Attended the "Whiskey Wars" tour offered by the Brooklyn Navy Yard. This tour highlights the local history of the yard, the people that lived here, and how alcohol played its part here too, eventually finishing up at the Kings County Distillery for their history and a tour of the operations here. They operate a tasting room, where you can get light fare and cocktails using their spirits by the main gate which operates independently of the main distillery building where the magic happens. Flights of whiskey are available for tasting the product lines as well. Excellent day on all counts, highly reccomend you checking them out, especially if you enjoy whiskey and bourbons. read more

Kings County Distillery - Some things shouldn't be rushed.. The barrel aging room upstairs. - Distilleries Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

Great way to spend an afternoon The tour is well worth it. We were greeted by the founders of the distillery whom were both really friendly and open to answering questions. The tour itself wasn't just an overview of how they came to be, but also took us on a nice trip through history via the early distillers, Whiskey Rebellion through Prohibition. The grounds themselves are pretty cool too, having never been to the Brooklyn Navy Yard. It's a nice setup with the historic building converted to house the operations but also the small corn field next door. I was really pleasantly surprised to learn about the ecological partnerships the distillery forged, from where they got the grains to how they disposed of the remains after steps of each process all the way down to the one use oak bourbon barrels. Great to hear since they seem to be doing well and expanding production but are keen on keeping it environmentally and quality friendly. I'm particularly sensitive to alcohol and was pretty hesitant about the tasting portion at the end, but was pleasantly surprised that the moonshine didn't leave an impression of rubbing alcohol I had anticipated. You could really taste the corn flavor. Only suggestion I have on the tour, is perhaps space out the tastings (ie moonshine after the intro in the cornfield, bourbon in the mixing area or upstairs in the storage area and perhaps the chocolatey whiskey at the front desk). It was hard for me to take the tastings back to back and the little breaks probably would have made me more inclined to finish them All in all great value and really interesting! read more

We took a tour of the distillery. The guide gave a great summary of the history and mechanics of how to create the different spirits available. The tasting at the end gives you 5 different offerings. The bar area in the gate house before the tour is pretty awesome as well. Worth the $8 admission fee. Apparently if you volunteer to bottle for 4 hrs, you get a free bottle of your choice. read more

Kings County Distillery - A preview of the spirits before they're bottled - Distilleries Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

Booked a distillery tour through Eventbrite. The address given was 63 Flushing. Got to 63 Flushing but nothing. Looked on the distillers website which gives a completely different part of the Navy Yard. AND they do NOT have a phone number anywhere. So you can't call for directions, ask for time because you're there but late, etc. When we finally got to the right entrance, we were told we had to provide ID and fill out a security form like we're trying to smuggle a bomb on a plane or something. Really? No thanks KCD. You're not worth it. And don't think I'm gonna be drinking your whiskey anymore, either. read more

This was a great tour- aside from sampling some nice whiskey (chocolate whiskey with Mast chocolate pieces, jalapeño&grapefruit whiskey, and some others) the most incredible aspect was our wonderful tour guide - I wish I remembered his name- going on about Prohibition, history of neighborhoods in NYC- and characters during the Roarings Twenties and even earlier history. Everyone I encounter working there were so friendly and outgoing and clearly invested in the company and team. Not to mention its a beautiful place.... just make stronger moonshine please, its what the people will want (and I'm from West Virginia) read more

Excellent bar in a beautiful old historic building. The tour was very informative and peaked my interest in further learning the whiskey making history of NYC. I bought a few rare whiskey and will probably buy more every time I happen to be in town. read more

nestled into a nook along the East River is a perfect experience waiting for you. a whiskey tasting at the kings county distillery is a wonderful historical journey in a beautiful original Navy Yard building. our tour leader, Hannah, was funny, knowledgable, and led the best tasting we've ever had. read more

Great place to get a hand crafted moonshine drinks or do a flight of their various whiskeys. Good vibe with nice decor. The watermelon basil margarita is amazing! Even though they specialize in whiskeys, even non whiskey drinkers will enjoy their moonshine cocktails. Food options are limited but don't let that stop you from enjoying a couple drinks. read more

