See this story at BrooklynDaily.com.
By Jaime Lutz
Brooklyn Daily
Next blizzard, don’t get stuck at home with regular whiskey.
Brooklyn grown-ups prepping for their next snow day can enjoy free samples of whiskey at a celebratory tasting of a Red Hook distillery’s second-ever concoction on Feb. 23 at the Bell House in Gowanus
“This is just a very, very small batch handcrafted malt whiskey made with care and love,” said Daric Schlesselman, owner and distiller of Van Brunt Stillhouse.
Here’s how small that batch is: there are only 60 gallons, or about 50 cases, of this whiskey in existence.
It’s the first malt whiskey from the brand new distillery. Its only previous whiskey was an American-style whiskey released in December; later this year, it will release a rye whiskey as well.
The malt whiskey taste is a bit like a scotch whisky, but oakier, because it is aged in a new, small barrel instead of a large, used bourbon barrel, Schlesselman said.
Schlesselman — who just opened the distillery in early 2012 after working as a video editor at “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” — acknowledges he’s lucky. After all, some distilleries in Red Hook were badly damaged by Hurricane Sandy.
But Van Brunt Stillhouse didn’t even get flooded — fortuitously, for a business so small that it has only four employees, including Schlesselman and his wife.
It’s something worth celebrating — drink in hand.
Whiskey Tasting at Bell House [149 Seventh St. between Second and Third avenues in Gowanus, (718) 643–6510, www.thebellhouseny.com]. Feb. 23, 5-8 pm. Free.
Reach reporter Jaime Lutz at jlutz@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260-8310. Follow her on Twitter @jaime_lutz.