What is this all about?

"How is the winery coming along?" "When are we going to be able to try your beer?" I certainly appreciate people's interest in our project, but there is obviously a lot of confusion over what a distillery actually produces. Our region is known for its quality wines and the local brewing scene has also made great strides in recent years. We're going for something a little different, however. Finger Lakes Distilling will be the largest stand-alone distillery in the region. Our product line will focus exclusively on distilled spirits - vodka and brandies from local grapes, whiskies from local grains, and a wide range of cordials and fruit brandies (eaux-de-vie) using local fruit, honey, maple, etc.

We're applying for a NYS Farm Distillery license which will allow us to operate much like a Farm Winery. We'll eventually welcome visitors for tastings and will have a retail shop on premise. As part of the license requirement, we'll be producing primarily from NYS raw material. We intended to do this anyway, as we are very proud of our local agricultural products, and think that they will make a fine base for our products.

We're hoping to have product available in early 2009. In the meantime, please stay posted on our progress by checking in on this blog. We'll continue to fill you in on our story and track the construction of our facility.