Friday, November 20, 2009
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Rye Available at the Distillery Today!
It's on the shelf. Here's a brief description, but you've got to get up to the distillery to try it for yourself:
McKenzie Rye Whiskey is made from NYS grain and is distilled using old-time techniques. We age in new charred quarter casks and finish in sherry barrels from local wineries. The sherry balances the spiciness of the rye and also gives a nod to the wine region where this whiskey is produced. Notes of orange peel, cardamom, mint and butterscotch. Exceptionally smooth for a young whiskey.
Whiskyfest NY
Trying to recover this morning from a crazy few days in NYC. We headed out of Elmira early Tuesday morning for a couple of sales calls and to set up our booth at the Marriott Marquis. The event started at 5:30 for the VIPs. We felt we were in pretty good company: Jimmy Russell, Master Distiller at Wild Turkey was at the booth right across from us and Willie Tait, MD from The Dalmore even came over to pay us a visit.
Our booth was well staffed with myself, Thomas (he even got a haircut for the event), my uncle Mike, and our new sales rep in NYC, Alexis Kahn.
So how did they like our stuff? We got some nice praise on our newly-released Rye. Some even called it the biggest surprise of the show. Everyone seemed to be impressed that it was just a year old. The sherry finish also got a lot of positive compliments.
Glen Thunder Corn Whiskey was unlike most of the aged spirits being poured, but also was appreciated by the attendees. I think it surprised a lot of folks that were expecting it to taste like a fiery moonshine. We also had our gin available, but didn't go through too much. This was WhiskyFest afterall.
Here's a good recap of the event, with mention of our products, written by our new friends at whisk(e)yapostle.com.
Wednesday consisted of more sales calls and a tasting of our products at the Brandy Library. Thanks to Ethan at B.L. for setting this up and to all of you that attended.
As always, we keep our list of retail partners updated on our website. We hope to see several NYC locations added in the next few weeks. Get out and try some McKenzie Rye before we sell through this first batch.
Here are a few photos from the week.
Our booth was well staffed with myself, Thomas (he even got a haircut for the event), my uncle Mike, and our new sales rep in NYC, Alexis Kahn.
So how did they like our stuff? We got some nice praise on our newly-released Rye. Some even called it the biggest surprise of the show. Everyone seemed to be impressed that it was just a year old. The sherry finish also got a lot of positive compliments.
Glen Thunder Corn Whiskey was unlike most of the aged spirits being poured, but also was appreciated by the attendees. I think it surprised a lot of folks that were expecting it to taste like a fiery moonshine. We also had our gin available, but didn't go through too much. This was WhiskyFest afterall.
Here's a good recap of the event, with mention of our products, written by our new friends at whisk(e)yapostle.com.
Wednesday consisted of more sales calls and a tasting of our products at the Brandy Library. Thanks to Ethan at B.L. for setting this up and to all of you that attended.
As always, we keep our list of retail partners updated on our website. We hope to see several NYC locations added in the next few weeks. Get out and try some McKenzie Rye before we sell through this first batch.
Here are a few photos from the week.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Who wants some Rye?
We set an ambitious target, but it looks like things are coming together for the release of our Rye Whiskey this week. Last weekend, Thomas and I selected the barrels that are going into Batch #09-01. On Thursday, we got official word from the State Liquor Authority that our label was approved. On Friday, we blended and cut the whiskey to bottle strength (91 proof). Lots of labeling this weekend.
We're thrilled with the results. The whiskey is very mature for its age. It has the spicy characteristic that Rye is known for, but finishes exceptionally smooth. You'll taste notes of butterscotch, cardamom, and black licorice. Something about it reminds me of a big fruitcake.
We've got a great week lined up. We're pouring the Rye (as well as our Corn Whiskey and Gin) at WhiskyFest NY in Manhattan on Tuesday. On Wednesday, we're pouring at the Brandy Library in Tribeca.
For those of you in the Finger Lakes, the Rye will be available for sale on Friday afternoon. We're also moving some out to retailers for sale later this week.
I've posted some pictures from the past week below. The first one is a picture of us blending the selected barrels. We pump into the big tank, but I wanted to make sure we got every ounce. Meryl (pictured on the right) is taking copious notes. The second photo is of the first aged whiskey ever bottled at Finger Lakes Distilling and the third sums up how excited we are to make our Rye available to the public. Hope you enjoy it!
We're thrilled with the results. The whiskey is very mature for its age. It has the spicy characteristic that Rye is known for, but finishes exceptionally smooth. You'll taste notes of butterscotch, cardamom, and black licorice. Something about it reminds me of a big fruitcake.
We've got a great week lined up. We're pouring the Rye (as well as our Corn Whiskey and Gin) at WhiskyFest NY in Manhattan on Tuesday. On Wednesday, we're pouring at the Brandy Library in Tribeca.
For those of you in the Finger Lakes, the Rye will be available for sale on Friday afternoon. We're also moving some out to retailers for sale later this week.
I've posted some pictures from the past week below. The first one is a picture of us blending the selected barrels. We pump into the big tank, but I wanted to make sure we got every ounce. Meryl (pictured on the right) is taking copious notes. The second photo is of the first aged whiskey ever bottled at Finger Lakes Distilling and the third sums up how excited we are to make our Rye available to the public. Hope you enjoy it!
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Which one is Thomas Earl?
Hope everyone had a good Halloween. It was great to see some people come out to the distillery in costume. We had some fun our ownselves. I dressed up(?) like our Master Distiller, Thomas Earl. We're both pictured above - can you tell who is who?
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