Went here with large group for a weekday tour. Tour guide was awesome and hilarious, but informative telling the importance of whiskey in the US. As the oldest standing distillery since the prohibition (8 years old) it feels small but authenticity. Best part was of course the tasting where we got to try 4 whiskeys including 2 blended whiskeys (chocolate and grapefruit-jalapeño was our groups favorite). We went back to catch end of happy hour (ends at 7pm) $2 off cocktails. Nice courtyard to hang out and drinks were solid. read more

Great place to visit on a Sunday afternoon. The tour is very informative and includes history of the Kings County distillery, general bourbon trivia as well as the actual distillation process they use. I've enjoyed talking with the tour guide and the employees. They are really enthusiastic about their work and I hope their business will thrive for years to come. I'm sure to be back for more bourbon soon! read more

Kings County Distillery - Barrels of bourbon coming of age - Distilleries Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

This place is sick - a true hidden gem. It has a speakeasy kind of feel, as there is practically no sign for the tasting room, and as you pass through the security gate to get to the tour / main distillery building. The alcohol they make is alright, but who cares when you're having fun, embracing the history and supporting local business! read more

Did the Saturday tour and had a great time. The tour was educational yet fun. We got to learn about the history of whisky in New York and did a tour of the facility. The tour ends with a tasting of the product. After we went to the restaurant area and had some of the cocktails. They were all delicious. They have a cute patio area out back. read more

So if you do the tour, go late, because the odds of leaving straight headed are slim! I mean this in the best way possible. Just the "angel share" from the barrels alone is enough to do you in. The smell of oak and corn just fills the air. It just sings of old world charm and technique. We got a great little history lesson on the whiskey riots and saw how they make some amazing hooch. All of the product was amazing across the board, it's worth checking out the place, albeit a tough location for a pop in, if only to try some of their rarer products. As it is, it is quite hard to find anywhere because it is so desired. Head out and grab a flask. Eat first! read more

I came here with my boyfriend and a friend a few months ago for the distillery tour. It's a small, rustic space with a medium sized grassy area with some picnic tables and such. The people working there are friendly and the tour was $8 each, which isn't bad at all. The top floor of the building is divided into three sections, the first being where they have whiskey and other items for sale, the second having some historical artifacts and benches for people to wait for tours, and the third where they have the whiskey in lots of barrels. The tour started outside, where the guide told us about the history of whiskey in the US, which was super fascinating! It was basically a really great US history lesson, but the part you don't learn in school. The guide explained everything really well and in an interesting way. This was the best part of the tour for me, besides the fact that it was windy and cold. We then went inside to where they make the whiskey, and he explained the machinery and the history of Kings County Distillery. This is was interesting as well, but not as good to me as the history part. We then went upstairs to where the whiskey is stored and we heard about how they have one taster who goes in and tastes the whiskey, keeps track of the flavors in a notebook, and tells them when it's ready to be bottled up and sold. We also learned about the types of barrels they use and what makes whiskey different from other types of alcohol, etc. At the end, we all got samples of 3 different types of whiskey. There were all pretty strong and I really didn't like the chocolate one. I like the design of their bottles though. The experience was definitely worth the $8, and it was cool just to explore that part of town. There isn't much other reason to go down to the Navy Yards. read more

Friendly people and a nice tour, but don't be deceived by the marketing. The whiskey is not good. Taste the bourbon next to any other bourbon on the market and you will realize right away that this is not properly produced whiskey. From the smell, to the taste, to the finish, it is all off. Pair this with an extremely high price tag and you have an extremely disappointing product. They sell these bottles for around $25 for a 200 ml bottle. Do the math and you will see that that is over $90 for a standard 750ml bottle! You can get 3 bottles of good bourbons for that price (Elijah Craig, Bulleit, Eagle Rare, etc.). They try to shortcut the aging process by using smaller barrels, but apparently this just doesn't work! It doesn't take a whiskey expert to know the difference. They have nice packaging, a cool story and are friendly people, but do yourself a favor and pick up some real bourbon instead of this. You will save money and it will taste much better. read more

