REVIEW: The Pathfinder Spirit

The Pathfinder Hemp & Root Spirit

Where’d We Find It: Our local Total Wine & More.

ABV: < 0.5%

Hometown: Seattle, Washington

Our N/ATION Review:

The Pathfinder is fermented from hemp and distilled in copper pot stills, layered with a botanical mélange of wormwood, angelica root, ginger, sage, juniper, saffron, orange peel, and wild-crafted Douglas fir (whew). It’s a lot of complexity to pack into a zero-proof pour, and every one of those layers plays its own role in this symphony. Sipped straight, The Pathfinder is rich and layered in a way that gave us Old Fashioned vibes, even though technically its closest analog-world alcoholic cousin is an Amaro rather than a whiskey. Bitter, earthy, and a little resinous, it's the rare NA spirit that can be slow-sipped neat or combined with friends.

Where Pathfinder really earns its keep is in its ability to shapeshift into a variety of NA cocktails. While it can be great combined with sparkling tonics, we simply combined ours with a can of Hiyo Blackberry Lemon and a few dashes of Orange Cardamom bitters from All The Bitter, and the result leaned into the spirit's bittersweet, herbaceous backbone with the blackberry lemon rounding out the edges.

We’d also point out this tasting left us a little obsessed with wormwood as an ingredient in its own right, perhaps most famous as an ingredient in Absinthe, The Pathfinder’s alcohol-cousin spirit animal. The brand leans into wormwood, and it's a big part of what gives the spirit its distinct, bracing character.

As for where you can find The Pathfinder Spirit in the wild, the good news is the brand enjoys wide distribution at both national and local retailers. For more details, visit their Store Finder.