E The Brooklyn hooch revolution There’s a new artisanal distilling movement growing in New York, sustained by a group of enthusiastic and dedicated young entrepreneurs and hobbyists. A thirsty Joe Warwick discovers a scene that is above ground, legal and very, very tasty very big distillery tends to have some sort of tourist trap of a bar attached, but the sort of joint that you’d actually want to drink in, one that makes great cocktails, attracts hip locals and just happens to have its very own distillery attached are often in short supply. In fact The Shanty, opened in an old rag-trade warehouse in Williamsburg, is the only one that I’ve ever come across. Since it opened in December 2011 as an annexe of the newly founded NY Distilling Company, the nascent distilling trend in New York City has turned from a trickle of hard liquor to a steady stream, with nine artisan distillers now operating in Brooklyn, and one in the Bronx. “The great ethnic diversity of the city has given swift rise to a variety of spirits, liqueurs and vermouths,” says Shanty co-founder and spirit expert-turned-distiller Allen Katz. “At the same time, the decline of Wall Street five years ago left a collection of unemployed people with more than a few dollars and the confidence and desire to build new businesses.” On a more practical level, a gradual change in New York State law has made it more affordable to distil, where less than a decade ago, red tape and licensing costs had made it economically unviable. Call it a hangover from Prohibition, but it took 72 years from the repeal of the 18th Amendment in 1933 for alcohol – or at least legally produced alcohol – to be distilled again in New York State, which at its peak in the 19th century was home to over 1,000 distilleries. In 2005, Tuthilltown Spirits in the Hudson Valley was the first company to take advantage of a change in New York law that made affordable Farm Distilling Licences available – issued only if the bulk of ingredients used were of New York origin. So began the trickle of spirit production, the first to be openly distilled in New York since 1920. Although more distilleries have since emerged across the state, it’s in urban New York City rather than rural New York that the micro-distillery movement has really taken off. You don’t need to be a farm to gain a Farm Distilling Licence and since Kings County Distillery in Brooklyn Navy Yard began in 2010 (now the city’s longest-running distillery), New York City now has 10 distilleries, six having opened in 2012; three years ago there were none. The spirits being produced range from bourbon, rye and corn whiskeys to vodkas, gins and rums, plus more esoteric tipples such as grappa (made with wine from New York vineyards) and liqueurs made from cacao and hibiscus. For the most part, we’re talking about artisan spirits – hipster hooch and experimental recipes being produced by hobbyists in small batches, a world away from industrial distilling. Katz sees New York’s distillery movement as an extension of what is going on elsewhere in American food and drink. “There is a great entrepreneurial spirit that has returned to the idea of ‘manufacturing’,” he says. “There has been a progression from the concept of cocktail culture being inherent to the history of American gastronomy, to actually producing spirits and related products.” The distillers are already being embraced by the city’s best bartenders, who are as keen to use a quality local alcohol in their cocktails as chefs are to use the best local produce. From this April, the spirits produced here can be sold in farmers’ markets, making what are often tricky-todistribute products much easier to obtain. It’s been nearly a century since illicit stills supplied the speakeasies that fuelled New York during the ‘Roaring Twenties’. Now, once more, New York is the city that never stops distilling. To celebrate this renaissance we bring you 40 MARCH <strong>2013</strong> FLY TO new york daily. brusselsairlines.com
FLY TO new york daily. brusselsairlines.com NEW YORK from the repeal of the 18th Amendment in 1933, it took 72 years, for alcohol to be distilled again – or at least legally – in New York State xxxx 2012 41
Change language