I entered this bar after leaving an event at the Duggal Greenhouse. Before ordering drinks my coworker and I decided to use the restroom downstairs. The male Manager barged in after we repeatedly cautioned that the restroom was in use (we are two 25 yr old women). He continued to push the door open while the toilet was in use. Once we were finished and exited the restroom the Manager started yelling obscenities at us, yelling that we were too young to be there. We were not carded at the door and he did not request to see our IDs once before verbally attacking us and forcing us out of the bar I have never experienced a more unprofessional incident in my life and will never give the establishment my business and will caution everyone I can to stay away! read more

My friends took me here for a drink on a hot afternoon. Wow, never knew this place exists! The whiskey popsicles are to die for! Can't wait to go back. read more

Nice atmosphere, the moonshine is ok, hot toddy was good. Bourbon is worth stopping for. Irish coffee isnt great. Prices are about as expected. Really cool history to the place and the Navy shipyard in general, stop by and tour the distillery and try their whiskey, its worth the stop. read more

Haven't even had the tour yet but love this place! Old Fashioned was just what I needed on our NY trek on a cold cold day

The tour of this distillery was fun and really interesting. The bourbon on the other hand really disappointed me. I love bourbon and anticipated buying some but I didn't like any of them. Oh well. Maybe as the distillery gets a little bit older (and the bourbon gets a little older), I will like it more. But the tour is really worth it to learn about distilling and to see this cool building! read more

Liked the distillery tour here. A lot of history given, and it's a small facility so you see everything fairly quickly and they have a nice tasting of their moonshine, bourbon and spiced bourbon at the end. Has a nice homely feel inside, but it's not the easiest to find the building when in a rush. I ended up buying their limited peated bourbon, which turned out to be not as smoky as I had expected, but was good nonetheless. read more

Came here for a tour of the distillery, what a great experience! I enjoy whiskey, and Kings County Distillery makes one of my favorites. One of the founders, David, led the tour. He provided us with some background history of how whiskey was traditionally made, especially in New York, and showed us their process of making whiskey. It was clear that he was passionate about whiskey, which made the tour even more special. Would definitely recommend coming here, it's only $8 and you get to try some of their whiskey as well at the end. (and you can buy some for your own collection) read more

What a great find I was on the campaign Trail and stop for a drink.Wow! We had almonds and I had a cocktail. We had a flight of whiskey starting with what taste it like paint thinner and then ending with a chocolate infused whisky read more

Kings County Distillery - Do I look exhausted we've done two buildings on the campaign Trail. - Distilleries Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

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This place is great! The distillery is located in the navy yard by DUMBO south of Vinegar Hill in Brooklyn. I love the ambiance. It's located in an old brick navy yard building. It's cold during the winter, but it gives the place charm. The weekend tours are lots of fun and are extremely informative. Try to take a tour with the owner. He gives you the whole history of whiskey distilling in the United States. You'll learn the difference between: whisky, scotch, moonshine, and bourbon. You get to see where the products are made. The most fun part of the tour is naturally the tasting at the end. My favorite products are the bourbon and the chocolate moonshine. The bourbon is good stuff! Why? Well, the owner is from Kentucky, so he knows a thing or two. The chocolate "whisky" (aka moonshine" is very unusual. Unlike most chocolate flavored alcoholic drinks, this whisky has a hint of dark chocolate taste. It mostly gives you that warm feeling that regular whisky would; it just has a hint of dark cacao. Don't buy it to satisfy your sweet tooth. Buy it to enjoy for occasions such as chatting with friends on a snowy night or cuddling under a blanket while reading a good book. Fun fact: If you volunteer on saturdays, they PAY you in whisky. Granted, they pay you with the smaller $20 bottle instead of the large $40 one. However, it's lots of fun. You get to learn how they fill, bottle, label, and package the goods. Just don't arrive late! If you do, you'll get stuck cleaning the barrels and walls with a hellish chemical substance/have to wear creepy masks. read more

The space was great but the tour guide we had could use some polishing and confidence.

