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At Barrel Global we work with a range of distilleries from the US and UK providing you with the opportunity to buy limited bourbon whiskey and Scotch whisky casks.

We currently* have stock with Annandale in Scotland. In the US we have stock with Dueling Grounds, Green River, Casey Jones and Kings County Distillery in New York.

Today we’re going to give you a deeper look at Kings County Distillery.

Kings County Distillery is known as New York City’s premier craft distillery and sits among the most acclaimed small distilleries in the United States. The distillery produces a range of spirits including bourbon, peated bourbon, Empire rye, and other experimental whiskeys and spirits. They have been awarded “The American Distilling Institute”, Distillery of the year in 2016, and again in 2023 by the New Orleans Spirits Competition, with more praise coming from the New York Times, the New Yorker and the Whiskey Advocate. You can see why we want to work with them and bring their great whiskey/bourbon to you.

As New York is not an area traditionally associated with making whisky and bourbon, the team at Kings County has brought together distilling practises from around the world and say that their methods “remain traditional while defying convention ”and looking at the range of spirits being produced we would have to agree!

Speaking further, the team say - “We wanted to build a temple for whiskey lovers and an oasis within Brooklyn - a little bit of Kentucky and rural Scotland in the concrete jungle. We love sharing our whiskey with people from all over the world, and we put a lot of thought and care into making sure we have one of the best visitor experiences of any distillery, large or small.”

When you visit the distillery, you should also allow some time to view other parts of the Brooklyn Navy Yard, which is a large historical site.

( Brooklyn Navy Yard -Wikipedia )

Creating the Kings County spirit:

The Distillery first opened in a 325-square foot room in East Williamsburg, Kings County. With just 5, 24 ltr stainless steel stills and making whisky for 16hrs a day, 7 days a week it was the smallest distillery in the county.

In 2012 it moved to the Paymaster Building within the Navy Yard, where all the distilling now takes place.

Using non-GMO corn grown in New York and barley from the UK as the source grain a “80/20” mashbill is created. This is then “mashed”; when the water boiling point is reached, the corn is added to the water. After an hour the temperature is dropped to around 158 degrees Fahrenheit (70 degrees Celsius) and the malted barley is added. Once the mash is cooled and strained, it is transferred to the open fermentation tanks where yeast is added and the liquid stands (well, bubbles gently as the yeast and bacteria do their work) for 4 days. This part of the process gives a unique sour note to the liquid, which adds to the distillery spirit character. Note that the distillery uses almost a ton of grain each day to make the spirit.

After fermentation the liquid goes through a distillation process and with a nod to the Scottish influence, 2 pot stills are manufactured by Forsyths in Scotland.

Once distillation is complete, the spirit is placed into charred new oak barrels at116 proof. The spirit will remain in the barrel for 2 years minimum for straight bourbon and 4 years for bottled in bond.

Lastly, when the bourbon is ready to be bottled, it is done without chill filtration maintaining good mouthfeel and flavor.

If you are ever in the New York area, the distillery is well worth a visit. There are tours where you can visit the production floor and learn how the whiskey/bourbon is made as well as learning a little about the history of the area. The distillery website gives a great overview of tours, tastings and cocktails available.

(The Gatehouses |Kings County Distillery )

(* at time of publishing. Please check with our advisors for the latest information regarding our current cask availability.)

If you like the sound of the Kings County bourbon and would like to discuss owning your own cask, please contact our team. If you’re new to the world of cask ownership, we can help advise you through every step of the process. In the meantime, you could take a read of our blog about whiskey cask ownership.

Barrel Global is on a mission to make whiskey barrel ownership accessible to collectors worldwide. As the first ever global marketplace for whiskey barrels, you can connect with distilleries and collectors around the world to build your own portfolio. For a whiskey experience unlike any other, request access today, barrelglobal.

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