Pictured at right: The Pomme Sauvage, made with Pink Lady apple puree and hibiscus syrup.

Thought “artisanal” was strictly a term for fancy breads and pedigreed cheeses? Think again. As the local and slow foods ethos takes over the way we eat, consumers are increasingly seeking the best and brightest ingredients and flavors — whether at the cheese counter, or the local bar.

The popularity of the hundred or so American craft distilleries is on the rise — in part, due to their small-scale, “boutique” appeal. Regarded as distilling renegades, these small batch craft makers turn out unique flavors by using infusions during the distilling process. In Portland, Oregon, House Spirits Distillery infuses anise, Indian sasparilla and lavender into their top-selling Aviation Gin. House Spirits’ Lee Medoff says the herbs, sourced locally from Oregon Spice lend Aviation Gin its “heavier, rich and herbal character.”

Up in Maine, the Thibodeau brothers, Don and Lee, are the only known national vodka distillers who oversee the entire vodka production — from planting and harvesting the potatoes on their property, Green Thumb Farms, to bottling the vodka — marketed under the name Cold River.

While most of these craft distillery gems are available regionally, you need only go as far as your own kitchen to stock up on rare and specialized spirits. Bitters are “easy to make, but hard to make good,” admits Maggie Dutton, blogger for The Wine Offensive — a website billing itself as “the surly, dissonant voice in opposition to the glossy magazine culture of food and the moneyed critocracy of wine.” Dutton is blending her own bitters at home “in a pickle jar with some tea bags and some string.”

Bitters, often used as digestif, are made by dissolving or steeping herbs and citrus in alcohol. With seltzer, they’re the perfect cure for an upset stomach; their flavor can also make or break a classic Manhattan. “I steep flavors in Japanese tea bags because I can take them away or add them when I want, like Ginseng which can’t stay in there steeping the whole three weeks or it will taste awful,” tips Maggie. All the botanicals she uses are sustainably-grown, foraged or organic; many, like the mint and sage, from her own garden. And with ingredients that fresh, these bevvies are just as delicious without the added kick of alcohol; mix up a batch to add a splash of sophistication to your next dinner party or some much-needed indulgence to your Sunday brunch.

The Pomme Sauvage

• 1 oz Calvados (French Apple brandy — Boulard is a sufficient brand; Busnel or Dupont are exceptional)
  
  • 1 oz tequila reposado (aged tequila, preferably with minerally, smoky flavors; Chamucos, Cazadores)
  
  • 1 oz organic pink lady apple* puree
  
  • 1/4 oz fresh squeezed lime juice
  
  • 1/4 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice (pith strained)
  
  • 1/4 oz hibiscus syrup
  
  • 1/4 oz red fruit tea infusion (concentrated black tea with rhubarb and strawberry flavors)
  
  • hibiscus sugar, for garnish (finely crushed dried hibiscus petals combined with fine organic cane sugar)
  
  • hibiscus flower, dried, for garnish
  
  Combine Calvados, tequila, apple, citrus and hibiscus syrup in a chilled mixing glass with ice. Shake. Strain into chilled martini glass (rim dusted with hibiscus sugar). Gently pour tea infusion and allow to settle in bottom of glass (the crimson color will contrast with the paler rose shade of the cocktail). Garnish with a floating hibiscus flower. Enjoy!
  
  *This recipe, provided by Sambar in Seattle, one of our favorite spots to enjoy an artisanal cocktail, utilizes Pacific Northwest ingredients. Feel free to substitute whatever's fresh at a farmer's market near you.

— Amy Pennington