Taconic Distillery: Dutchess County, NY
A distillery at the forefront of New York’s booming bourbon and rye craze
I’ll be honest - I don’t remember the first time I tried Taconic Distillery nor where, and for once my notes are no help. Whenever that first pour happened, though, I can pretty clearly imagine my reaction: “this is how old/young? this is that good at that age?” and etc. etc.
Taconic Distillery was started in 2013 in New York’s Hudson Valley, making it one of the earlier distilleries to pop up as New York’s distilling scene exploded alongside Widow Jane, King’s County, and Hudson (now Tuthilltown Spirits). Taconic is unabashedly New York, and revels in its Dutchess County location and the fishing, farming, and hunting that permeates its surroundings.
On a recent visit to the distillery over Labor Day Weekend, I was struck by the surroundings on the drive up: rolling fields, a few houses off the road, then - suddenly - you clear a patch of high brush and the distillery comes into view. You drive up and park on the gravel outside the big red barn emblazoned with “Taconic Distillery” and the iconic dog logo. Outside lies a still that I’d love to know more about, and a beautiful patio ready for drinks and cigars overlooking the nearby fields. As you enter the tasting room, it’s set up like a small, high-top-filled bar with distillery products, swag, and a few dusties adorning the walls.
With John (the founder) and Brandon (the distiller) on vacation, I had the pleasure of tasting through their products with Audrey and Jerry. I already had a few Dutchess Private Reserve picks at home as well as their Mizunara-finished and Maple Syrup Barrel-finished bourbons, so I really wanted to try some of that NY rye.
New York - along with Pennsylvania and Maryland - has a long and storied history of rye production. There are far more expert people on “Empire Rye” and rye production from Virginia to New York and everywhere in between than I, but long story short the history of rye in the US is older than our country and older than bourbon’s history, too. Rye is what was given to our troops at Valley Forge and the grain that George Washington produced at his Mount Vernon Estate towards the end of his life. Rye grows exceptionally well in temperate and northern climates where corn and wheat don’t, making it perfect for the mid-Atlantic (also see Canada, where the definition of rye is a bit hazy but the product is everywhere, or northern Germany and Scandinavia, both famous for their rye bread).
Rye in the US was popular and widespread right up until Prohibition, which nearly wiped rye and the rest of American whiskey off the map. Bourbon recovered, boosted in large part by being tagged “America’s Native Spirit” in 1964 as part of the Federal Standards of Identity for Distilled Spirits (27 CFR §5.22(b)(1)(i)). Rye, however, got no such distinction, and was largely forgotten. A few brands survived, mostly Heaven Hill products like Rittenhouse, but otherwise most of the rye market was given over to Canadian imports.
Recently, though, rye has ridden the coattails of bourbon’s explosive growth since the late 90s and early aughts. Particularly in MD, NY, and PA, where each region has a special identity to its rye, its growth - no pun intended - has been enormous. Rye grows like a weed, grows quickly, and ages more quickly in the barrel, all positives for start-up distilleries looking to release solid products without much aging while their bourbon sleeps in the cask.
ANYWAY - back to Taconic. Like I said, I’d had their regular bourbon offerings and was quite pleased with each, but hadn’t had a chance to try their rye locally before Covid shut down my favorite hangouts. While there, I got to sample six different expressions: their founder’s rye, madeira-finished rye, cask-strength rye, cognac- and cabernet-finished bourbon, and their “Stubbornly Different” barrel-aged gin. Some products were kind of meh for me (the madeira-finished rye never really cohered) and others were outstanding (the cask-strength rye is my Jewish mother comforting me with dill-heavy chicken soup then giving me maple candy for dessert).
The biggest takeaway from my visit? Taconic is exciting, not afraid to experiment, and puts out a solid representation of NY distilling that any New Yorker would be proud of.
Other Resources:
