The distillery i visited was the Van brunt still house on 6 bay street, Brooklyn, NY 11231 which started around 6 years ago. Majority of the space was use for the distillery process and only a small room was used as a bar for people to buy whiskey and relax. I met Josh the bartender who went to inform Rachel the tour guide that I arrive from my tour and said to try any whiskey I want while waiting for her to set up. After some research, I learn that Van Brunt Stillhouse was co-founded by Daric Schlesselman and Sarah Ludington from a interesting magazine featuring a small interview about what they produced, their best products and their choice of location.

They told me they get most of their ingredients (Malt Barley, Wheat, Corn, Rye from the finger lakes region but have some small supplier elsewhere too. They clearly understand the distillery process and can clearly explain it to the guest. Josh the Bartender is a really nice guy, trying to make sure I understand everything, asking If i want to taste the whiskey, and answering every question I asked. He also explain how they make their special drinks like and old fashion style, Manhattan style, etc. The main supplier is the Oechsner Farms owned by Thor Oechsner who supplies not just Van Brunt Stillhouse but other breweries too. The farm makes sure to properly clean, dry, store and handle their grain for the best quality. The grains are cleaned and process into a two thousand pound super sack and shipped out to their partners. They grow warthog hard red winter wheat, rye, soft white winter wheat, corn, hard red spring wheat, buckwheat and clover. They also have connection with other farms but they are not certified as organic farm currently. The only whiskey I couldn’t try was the Single Malt Whiskey because it wasn’t a farmed product.

Wheats from Oechsner Farm Finger lakes

The process for their Whiskey production starts off with weighing the ingredients on the giant scale they have to determine how much whisky they can make at once.                                                                               

Then it goes to the miller to get milled into smaller size pieces around coarse size I’m told and then it goes through a small pipe that goes through the wall and straight to the Mash Tun where the crushed grains goes through the mashing process to convert the starch in the crushed grains into sugar for fermentation.

Miller

Mash Tun inside

After they are mash and ready they  are sent to the stainless steel tanks that can hold 3000L at once for a short period of time for their first fermentation.They have three tanks in total each holding 3000L at once but they only have on Pot still that can hold up to only 750 L at a time so they repeat this process around 3-4 times for every batch.

Then the Pot Still they use which boils so only the alcohol is turn into gas and goes through the copper pipe into the cooling area to reduce the heat and turn them back into liquid and then the process is repeated twice for each 750 L of mash. The first run is the rough run where the results is that the alcohol still looks a little disgusting, not clear enough yet, and that is when they repeat the process a second time known as the Spirit Run to get the end result transparent and and ready for 2nd fermentation. 

The finish products goes into the Charred barrels for 16-24 months of fermentation and when they are finish they are brought down to around 40 to 65 proof.

The leftover of the end result goes through a machine that separates the mash from the water, the mash is sent to a compost area and the water goes though the drains.

I enjoyed my visited to this Distillery, fantastic customer service skills, knowledge is top notch, and they are all very friendly. Josh and Rachel are nice people and this is a great place to visited if you like Whiskey. They are planning are expanding and finding another warehouse  to purchased around the area so they can make more whiskey at once.

I visited the New York Distilling Company located at 79 Richardson Street, Brooklyn, New York 11211, and participated in their V.I.P. tour and learned about the history, process and techniques that are practiced in the New York Distilling Company. I had the pleasure to meet with Diane Wade who is the Brand Ambassador and also the tour guide, she was very informative and specific in detail which was very helpful and clear to understand. The New York Distilling Company has been distilling since December 5, 2011. The Prohibition occurred throughout the years of 1920-1933, in which it was an act that banned the production and sale of alcoholic beverages in the United States. It ended in December of 1934; all distilleries opened back up in farms, farmers preserving its crops. During the months of October to February, which is within five months of winter in New York City, there are not a lot of crops that farmers are able to use to make for alcohol, sales within the winter times decrease d in income. Distilling alcohol is a natural preservative, for an example, harvested grapes crushes juice which fermentation occurs that creates alcohol and liquid is at 12 to 14 percent A.B.V. (alcohol by volume) stable distilling is higher in percentage in alcohol and it can last for years without much care and it does not matter what condition or weather it is in. Federal law changed in 1933, state laws really didn’t necessarily change in New York State in which it was not legally able to distill again until 2002, which caused an 82 year gap of no distilling production in New York State. In 2017 all 50 state change their laws to allow distilling. Allen Katz who is the co-founder along with his partners Tom Potter who is the co-founder of the Brooklyn Brewery and Bill Potter opened the New York Distilling Company in 2011.

New York Distilling Company

New York Distilling Company

Rye which is a cereal grain and Juniper which comes from the word Jenever in Dutch as well as the word Gin, are the two main important ingredients that are distilled in the New York Distilling company creating the Dorothy Parker New York Gin, Perry’s Tot Navy Strength Gin, Chief Gowanus New Netherlands Gin, Ragtime Straight Whiskey, Ragtime Rye New York Straight Rye Whiskey and Mister Katz’s American Classic Rock and Rye Whiskey. The process in making both the Rye Whiskey and Gin at New York Distilling Company is first: Fermentation: which makes alcohol, yeast plus sugar equals alcohol plus carbon dioxide plus heat. In the mash bill, grain and water is mixed together in the mash tun, 75 percent rye, 13 percent corn and 12 percent malt is in a tank, it is then transferred into a different tank and yeast is added and fermentation begins which can take up to four day and ends up with an A.B.V. of ten percent. Second: Distillation: (concentrate alcohol) the separation of water and alcohol process in a continuous still. Fermented mash goes inside the pot to heat, the alcohol vapor occurs and travels through the columns, and then vapor is turning back into liquid, alcohol boils at 78 degrees Celsius and water boils at 100 degrees Celsius, after two runs 75 percent A.B.V. Third: Gin: is re-distill base spirit with juniper and other botanicals. Lastly: Rye Whiskey is put in rye distillate in New American Charred Oak Barrels for three or more years.

Continuous Still is the process of Distilling: the separation of alcohol and water and other materials.

Rye cereal grain

Rye which is a cereal grain. Ingredient use to make Whiskey.

Juniper which looks like black peppers but are not. Is the ingredient to make Gin. Also tasting location.

Mash Tun. Tanks used to ferment.

There were three Gin’s and three Whiskeys to taste, I was advised to first smell the product through my noise while with my mouth open to have both the effect of scent and taste, also when tasting the product, gently coat the tongue, roll it back and then breathe, also there was a technique called the “Kentucky Chew” which is a smacking motion activating essentials oils and taste, the chew pops the flavors on the palate. The first sample we tasted was the Dorothy Parker New York Gin, it was very tannin and full-bodied as well as acidic on the palate. It has juniper, lemon orange, dry berries, cinnamon and citrus and has a clear color like water. The second sample was the Perry’s Tot Navy Strength Gin, it is a cocktail spirit with a 44 percent A.B.V. it had a spicy black pepper taste, citrus palate clear color like water. The third sample was the Chief Gowanus New Netherlands Gin, it is a barrel aged gin which had an oak character and clear like water. The fourth sample was the Ragtime Straight Whiskey, caramel, vanilla, and spice on the palate and the color is brown. The fifth sample was the Ragtime Rye New York Straight Rye Whiskey apple jack barrel finish subtle tones of fruit on the noise, it has a brown color, and the sixth sample was the Mister Katz’s American Classic Rock and Rye Whiskey had a orange candy and cinnamon palate, orange-red color.

In conclusion, the New York Distilling Company was a new learning experience and the tour was very informative and exciting. At the end of the tour I was given the choice to pick a small bottle of either the three gins or whiskeys and I picked the Mister Katz’s American Classic Rock and Rye Whiskey because it was fruity and savory. In “Rock and Rye Returns to the Mix.” by Robert Simonson states, “Beyond using rye whiskey and sugar syrup, the makers of rock and rye have some leeway in creating a formula. Both Mr. Katz’s and Mr. Cooper’s recipes have citrus, but Mr. Katz adds cinnamon and Mr. Cooper includes bitters. Mr. Katz uses a youthful rye, no older than one year, as his base, and sets his alcohol level at a relatively low 32.5 percent in hopes that it will be considered as a cocktail mixer. Mr. Cooper uses a six-year-old rye, with a heartier 42 percent alcohol.” This quote portrays the idea of Mr. Katz analyzing and producing a new look for the Rock and Rye Whiskey which has history and transforming it into a cocktail that the public can enjoy.

Dorothy Parker New York Gin, Perry’s Tot Navy Strength Gin, Chief Gowanus New Netherlands Gin, Ragtime Straight Whiskey, Ragtime Rye New York Straight Rye Whiskey and Mister Katz’s American Classic Rock and Rye Whiskey.

New American Charred White Oak Barrels for whiskey.

Oak barrel, opened for 2 years and it has a red line which indicates how far the whiskey has been soaked through the wood.

New American Charred Oak Barrel.

Work Cited

Our Team. New York Distilling Company. Retrieved November 15, 2017, from http://www.nydistilling.com/team/

Simonson, R. (2014, October 27). Rock and Rye Returns to the Mix. New York Times. Retrieved November 15, 2017, from https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/29/dining/rock-and-rye-returns-to-the-mix.html