When three friends bought Tuthilltown Gristmill in the early 2000s to open a rock climbing ranch, the neighbors turned them down. Friends had to find a new way.
The two-hundred-year history of the Mill, which has become one of the landmarks of New York, prompted them to a new idea. For the production of flour, this Mill has always used only water, which is why the whiskey is called Hudson Manhattan Rye. Grain, water, yeast, and a new goal: we decided to make whiskey – this is how producers describe the beginning of their business.
Knowing absolutely nothing about the whiskey-making process, it took them two years to stock up on theoretical knowledge, talk to world experts, and at the same time build their distillery. After six months of experimentation, failure, trial, and error, the first batch of whiskey came out in small quantities.
Each bottle is carefully stoppered, hand numbered, and sealed with wax.
Being pragmatic and prudent, producers buy raw materials near New York, thus obtaining selected high-quality rye for themselves and supporting the agriculture of local farmers.
The path from the seed to the first bottle was cautious and thorny but flourishing, as it turned out later.
Tuthiltown Spirits was honored and named the 2010 Master Distiller of the Year by the American Distilling Institute for its Hudson Manhattan Rye Whiskey product. According to the authoritative magazine Food and Wine, he also received other awards: Best American Whiskey in 2010.
And according to the Tasting Group, it received 92 points out of 100 possible.