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It's hard to believe that a decade ago, it was virtually impossible to find booze made in New York, unless you knew someone who was trying to make some illicit hooch in his dorm room. But in 2002, a change in licensing laws made it a whole lot easier for distillers to produce and sell their spirits in New York. The ball quickly got rolling, and it's been gathering speed ever since. Upstate and downstate, from the Finger Lakes to Bushwick, enterprising and talented distillers are now producing enough quality spirits to fill a decent-sized bar. Here are ten of our favorites, from each end of the hooch spectrum. But be aware, this is just the tip of the iceberg (or the stem of the Big Apple, as it were). For every brand mentioned here there are many others worth trying, so put on your drinking shoes and get on it.
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10. Core Vodka
Suggested retail price: $35
Why do you think they call New York the Big Apple? We've got some of the world's best apples, that's why, and the folks at Harvest Spirits took full advantage. The company started as an orchard and began using apples to make booze when they had more than they could sell. And vodka lovers are all the luckier for it. Unlike most colorless-flavorless-odorless vodkas, Core retains its essential apple-ness. Not that it's a flavored vodka, mind you, but it actually has a lot of flavor (which is unusual for a vodka). Super-smooth and buttery on the palate, it makes a super mixer, but its best served chilled, straight out of the freezer.
9. Greenhook Ginsmiths Beach Plum Gin Liqueur
Suggested retail price: $50
Greenhook Ginsmiths makes a killer gin—call it Plymouth Gin by way of Brooklyn—but that wasn't enough for founder Steven DeAngelo. He wanted to make a sloe gin, as in Sloe Gin Fizz, the cocktail, but sloeberries are hard to come by in the States. He wound up using beach plums, which grow in sandy soil (hence the name) and are indigenous to Long Island and Cape Cod. Seven months' maceration time plus a little turbinado sugar make this a super-tasty, not-too-sweet, not-too-tart liqueur that captures the essence of the fruit without losing sight of its gin base. It goes great with bubbles like tonic, club soda, and champagne, and it makes a fine after-dinner sipper, too. Quantities are limited as the beach plum is a seasonal fruit, so if you can't find it, wait until next spring.
8. Hudson Baby Bourbon
Suggested retail price: $40/375ml bottle
Upstate-based Tuthilltown Distillers helped kick off the New York spirits revival a decade or so ago with the introduction of this nifty bourbon, which quickly became a hit both within the city limits and beyond. Made from 100% New York corn (bourbon by law has to be only 51% corn; most other brands also include rye or wheat), Baby Bourbon is aged for a mere three months in very small oak casks which helps quicken the aging process by putting more of the whiskey in contact with the wood. It's gentle and sweet, with a little heat belying its young age—a little water takes care of it. It goes well in cocktails or on its own with an ice cube. A little pricey, but different enough from your standard bourbons to make it worth the investment.
7. Breuckelen Glorious Gin
Suggested retail price: $32
New York has become Gin City over the last few years, with a multitude of distillers (among them Brooklyn Gin, Greenhook Ginsmiths and New York Distilling Co.) making some of the finest gins this side of London. Breuckelen's offering is far from your standard London. Where juniper normally dominates in gins both by tradition and by law, Glorious Gin is one of those newfangled "New Western Dry" gins, which means that it could almost be a flavored vodka. Ctrus flavors, namely grapefruit, dominate here, while herbal notes and, yes, juniper bring up the rear. It makes for a superlative gin and tonic and a fine martini as well. Try it in a Last Word (equal parts gin, green Chartreuse, maraschino liqueur and lime juice) for a tasty change of pace.
