211: Kings County Distillery is New York City's Oldest Distillery

Colin Spoelman is our guest this week and he is the Co-Founder of NYC’s Kings County Distillery.  We discuss how Colin grew a tiny distillery into New York City’s oldest and most respected craft whiskey distillery.  Colin has a unique approach to his whiskey craft and isn’t afraid to ruffle a few feathers to make great whiskey and gain respect amongst the world’s largest, and even smallest, distilleries.  Find out what makes Kings County whiskey stand out in the crowd by downloading this week’s episode.

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About Colin Spoelman:

Colin is Co-Founder and Head Distiller at Kings County, New York City’s premier craft whiskey distillery and has written The Guide to Urban Moonshining and Dead Distillers about American whiskey. He grew up in the moonshine (not the bourbon) part of Kentucky and graduated from Yale University.

About Kings County Distillery:

KINGS COUNTY DISTILLERY is New York City's oldest, largest, and premier whiskey distillery. Founded in 2010, Kings County makes handmade bourbon, rye, and other whiskeys out of the 123-year-old Paymaster Building in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. We use New York grain and traditional distilling equipment to make whiskeys that have been praised by the New York Times, Wine & Spirits Magazine, and Whisky Advocate and is recognized as one of the preeminent craft distilleries in the United States, having been named Distillery of the Year in 2016 from the American Distilling Institute. 

Recent Press Release from Sept. 13, 2022:

BROOKLYN, N.Y.- Kings County Distillery, New York City's premier craft distillery, is releasing a new flagship whiskey in wide-release, a blended bourbon made from house-distilled straight whiskeys. The resulting whiskey is bright, complex and approachable—a multi-occasion whiskey for neat sipping or mixing. With a suggested price of $54.99, Kings County's Blended Bourbon will be its most accessible aged spirit and arrives in a striking new blue label, one which clearly differentiates this spirit from Kings County's established bourbon, rye, and single malt whiskeys.

"As we have done with moonshine and bottled-in-bond, making a blended bourbon is a way of asking whiskey drinkers to reconsider an overlooked category of spirit," said Co-Founder and Distiller Colin Spoelman. "Blended whiskey is most often associated with crowd-pleasing scotch or Canadian whiskies. We used the all-but-forgotten category of blended bourbon to create the American analog to these reliable and endlessly versatile spirits. Composed entirely of in-house, pot-distilled straight bourbon, straight corn whiskey, straight rye whiskey, and malt whiskey, our Blended Bourbon makes for a sippable, lower proof bourbon, suitable for nearly any application calling for an approachable American whiskey. In the interest of providing the drinker with the highest level of transparency and elevating a category historically associated with intentionally vague labeling practices, we list the exact blend composition on every bottle."

By law, blended bourbon must use 51% straight bourbon, but the open-ended definition allows the Kings County's blending team to use the full breadth of our mature inventory to craft a complex and purposeful flavor profile within the lineup. With this added flexibility, Blended Bourbon can become a volume leader in Kings County's portfolio, joining an existing line of superlative aged whiskeys.

Kings County's spirits have been widely accepted and appreciated, but with supply of aged whiskey growing short across the spectrum of American whiskey, Kings County aims to lead the market with a superior all-purpose two-year-old spirit. With notes of honey, caramel, and rye pepper, this is a flexible whiskey, and one that shows what can be achieved through the use of quality organic ingredients, careful distilling, and creative blending. It also presents a spirit suitable for mixing, creating a new audience for the brand.

Kings County Blended Bourbon will be available throughout New York State starting on September 14th with national rollout to follow, visit www.kingscountydistillery.com for more information. With the new entry-level aged whiskey will come a reduction in pricing on Kings County's unaged spirits. "While many distillers are raising prices, we are making our whiskeys more affordable and accessible," said Spoelman. "We want to be the distiller that meets the moment for our customers and fans."

Kings County Distillery Online and in the Media:

• Kings County Distillery 
• Kings County Distillery (@KingsCoWhiskey) / Twitter
• Kings County Distillery Guide to Urban Moonshining 
• Dead Distillers: A History of the Upstarts and Outlaws Who Made American Spirits 
• ‘Hazmat’ Whiskey Is Gaining Popularity, but What’s the Pleasure in Drinking Something So Strong? 
• Why the Irish Whiskey Association Is Beefing With a Brooklyn Distillery
• Kings County Distillery: the oldest in New York, founded in 2010 
• US distiller calls IWA claim 'ridiculous' - The Spirits Business
• Tasting Six Whiskeys From NYC's Kings County Distillery - Paste 
• Kings County Distillery New York - Sip in Brooklyn Navy Yard
• In American Whiskey, Is Heritage Everything? | VinePair