More about New York Distilling Company

New York Distilling Company set out to bring great gin and rye whiskey back to New York, and it has gone further than most: its Jaywalk ryes are built on Horton, a 17th-century New York rye variety that had all but disappeared.

The distillery was founded in Brooklyn in 2011 by spirits and cocktail expert Allen Katz and Tom Potter, a co-founder of Brooklyn Brewery. It spent its early years in Williamsburg, where it ran a bar, The Shanty, alongside the stills, before moving to a larger home in Bushwick. The rye project started with just ten Horton seeds; working with Cornell and Pedersen Farms in Seneca Falls, they grew it back out over several years, and now blend it with organic Field Race rye, both grown in the Finger Lakes.

The gins are made with the cocktail in mind. Dorothy Parker, named for the famous wit, mixes juniper with elderberries, citrus, cinnamon and hibiscus. Perry's Tot is a navy-strength gin at 57% named for Matthew Perry, a commandant of the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Mr. Katz's Rock & Rye, rye whiskey sweetened with rock candy and flavored with sour cherries, cinnamon and citrus, is like an Old Fashioned in a bottle. We've long counted them among our favorite local distilleries.