Quality liquors are often associated with far-off places: vodka and Russia, bourbon and Kentucky and gin and Belgium and Holland. However, Prospects Spirits has brought the distillation process to the Borderland.
Located centrally in Five Points, Prospect Spirits opened three years ago, and has been selling high-quality, handmade liquors for a little over a year. Sean Isassi, owner of Prospect Spirits, shares that the store was an idea among him and his partners, inspired by local distilleries popping up around the country. They posed the question, “Why can’t we do this here in El Paso?”, and the distillery was born.
According to Isassi, the process is actually quite a challenge! To begin, under federal law, someone wanting to distill liquor must first obtain the proper licensure. After this is obtained, the process becomes a labor of research. Isassi shares that every step of the process must be precise in order for the finished product to be just right. Factors, from ingredients to temperatures and equipment, must all be considered before one can begin the distillation process.
To make the vodka, Isassi shares, the alcohol is simply diluted with water until it reaches an alcohol volume of about 40 percent. Making gin and bourbon is more intense since they require infusion of other flavors that Isassi and his partners proudly keep secret. Then, Prospect Spirits hand bottles all of its liquors.
Isassi, who has been in the alcohol industry for 13 years, says he and his partners knew their product would be good, but they were pleasantly surprised that the finished product turned out better than they imagined. As a result of their diligence, the finished product has become the standard for El Paso vodka. This super clear and easy-to-drink vodka is described by customers as “dangerously smooth,” Isassi says.
