Happy Birthday FLD.

1 year ago on July 17, we opened the doors of our tasting room without a lot of fanfare. Since then, we've hosted thousands of visitors, perfected the quarter ounce pour, and had a great time along the way. We'd like to thank all of you for your support in Year #1.

With the craziness of the season upon us again, we haven't had time to plan a proper celebration for our fans and customers (perhaps something this fall?), but we did want to recognize the contributions of our excellent staff in making our first year a success.

Those of you that have visited our tasting room know how lucky we are to have personable, well educated staff members. We constantly get comments from customers about what a great experience they've had meeting with our people.

Last night we celebrated with a cruise aboard the Malabar VII Schooner - True Love. It was a perfect night for a sail - mix of sun and clouds with a nice wind. Great food, lots of laughs and of course, a few cocktails, were enjoyed by all.

Anyone visiting our area should make a charter on True Love part of the experience.

Thanks again to all of you for making it a memorable year!

The FLD crew getting ready to board

Some of the FLD girls on the deck of True Love

Thomas and Bill discussing something very important, I'm sure

Glenn & Mike

Docking for the night back in beautiful Watkins Glen

More good reviews, including another mention in NY Times

Top NY Times Wine Critic, Eric Asimov, recently dined at ABC Kitchen, a great new restaurant featuring our products in NYC. He kicked off the evening with a McKenzie Rye Manhattan and seemed to really enjoy the experience. Click here for the article and recipe. My favorite line: "What makes this Manhattan so good...is the combination of superb ingredients in it."



We've also gotten some great press/reviews on several of our other products. About.com whiskey writer, Lance Mayhew, is rethinking his aversion to vodka after tasting Vintner's (did he really compare us to Biggie Smalls?). Bill Dowd is enjoying gin season with some Seneca Drums in some pretty interesting cocktails.

We're also getting lots of great comments on our recently sold-out McKenzie Bourbon: read here and here.

Don't take the critics' word for it - come out and see for yourself. We're open every day 11-5 and now available in about 150 retail locations.

The Whiskey Situation

Sad to say, we are officially out of Bourbon. The last 3 cases moved out of our tasting room yesterday afternoon.

Fortunately, Rye Batch #2 is here to save the day. We are bottling it fast and furiously and have some available in the tasting room today. It tastes very similar to Batch #1. One subtle difference is a strong note of honey. When we were fermenting the grains that went into this batch almost a year ago, we noticed a honey smell. Apparently, this continued through our distillation and barrel aging program.

Like Batch #1, we also finished in local sherry barrels which gives a little sweetness and a raisin-like quality to this otherwise spicy whiskey.

We're really happy with the result and hope you can find some time to come out and try (and buy!) it.

Martha likes our whiskey!

This month's newsletter

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Manhattan Cocktail Classic Recap

Why would I be posting about an event that happened over a week ago? If you attended the Manhattan Cocktail Classic, you would understand. It was the type of event that might put you out of commission for a period of time...a five-day festival centered around "The Cocktail", parties 'til the wee hours, pouring tastings for 7-8 hour stretches, all located in the heart of NYC.

The event got widespread media attention. Here is an article that appeared in the Wall St Journal and here is a clip that appeared on CBS News.

The weekend kicked off with the gala event held at the NY Public Library on Friday night. We were greeted by Oompa Loompas at the door.

(photo courtesy of Nikola Tamindzic)

If that didn't give you the impression that things were a bit over-the-top, it was very apparent when you saw "Queen Victoria" enjoying a martini over the Hendrick's display.

(photo courtesy of Nikola Tamindzic)

Probably one of the best parties I've been too. The setting was incredible, cocktails were on the money, and we made some great contacts. Pictured below (L to R) Alexis Kahn (our NYC sales representative), me, Jenny, Noah Shannon (Alexis's husband) and our good friend Steve Shaw, who represents several high-end spirits brands while also supporting one of our favorite Finger Lakes wineries, Shaw Vineyards.

(photo courtesy of Eric Strauss)

We were back at work on Sunday from 1 to 9 p.m. at the Micro Spirits Odyssey. The venue (Butter) was packed all day and the staff from Hush Cocktails came up with some incredible drinks. I also sat on a panel at the event, discussing the benefits of our industry to NYS agriculture. Below is a picture of Jenny and me pouring our wares for a serious spirits enthusiast (he liked them).

(photo courtesy of Phil Anema)

What an incredible event. Kudos to Lesley Townsend and all the people that made it a success. Can't wait until next year!

Latest FLD newsletter...

Click here for the latest news at Finger Lakes Distilling - recap of our Bourbon release, info on the latest products, and some great cocktail recipes.

Come pick up a bottle of Pear or Currant Brandy this weekend!