Kings County Distillery

Kings County Distillery is a New York whiskey distillery based in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Founded in 2010 by Colin Spoelman and David Haskell, it is widely described as New York City’s first commercial whiskey distillery since Prohibition. The range includes bourbon, rye, peated bourbon, single malt, single barrel expressions, moonshine and more experimental American whiskeys.

The distillery started tiny, originally producing unaged corn whiskey before moving into the 123-year-old Paymaster Building in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Kings County is very much Brooklyn: compact, independent, hands-on and happy to do things slightly differently. No cosplaying Kentucky here.

Its whiskeys are made in small batches using Scottish copper pot stills, with a focus on flavour over mass-market uniformity. The peated bourbon is a particularly good example of the distillery’s approach, taking American whiskey rules and giving them a smoky sideways glance.

Kings County is real craft whiskey, a showcase of modern American distilling with real roots driven by a welcome refusal to be boring.