Author Archives: Sharleen Cardenas

Kings County Distillery

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Known for its handmade whiskey, Kings County Distillery is the oldest distillery located within New York City. Although it has been around since the prohibition era, it was only recently founded in 2010. The distillery was previously located in Williamsburg but now it located in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. They offer tours and tastings Tuesday through Sunday. I had the opportunity to visit on a Thursday afternoon. The tour lasted about 45 minutes and it started off with Lai, the tour guide, giving us a lot of background information on the distillery and historical facts about the prohibition era. The tour guide was very well informed and enthusiastic to tell us about the distillery.

The distillery not only makes whisky, but they also make bourbon and moonshine. I learned that moonshine is whiskey that hasn’t aged. She told us that the name moonshine comes from the prohibition era when people making alcohol in the dark or at night.

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First Whiskey legally made in New York City

One thing that the distillery takes pride in is the fact that they use organic corn sourced from an all organic farm in the finger lakes.  Lai informed the group that that in order for a whiskey to be classified as a whiskey it has to be made of mainly corn. The distillery also has their own mash bill, which is a mix of grains used to make bourbon. The distillery uses alembic copper stills heated by steam to make their spirits. The alembic was actually invented by a woman, Mary the Jewess, an alchemist in the third A.D. century. At the top of the still there is a pipe where the alcohol is evaporated and condensed into a steel tank to make low wine.

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Alembic Copper Still

In the mash the cooked grains are mixed with barley and warm water. There is an open fermentation vessel where the wort, sugar water, is pumped out too. Once yeast is added the wort now becomes wash.

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Fermentation Vessels and an Employee checking on the Mash

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The Barrel Room where the whiskey and bourbon ages

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Master Blender John, tasting and mixing the whiskey

After showing us the manufacturing process of the whiskey, she then took us to the barrel room which is located on the same floor where the tour began.  In this room there were a bunch of different barrels with either whiskey or bourbon inside of them aging. There was an empty charred barrel which the tour guide allowed us to see. She explained that bourbon must be placed inside charred oak barrels which have never been used before. In the barrel room there is climate control allowing for the alcohol to interact with the seasons shifts. As the temperature gets warmer the barrels expand allowing for the alcohol to breathe and in the cold the barrel contracts. Since there is no climate control, they depend on their master blenders to blend the whiskey in order to achieve consistency in their products. After the tour there was a small tasting which consisted of straight bourbon, peated bourbon, honey moonshine, and chocolate whiskey.  Overall visiting the distillery was a great learning experience and recommend it to anyone who enjoys whiskey or wants to learn more about it.

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Different types of whiskey they sell and make. Such as moonshine, straight bourbon whiskey, and chocolate whiskey. The chocolate whiskey is made by letting the cacao husks soak in the whiskey for about a month.

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Awards that the distillery has won. In 2016 they won Distillery of the Year

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Whiskey of different ages

Retail Shop Analysis

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For the retail shop analysis, I went to Grand wine liquor store which is located in Astoria on 31st Street. the store is easily accessible as it is located right off the 30th avenue station on the N and W train. I had the opportunity to speak to Richard who manages the store. he told me that his great grandfather opened the store in 1933, and it had been passed down to him. Having been born into the business it’s no surprise that Richard has great knowledge of wine. The family business is also proud of their Greek heritage, which one could notice from the large Greek flag hanging from the window and their assortment of Greek wines. Upon entering the store, the first thing I noticed was large banner that said “75 years of proudly serving Astoria”. I also noticed that the wines were arranged by country by large signs hanging from the ceiling, except for sparkling and sweet & fortified which had their own separate area. Richard further explained to me that they then sort the wines by type and grape variety.

One of the things I found interesting was that next to each section there is a wine map of that country. These maps are the same ones that can be found on Wine Folly, which we use to study. Their best-selling wine is Mionetto Prosecco Brut that comes from Italy. Italy also happens to be their best-selling country along with the USA. However, their most expensive wine is a red wine from Burgundy which is priced at $1300 for a 750ml bottle.  Although this wine is incredibly expensive the store does offer a vast amount of affordable wines with some even under $10.  One thing I liked about the store was their method of recommending wine to someone who is new it. Richard said that he would ask the person what they like to eat and then recommend a wine that pairs well with it. I thought this was a clever method and extremely helpful for someone like me who doesn’t know how to pair wine. The store also has great discounts such as 15% off on 3 bottles of wine or 20% off on 12 bottles or more. They even have a 15% senior citizen discount. Besides the grand variety and great discounts this store has to offer, they also hold wine tastings on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Unfortunately, I am unable to attend because I am underage but once I turn 21 I will return for the wine tastings and discounts.

    

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“Shelf Talker”
A few of the wines had descriptive labels such as this one. It provides the customer which information regarding the viticulture and the taste.

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Map of Australia from Wine Folly

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“Wine from Chile”
The producer is Frontera, and the vineyards where this wine produced is Concha y Toro in Chile. The grape variety is Merlot. The label on the back of the bottle describes its taste and offers food pairing suggestions.

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“Wine from France’
This is a french wine which is 100% made from the grape variety Grenache. Although the label does not say it infront it is indicated on the back. It is a Rose and on the back it says to best enjoy it between 8 and 10 degrees.

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“Sparkling Wine”
This wine is from California and is a Brut Rose or a Rose Champagne. However, because the wine is not produced in the champagne region of France it is labeled as Methode Champenoise. It’s alcohol content is 12% and the producer is Korbel.