Concerning Kings County

The oldest whiskey distillery still in operation in New York City and the city’s first since Prohibition, Kings County Distillery is located along the East River. The century-old Paymaster Building in the Brooklyn Navy Yard is home to Colin Spoelman and David Haskell, the master distillers at Kings County, who create handcrafted bourbon and moonshine, situated between Vinegar Hill and Williamsburg.

The two distillers use a hairdryer (manufactured by Revlon) to seal each bottle and a typewriter they found on the Williamsburg pavement to create the labels that go on their transparent flask-shaped bottles. Mesh washing bags serve as strainers, and handwritten scribbles on a whiteboard identify several batches. Haskell and Spoelman sell the wasted mash to a pig farmer who uses it as fodder, and they utilize the “head”—the first alcohol made from each batch—as a disinfectant. “I still don’t understand why it doesn’t make the pigs drunk,” adds Haskell.

View every bottle in Kings County Bourbon >>

Notes on Tasting

A sweet, dessert-forward scent that includes notes of pipe tobacco, demerara, caramelized dates, and oak, cherry, and maple wood. With notes of port, cherries jubilee, brown sugar, dark chocolate, and fig, the tongue is smooth and sweet. Anise and leather notes linger in the finish.