Author Archives: Student 523423

Kings County Distillery

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Kings County distillery is New York City’s oldest operating distillery, first since the prohibition. In 2012, the distillery has moved to the Paymaster building in Brooklyn Navy Yard.

They use locally-sources grains, water and barrels for their production. They support local agriculture practices and they even have a small corn field outside of the distillery.

The distillery believes in a locally-sourced agricultural system and some of their corns come from a small corn field outside of the distillery.

After preparing the ingredients such as water, yeast and grains, fermentation starts in wood barrels. The goal of the fermentation is to release as many congeners as possible.

The yeast feeds on sugar sources to create alcohol, carbon dioxide and heat. Fermentation process can take days and even weeks depending on the goal.

After fermentation, distillation process occurs. Distillation of whisky, scotch and bourbon is done mainly on the copper pot stills. Continuous still systems are used for making neutral spirits such as gin and vodka which use both systems.

Still is a container in which the alcohol is separated from the water by heating the liquid to 176 to 212 degrees Fahrenheit. 176 degrees Fahrenheit is the boiling point of alcohol and 212 degrees Fahrenheit is the boiling point of water. After reaching the boiling point of alcohol, it goes into gas form and then condensed back into its liquid form and put in a wooden barrel to start the aging process.

Pot still systems are often very large in size. This allows for greater congener retention compared to continuous stills. The size and shape of the pot influences the overall quality of the end product.

 

After the distillation process, stills are stored in oak barrels in a designated room. The room has a heavy whisky/bourbon smell with a hint of wood.

Some of the finished products that are on display.

Overall, it was a great learning experience. Most of the information provided by the staff was just a repeat of what we have learned in our class. The information I didn’t know prior to my visit was mostly about the history of this particular distillery.

It’s a great starting point for people who are looking to get educated about how their operation works gain new perspectives.

Quality House Wines & Spirits

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Quality House Wines & Spirits is located at 2 Park Avenue, New York, NY (entrance at 33rd st). Their store has a very attractive and warm interior design.

Italian red and white varieties

 

I was greeted by Michelle, who was kind enough to show me around and answer my questions. She gave me background information of their company.They have been around since 1934 and currently have third generation owners. I asked about the demographics of their customer base. They sell to the businesses in the area, corporate events and hotels. They take orders over the phone and on the internet. They have many regular customers but they also have walk-ins and tourists provided by nearby hotels.

French and American varieties

When I asked about how many varieties they have, Michelle smiled and told me, “Hundreds of thousands, too many to count”. They carry old vintages. They also have chilled wines, sparkling wines and hard liquor in the store.

Kosher wine

Their most popular wine are French wines, followed by Italian and American. Those were the only regions I saw in the store. They also have wines from many different regions that are not on display such as Greek wine.

One thing I really liked was to hear about their public events. They offer tasting events and wine classes to the public. It’s a fun way to educate and motivate people who want to learn more about wines in a friendly setting. The staff is knowledgeable and very friendly to newcomers.

I ended up buying a 2014 Sonoma County Merlot. Michelle has assisted me with my taste preferences and I was very happy with my purchase.