New York Craft Distillers Embrace New Laws

New York Craft Distillers Embrace New Laws

NEW YORK—

Kentucky might be known for its bourbon, but whiskey was made all over the U.S. in thousands of small-scale distilleries in the years before Prohibition¹ made it illegal to make or consume alcohol.

Nearly 80 years later, New York loosened its laws and encouraged craft distilling² through business incentives³.

Now local distillers have set up shop in New York City creating innovative⁴ spirits with locally farmed ingredients.

Every cocktail⁵, says Allen Katz, co-founder⁶ of New York Distilling Company in Brooklyn, starts with a great spirit, like the gin and rye whiskey he distills on site.

"Finally, 80 years post-prohibition, we are reclaiming⁷ our taste buds,” he says.

That’s because New York made it legal for small-scale distillers to not only operate but also to self-distribute and have tasting rooms. New York Distilling Company, which now sells up to 10,000 cases a year, is one of more than 30 state manufacturers.

While craft distillers only account for two percent of total U.S. distilled⁸ spirits by volume, their presence is growing. The number of craft distillers has skyrocketed from 250 in 2009 to over 700 today — and small distillers did more than $400 million in revenue last year, according to the Distilled Spirit Council of the U.S.

"It’s absolutely a win for us because it allows us to enter the marketplace at more reasonable cost to set up a business like this from scratch,” says Katz.

New York rye has been used in local liquor for centuries, says Katz's head distiller, Bill Potter, adding that the oldest distillery was actually on Staten Island, dating back to 1640.

Another Brooklyn-based distiller, Breuckelen Distilling Company, Inc., works with local farmers to create a regional flavor. The specialty⁹ Farmer’s Distillery License¹⁰ that Bruekelen and others operate under requires at least 71 percent local grains.

“We’ve been working with the same farmer since we started, and we did the first distillation¹¹ in 2010," says Brad Estabrook, founder of Breuckelen Distilling.

He says small-batch spirits are successful because customers care where their liquor comes from and who makes it. It’s part of a what he calls a backlash against global commercialism.

"When we first started we had the one product, and, yeah, we’ve grown a lot from there," he says. "We’ve shipped product into Europe, into Australia, we’re shipping¹² into Panama in July for the first time.”

Just like the perfect cocktail, growth is all about the right mix — in this case, a blend of financing opportunities, state support, and ingenuity¹³.

1 prohibition   

n.禁止；禁令，禁律

参考例句：

• The prohibition against drunken driving will save many lives.禁止酒后开车将会减少许多死亡事故。
• They voted in favour of the prohibition of smoking in public areas.他们投票赞成禁止在公共场所吸烟。

2 distilling   

n.蒸馏（作用）v.蒸馏( distil的过去式和过去分词 )( distilled的过去分词 )；从…提取精华

参考例句：

• Water can be made pure by distilling it. 水经蒸馏可变得纯净。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• More ammonium sulphate solution is being recovered in the process of distilling oil shale. 在提炼油页岩的过程中回收的硫酸铵液比过去多了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

4 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。

5 cocktail   

n.鸡尾酒；餐前开胃小吃；混合物

参考例句：

• We invited some foreign friends for a cocktail party.我们邀请了一些外国朋友参加鸡尾酒会。
• At a cocktail party in Hollywood,I was introduced to Charlie Chaplin.在好莱坞的一次鸡尾酒会上，人家把我介绍给查理·卓别林。

6 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

7 reclaiming   

v.开拓( reclaim的现在分词 )；要求收回；从废料中回收（有用的材料）；挽救

参考例句：

• People here are reclaiming land from the sea. 这儿的人们正在填海拓地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• How could such a man need reclaiming? 这么一个了不起的人怎么还需要别人拯救呢？ 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

8 distilled   

adj.由蒸馏得来的v.蒸馏( distil的过去式和过去分词 )；从…提取精华

参考例句：

• The televised interview was distilled from 16 hours of film. 那次电视采访是从16个小时的影片中选出的精华。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Gasoline is distilled from crude oil. 汽油是从原油中提炼出来的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 specialty   

n.(speciality)特性，特质；专业，专长

参考例句：

• Shell carvings are a specialty of the town.贝雕是该城的特产。
• His specialty is English literature.他的专业是英国文学。

10 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

11 distillation   

n.蒸馏，蒸馏法

参考例句：

• The discovery of distillation is usually accredited to the Arabs of the 11th century.通常认为，蒸馏法是阿拉伯人在11世纪发明的。
• The oil is distilled from the berries of this small tree.油是从这种小树的浆果中提炼出来的。

12 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

13 ingenuity   

n.别出心裁；善于发明创造

参考例句：

• The boy showed ingenuity in making toys.那个小男孩做玩具很有创造力。
• I admire your ingenuity and perseverance.我钦佩你的别出心裁和毅力。