Awesome tour, really bare bones facility with a ton of character. Staff was all amazingly fun and friendly, especially Lee! The guard house has a cool bar, with an incredible and really dangerous staircase :) The whiskeys are so good and reason alone to go here, but the culture behind it is equally incredible as it turns out read more

Went on a tour after reading about it in TimeOut New York. Our tour guide was fun and informative and the tasting at the end was excellent!

Confusing to find if you don't know what you're looking for, but don't let the sketchy Navy Yard deter you! Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable, and you get a full, interesting history of prohibition and distilling in New York, and the overall whiskey-making process. Great price for a 45-minute tour and bourbon/moonshine tasting at the end. You don't even have to drink to enjoy it. I'm not a big whiskey drinker, so that part didn't appeal to me, but they had an interesting chocolate-infused one that did smell good... and I liked learning about the process. It's a fun part of New York history that most people probably haven't heard about (I hadn't). Kind of like a tourist spot for locals. read more

Amazing history and I loved the tasting at the end as well. Really interesting to learn how everything is made and the difficulties over the years with prohibition. The moonshine was a bit rough for me but the bourbon was LOVELY. There is parking but if its warm outside and you are in the neighborhood, its cool to just walk in. read more

It's in hubby's old hood, so you know it's gotta be good. Located inside the Brooklyn Navy Yard is this small batch distillery. The space is small but they've got something good going on. I'm not a bourbon or whiskey expert, but I really enjoyed learning about the history of distilling the NYC area, especially Brooklyn. The tour lasted about 45 minutes to an hour, where our guide explained the history of distilleries in NYC, the background of their place and a tour of how they make their goods. It was super hot the day we went but it was manageable. At the end there is a tasting of the bourbon, chocolate whiskey and the moonshine. I liked all three but the chocolate whiskey certainly is an acquired taste. They have a little shop where you can buy liquor, their book and little odds and ends like posters, maps, etc. We did buy the large bottle of moonshine and managed to make it last 2 weeks. If your into local history and something cool to do, I highly suggest this place. I'll be back for some more moonshine soon. read more

This is such a random spot! Great day for good weather drinking, however it's a bit hard to find the entrance to. Their drinks are STRONG - much more than my liking, but hey, if you like whiskey! read more

Tremendously informative 1 hour tour. While not a bourbon fan (compared to Scotch) I learned plenty about both the history and craft process, and enjoyed sampling. How cool is it to buy a bottle of very drinkable moonshine - goes down easy with no aftertaste! There's a Citibike dock just inside the main gate, which is only a 2 minute ride from the Manhattan bridge - so convenient. (Bring ID as they may check at the barrier.) read more

Had a great time getting drinks here before fly by night. We each had two different cocktails, Manhattan was on point and the mint julep (being southern woman) was great in flavor as well as presentation. Got an arrangement of snacks too, jerky and sweet pickles. We'll be back later this summer for sure! read more

I came here on a tour called Grapes to Grain which is a two part tour of the distillery and the winery next door called rooftop reds. It located in the Brooklyn navy yards. It was possibly one of the best dates I've been on in NYC. I highly recommend visiting the two together while your at the navy yards. The tour started at rooftop reds and the second part was the distillery. we came on a Sunday afternoon. Our tour guide sat us down and gave us a quick overview of the history of whiskey in New York dating back to prohibition. It was fascinating. Then we went downstairs and toured the whiskey making area. We saw the grains and how they look fresh from the farms ( they are organic too!). Then she took us through the step by step process of boiling, separating the liquid, fermenting, and then the distiller it self. she was very informative and while we were there we could watch the whiskey in its multiple phases. We were even able to smell the whiskey in the fermentation state and the different states that it pours out of the still. After that we went into the barrel room where the whiskeys sit for aging. It was breathtaking. The beautiful wood barrels, the exposed brick walls, high ceilings and the views of NYC all made the room that much cooler. Then after taking pictures and going over the final process of barreling and blending the whiskey we went back to the entrance and tasting four different whiskeys. My favorite was the bourbon and the strawberry ginger moonshine. We also tasted the peated bourbon, the original moonshine, and the dark chocolate flavored moonshine. The tour and tasting were both interesting and informative. this is a great date idea for couples !! read more

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Nice, intimate tour with the resident chemist. Small operation in the beautiful pay master's building in the navy yard. worth checking out!

