Kings County Peated Bourbon Whiskey

Kings County Peated Bourbon Whiskey

Situated along the banks of the East River, Kings County Distillery is New York City's oldest operating whiskey distillery and the first distillery in New York City since Prohibition. Wedged between Williamsburg and Vinegar Hill, Colin Spoelman and David Haskell, the master distillers at Kings County, make hand-crafted bourbon and moonshine out of the 113-year old Paymaster Building at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. A typewriter the two distillers found on the sidewalk in Williamsburg is used to make the labels that adorn their clear, flask-like bottles, while a hairdryer (made by Revlon) is used to affix each bottle seal. Handwritten scrawls on a chalkboard keep track of different batches, and mesh laundry bags are used as strainers. After milling and mashing the grains, the wash is slowly fermented at their distillery in blue tanks that resemble oil drums and then double-pot distilled. Haskell and Spoelman use the first alcohol produced from each batch the "head" as a disinfectant and sell the used mash to a pig farmer who uses it as feed. "I still don't understand why it doesn't make the pigs drunk," Haskell says. What is Peated Bourbon It's bourbon whiskey that conforms to the American requirements for bourbon but it incorporates malted barley that has been smoked with peat, a tradition common to some Scotch whiskeys. Made from 75% organic New York State corn, and 25% Scottish peated malt. Peated bourbon will definitely appeal to the adventurous whiskey traveler who has had a whiskey or two in their life. Aged for two summers (14 to 24 months) in a five-gallon charred, new oak barrels, Kings County Peated Bourbon Whiskey has an aroma of bonfire and juicy corn, which leads to notes of buttered toast, raisins and caramel on the palate. The finish is slightly smoky with hints of biscuits and more sweet corn. Now available in full 750 ml bottles.