Kings County Distillery was founded in 2010 although it’s been around since the prohibition era. It is the oldest whiskey distillery operating in New York City. I chose to come here along with 2 of my classmates to embark in the journey of whisky, bourbon, as well as moonshine. On a Thursday afternoon we headed to Brooklyn Navy Yard for about a 45 minute tour lead by Lai. Lai was very well informed and I appreciated her energy and passion for everything he was informing us of. She started by letting us know a little bit about the distillery such as it’s rich history (it’s the first distillery in the city since prohibition).

Kings County’s main product is bourbon which has to be 51% corn by law. Lai informed us that theirs is 70%. With that being said they have their own mash mill. They cook the corn a little longer which gives it more flavor. A fun fact is that they consume a lot of corn. A ton of corn is consumed in just 2 days. The first step is the cooker. In the cooker there is  250 gallons of water, 300 pounds of corn, and 55 pounds of malt. They bring the water up to a boil, add the corn and let it steep for an hour, bring the temperature down and add the malt.

First Step: Cooker

Next would be the fermenters. They are absolutely huge! Made up of Corn, malt, and they’ll sprinkle yeast. The fermentation will last about 4 days. The yeast consumes dissolved oxygen and sugar. This produces carbon dioxide and alcohol.

Fermenter

In Kings County they double distill. They have pot stills in which gives rich, textural flavors. It makes a much smoother whiskey as well. We then went to the barrel room. Tons of different barrels in which bourbon/whiskey were being aged in them. It was only a quarter of the amount they actually have (I still found this to be a lot of barrels!). Lai explained that the size of the barrel determines how long the whiskey will be aged. The barrel room’s climate is controlled because of seasonal changes. The tour also included a tasting of bourbon, moonshine and chocolate whiskey.

Barrel Room

Overall this experience was great. I found it extremely interesting and never thought I’d experience something like this before. I would want to return again when I’m 21 to their bar! It was a great experience and I’m excited to share my experience with those interested in the whiskey world. It was definitely an experience I won’t forget.

References:

https://brewhaus.com/blog/how-to-do-a-stripping-run-with-your-moonshine-still/