to do both. To create and define every aspect of the life of a cocktail from our farm, where we grow our own wormwood and other more obscure artemisia and herbs, to the spirit in the bottle to the cocktail at the bar. This level of complexity, attention to detail, and malleability in the process is wholly inclusive — every part considers itself in relation to the others and holds its own.

HS: How have y’all been able to grow your selection of spirits?
T&S: A relentless drive to pursue our passion and never give up. We’ve been distilling for over 17 years, and released our first spirit about 10 years ago. Basically we’ve just been doing this for a long time.

HS: How often does it take to perfect a new spirit with wormwood?
T&S: It really depends on the spirit, but since we have developed them for so many years now, we can more easily iterate and come to a final spirit much faster than when we first started. But basically I’d say it takes us about one year to really get the spirit into a place where we feel it is complete and ready for release. I’m assuming that’s not an aged spirit, which would just tack on more time to that.

HS: What can folks expect when they visit the distillery/cocktail bar?
T&S: What’s great about the cocktail bar is that it’s connected by a large glass windowed wall to the entire distilling floor, so you can literally sit a few feet away from where everything is made and have a drink. And there are always new cocktails. We change the program seasonally. We also have over a hundred macerations, infusions, tinctures, and cordials in our experimental library that, if you want to try something more eccentric, we’re always willing to pull down and sample or craft an impromptu cocktail with. It’s a place where you can go down the rabbit hole, or just do a beer and shot – it’s really up to you.

HS: How can folks learn more about y’all?
T&S: Best way is to stop by, have a drink, and say hello. We’re located in Industry City, an industrial area of Sunset Park, Brooklyn where there are a range of other artisans and makers to make a day of it.  But you can definitely follow us on instagram at @standardwormwooddistillery for any events/updates and check out our website.