I support small merchants, manufacturers and other local establishments. What i don't do very well is rudeness. I followed the sign that said tastings on the second floor. I went to the back of the front room and after the counter women explained this was their product line on the table i asked if they do farmers markets. She didn't know. I then looked at the assorted stuff for sale, both branded and about liquor distilling. I then went into the next room and was looking at all their different combinations of liquor and plants, botanicals, flavorings, etc. This counter person then told me in no uncertain terms they were closed. There were other people there. There was no signage indicating when they closed. It seemed that since i didn't taste and wasn't buying that she no longer had to treat me like a customer or a human being. In short, my experience was ruined. I hope this counter person either goes to the back of the house or ceases to ruin the hard work of others. No i will not be back. Not now not ever. read more

Super fun and informative tour. Yes this is a business but a small craft distillery and well worth the visit. I've been to two other similar distillery tours in NY and this was by far the best and most informative. Located in the Navy Yard in the old Paymaster office. The main building houses a bar and is very neat given the brick and layout and features a bar with some excellent drinks with their products. Got there for happy hour which was perfect. The tour guide was excellent and very much into the tour. We spent a good amount of time, in comparison to other tours, giving a very comprehensive history of how whiskey got its start in the US. Who the heck knew! We then learned about how the company started and got the in depth tour which was also informative such as the charring if the barrels and the equipment used at each step. Definitely not cheap on the whiskey samples and also offered up some additional blends to me after the tour ended and I did weaken and pick up their Rye. They had an experimental wild rice whiskey which was pretty good and their new peat whiskey was surprisingly nice. Some very reasonable other products like posters and shirts. You can also sign up to be bottle volunteers and take home a bottle in return for 4 hours of labeling duty which could be fun. All in all, a super interesting event for my day off. read more

Ok here we go, I have only had the misfortune of getting there bourbon as a bring home from my wife. It' is without a doubt not bourbon it is some form of a crappy highbred of hot moonshine and a poor excuses of scotch. This swill was $40!!!!!! For 350mil !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WTF!!!!!!!!! Please anyone who has the fortune to read this stop go to your liquor store and buy bib n tucker for $50ish 750ml or if your just in need woodford for god sake this crap is some hipster idea of bourbon and a huge swing and a miss. Please stop rewarding these type of idiots with reinventing the pickle or mastering the sausage at $48 a pound!!!! Stop!!!! It's over done and not cute anymore , let there moms and daddy's buy this shite from them so they can feel a sense of accomplishments do not waste your hard earned money on this please. read more

Very interesting history, personable guide, and great whiskeys. Fun thing to do and great value for the entertainment.

We recently went to Kings County Distillery for my Brother's Bachelor party and let me tell you it was AWESOME! I coordinated with Patrick before hand for a private tour of the Distillery. When we arrived we found out that he was also our tour guide - which was awesome. The man was extremely knowledgeable, funny, easy-going, and a really good guy. Taking a group of guys through a tour is not easy, and he handled it with professionalism and whit. The private tour was a little over an hour long, taking you through the whole distilling process and ending with a tasting. I have been to a few distillery tours before but what was nice about this one was the size of it. We could see it all happening in front of us and not happening in a large vat like at larger facilities. The guys ask you to move so they can continue working. Thats what you want to see. You are not seeing anything canned, you are seeing the legitimate product. We tried all three types of whiskeys the bottle (Moonshine, Bourbon, and a Chocolate Moonshine). Their bourbon was divine and their chocolate moonshine had a kick - all tasting really good. At the end they allowed us to eat in the back where there wheat field is. They even have one of the friendliest cats in the world - I named him Shadowbox and fed him tuna fish (I hope it sticks). Overall, you can't get better than this place. read more