Whiskey Wednesday

whiskeyandgoatsmilk:

Brooklyn Distilleries: Back from the dead?

Big exciting news in the New York whiskey front, mostly due to the fact that its the first time since prohibition that New York has opened up their own whiskey distilleries. 

Back before the 1930s, whiskey and other alcohols (gin mostly) were not only a loved beverage, it was used for almost everything. Workers in the farms and fields would have a shot in the morning to help them wake up, soldiers were given their rations of food every day, along with a small amount of whiskey to wash it down, children where given whiskey to beat flu or colds or used simply to help them sleep. When the government intervened and started prohibition, a lot of classic american whiskey and american distilleries closed their doors. Most of them never opened up again. 

To this day, the oldest distillery in America is (funny enough) Buffalo Trace distillery in Kentucky. Which was only allowed to be open through the prohibition because it was used to make medication whiskey.

What does that mean? Well, that means that American whiskey’s have a long way to go if they are ever going to reach the amount of distilleries and variations of whiskey that their competitors, scotch carry. 

And thats pretty damn cool, cause we have an upper hand. Less history means we get to make our own. 

Take in case the Kings County distillery, found in Bushwick, Brooklyn. 

Which claims to be the “New York City’s oldest Whiskey Distillery.” And even though they were only licensed in April, 2010, they are indeed correct. Since prohibition there have been no other NYC distilleries until now.

With cocktail bars like PDT, Little Branch, Clover Club, and Dutch Kills, along with just whiskey based bars like Char No. 4, whiskey is on the rise in big cities. Bourbon is no longer looked at as the “working mans drink.” But rather, a corner of the world of whiskey that still hasn’t been put to its full potential.

Whiskey isn’t the only type of yum yum liquor that is being made in the corners of NYC; gin is also on the rise.  Breuckelen Distilling Company is making their own affordable gin, but not in the London sense that we are mostly used to, but they are making it in the way of the Dutch (“Breuckelen” is the Dutch word in which Brooklyn came from. Now you are THAT much smarter!)

There is also the New York Distilling Company which is based in Williamsburg and has yet to open (they open officially in April) and is owned by the same people who brought you Brooklyn Brewery.

New York (and more importantly, Brooklyn) used to have literally thousands boutique distilleries, breweries and wineries but were all wiped out after prohibition, killing any chance for the boroughs to be a major player in the liquor world. I’m proud to say though that we are coming back. And we are coming back younger, and more adventurous than before. 

AND WHATS EVEN BETTER IS THAT ALL THESE DISTILLERIES ARE JUST MOMENTS AWAY FROM MY APARTMENT. HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY

read more about it here

(via theladyfish)