This past weekend (the first that actually felt like winter), was spent with great friends upstate. We took a trip to Gardiner to visit Tuthilltown Spirits – New York’s first whiskey distillery since prohibition. I thought I knew quite a bit about whiskey but apparently I did not. A tour of the facilities uncovered a few myths about the business – like the fact that bourbon need not come from Kentucky. It was fascinating to hear about the origins of a relatively new company and to see the process of an artisanal product from start to finish.

Here’s a pic of the corn mash before it’s fermented. We got to have a taste.

Here’s a shot of the product when it’s crystal clear before aging in charred white oak barrels.

Next door there’s a separately owned restaurant called the Grist Mill, which not long ago was a fully functioning mill producing matzah meal. It’s certainly worth a visit to Gardiner to check both places out.