Why Great Jones Distilling is a Destination for Whiskey Lovers in NYC
Last summer, Manhattan’s first (legal) whiskey distillery to open in more than 100 years, Great Jones Distilling Co., debuted in Noho, on a busy section of Broadway. Founded by Proximo Spirits’ Juan Domingo Beckmann, who also serves as the chief executive of Jose Cuervo, the project took several years and millions of dollars to complete.
Great Jones Distillery photo courtesy of Great Jones Distillery
The Distillery
Today, upon entering the doors, visitors are greeted with a dazzling deconstructed copper still sculpture and glowing shelves lined with bottles of Great Jones’ Straight Bourbon, Four Grain Bourbon a 2022 NY International Double Gold Winner, and Rye. These bottles exist because Proximo purchased Black Dirt Distillery in Warwick, New York, six years ago, and began distilling and aging Great Jones’ 100 percent New York grain whiskies there. For now, all the bottles sold in Manhattan were produced there, and all of the grain milling and aging will still take place there. The first bottles distilled at the Manhattan property should be ready to drink in about 2025.
Great Jones Distillery copper still photo courtesy of Great Jones Distilelry
The second floor of the vertical building houses the distilling room—well, not quite the second floor. Because of an odd city ordinance from the 1960s that states that you cannot distill above the second floor in Soho and Noho, they had to drop the floor down five feet. The impressive 500 gallon copper Vendome pot still and two 28-foot columns are inside a glass explosion-proof room, making for a dramatic but hands-off impression. There’s also a cozy tasting room on this floor, while the main restaurant, The Grid, is on the ground floor. An underground speakeasy (complete with subway rumblings) is another venue where guests can sample the rye and bourbon offerings.
Tasting Room photo credit Great Jones Distilling
Distillery Tours
One of the main goals of the distillery is to educate visitors about the distilling process through tours and experiences. There’s a one-hour tour ($35), a cocktail making class ($110) and two tasting experiences —Bourbon & Bites ($60) and Canapes & Cocktails ($145).
The closest experience to a full meal, Canapes & Cocktails offers an impressive display of Executive Chef Adam Raksin’s abilities (he used to cook at Le Cirque and Per Se) and a solid selection of Brand Ambassador and Mixologist Esteban Ordonez’s creative cocktails, plus straight tastes of the three expressions.
House Made Brioche with Great Jones Spent Grain Butter and Golden Kaluga Caviar photo credit Great Jones Distilling
Whiskey and Food Pairing
The experience starts with a brief tour of the distillery upstairs and then continues downstairs to The Grid, where guests are served a six-course food and drink pairing menu. Before the snacks and booze come out, guests are led through the proper way to nose and taste whiskey, and what flavor notes to look for. Then the food and drinks are paraded out of the dining room, with many dishes incorporating the whiskies in some way.
Mama's Apple Cobbler for Two photo credit Great Jones Distilling
For example, on a recent visit, the first course consisted of a bourbon-washed rind cheese from a Hudson Valley creamery (washed with Great Jones Bourbon), a bourbon apple compote, candied walnuts, and a small herb salad that was paired with a pour of Great Jones Straight Bourbon. Another course consisted of a scallop crudo paired with The Jones Royal cocktail, their version of a Kir Royale made with sparkling wine from the North Fork of Long Island and Great Jones Four Grain Bourbon. Dessert was a delectable apple cider brioche doughnut filled with a pastry cream and served with the Cocoa Sazerac, an ingenious drink made with fat washed Great Jones Rye with coconut, chocolate bitters, peychaud, and a spritz of absinthe. A strong finish indeed.