6. Atsby Vermouths
Suggested retail price: $37
Vermouth—you mean the stuff you put in cocktails, right? Well, yes, but it's also a ridiculously complex wine-based spirit which uses an insane amount of botanicals, all of which have to be calibrated with a scientist's attention to detail and an artisan's sensitivity. And of course the best vermouths can—and should—be drank on their own. Based in Manhattan, and made on Strong Island, Atsby's two vermouths, Amberthorn (white/dry) and Armadillo Cake (darker/sweeter), don't taste quite like any other vermouth on the market. Perhaps it's because they use oddball botanicals like shitake mushroom, wild celery, and holy basil. If you've never had vermouth on the rocks before, these babies are eye-opening. But try them in cocktails as well: Amberthorn makes an awesome 50/50 martini (equal parts gin and vermouth) and Armadillo Cake makes a most distinctive Manhattan.
5. Myer Farm White Dog Wheat Spirit
Suggested retail price: $25
White dogs (un-aged whiskeys) are all the rage among distillers, for obvious reasons. If you don't have to age the stuff in oak barrels for months or years, you can get it to market and hopefully up your cashflow a lot quicker. Problem is, most white dogs would taste better with a little aging. This is one of the exceptions. Made from wheat rather than corn or rye, it's closer in some respects to a vodka than a whiskey. The big difference is that it's distilled to a lower proof than vodka, so it retains a lot of the flavor that would normally be cooked out. You can really taste the wheat, dry and crisp with hints of rich cocoa. This is nothing like the sweet corn-based white dogs you may have tried before, and for our money it's a lot better.
4. Cornelius Applejack
Suggested retail price: $40
Never had applejack? Get on it, son! Essentially apple cider concentrated through distillation, it's been made in New York since colonial times, and Cornelius is as good as applejack gets. Distilled three times and aged for a year in barrels previously used to age Woodford Reserve bourbon, it's got an intense apple flavor, of course. But you can also taste the wood, as well as vanilla and butterscotch from the bourbon. Mix it in cocktails (the Jack Rose is the best-known applejack libation) or sip it neat instead of brandy. It's like New York heritage in a glass.
3. Perry's Tot Navy Strength Gin
Suggested retail price: $32
Straight outta Brooklyn, via the New York Distilling Co., comes this very British-sounding gin, but watch out—the "navy strength" means it's so high-proof that you can spill it on gunpowder (loading up a cannon is frightfully hard with a martini glass in one hand, old chap!) and it'll still ignite. Coming in at a hefty 114 proof, it's got notes of star anise, cinnamon, and even a little New York wildflower honey. It's stellar in a Tom Collins; for martinis, go for New York Distilling Co's lower-proof but also delicious Dorothy Parker American Gin.
2. Owney's Rum
Suggested retail price: $40
Rum is generally associated with the Caribbean, but it was actually the first spirit distilled in the American colonies—on the future Staten Island, no less—way back in the 1600s (British-imposed taxes on molasses, which is used to make rum, later led most American distillers to start making whiskey). So Owney's, a white rum distilled in Bushwick by former Wall Street analyst Bridget Firtle, is a ground-breaker for the local spirits scene, but it's also reviving a bit of New York history. It's quite a tasty revival, too; quite dry and a little spicy, with hints of tropical fruit. Try it in a daiquiri or, if you must, the overplayed mojito.
1. Hudson Manhattan Rye
Suggested retail price: $40/375ml bottle
Don't call it a comeback, rye whiskey's been here for years. But before that, around the turn of the millennium, it really was a comeback – rye was all but dead until a new generation of bartenders and cocktail connoisseurs rediscovered it. And thank God they did. Rye's dry and spicy flavors are an essential counterpart to the smooth sweetness of bourbon. Hudson's rye, made from 100% locally sourced rye, is a little light due to its young age (just a few months as opposed to several years for other high-end ryes), but it's very flavorful, with hints of cherries and honey giving way to a tingling peppery spice. It's called "Manhattan Rye" not because it's made in Manhattan, but because it makes a delicious Manhattan cocktail, especially if you add a couple of dashes of Hudson's Basement Bitters. If you've only had bourbon Manhattans before, this will blow your mind.