Locally Distilled Liquor and Spirits

Locally Distilled Liquor and Spirits

Several of the area’s small distilleries are churning out impressive products, including gins and whiskies influenced by regional botanicals, plus applejack and other old-fashioned styles. Sample some straight or enjoy one of the cocktails made with these spirits. In addition to the distillery tasting rooms, several city liquor stores sell their products—ask at Astor Wines & Spirits (399 Lafayette St. at E. 4th St., map) downtown or at Park Avenue Liquor Shop (292 Madison Ave. betw. 40th & 41st Sts., map).

For some of these spirits, such as whiskey and gin, the ingredients are grown locally. At Tenmile, for example, the barley is sourced from nearby farms, and the company ships organic Meyer lemons from California to give its gin its signature citrus flavor.

Locally Distilled Liquor and Spirits: Michigan’s Finest Selections

Other craft producers use local ingredients that are more exotic, and some even produce their own barrels to add an extra level of artisanship. Located in Amenia, New York, Tenmile has an innovative home distillery designed by the architect Allan Shope that sits underneath a cliff with three sides of it underground, providing built-in insulation and enough sun exposure for tactfully placed solar panels.

The word “Locally Distilled Liquor and Spirits” comes from the Latin word spiritus, which means breath – and indeed, many of these spirits are considered life-enhancing. But there’s a lot of misleading marketing on the bottle labels of some supposedly craft spirits that make it seem like they’re all distilled and bottled at a single distillery when, in fact, their whiskey comes from a large commercial distilling operation and they simply put their name on it. One company, Templeton Rye, has been sued for this practice.