Tuthilltown Distillery/Hudson Valley Whiskey

The torrential downpour Saturday night left some of the clearest, bluest skies I've yet to see in New York on Sunday morning.

What better day to take a trip upstate to see Fall foliage and, while we're at it, have a whiskey tour/tasting?

(View of the city from the Wburg bridge)

Tuthilltown (pronounced "Tuttle-town") Distilleries is about 90 miles out and up from New York City, with the nearest "big" town being New Paltz. It has some of the most gorgeous mountain ranges and is particularly known for their outdoor activities, most especially as a climbing mecca with some of the best climbers coming in from all over New York.

The Distillery, occupying a much smaller plot of land than expected (think small farm operation), was founded a mere six years ago by an entrepreneurial climber (Ralph) as more of an enthusiastic business idea rather than any sort of passed-down brewer's secret craft. What struck me the most was their dedication and particularity about their product, as well as their enthusiasm for the industry as a whole. Tuthilltown became the first whiskey distillers in the state of New York to produce in-house since prohibition. Respectably, they are also vehement in their efforts and largely responsible for passing bills allowing distilleries to have tasting rooms and sell on-location, as well as pushing for the DEA to recognize their industry as farms, rather than industrial plants.

My favorite part of Tuthilltown was seeing the bottling process. Although their production has doubled in the last two years (they aim to one day produce 30,000 gallons of whiskey a year), the distillery still makes it a point to hand-craft their product from start to finish. They purchase their grain and corn from a neighboring farm, make the whiskey in-house in old-fashioned looking distilling machines, store the moonshine in varying sizes of oak barrels depending on the batch, bottle each individual bottle by hand (including the wax seal, the label, and an individual HAND-WRITTEN number for each bottle that goes out) and distribute from the distillery.

Check out their 4-Grain Whiskey. It's by newest love.