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The Finger Lakes Distilling story begins in 2007, when Brian McKenzie of Elmira, N.Y., met Thomas Earl McKenzie of Monroeville, Ala., at a craft distiller's conference. The two men aren't related, but they did discover they shared a passion for high-quality, distilled spirits. Brian, a former bank vice-president, had experience in finance and was interested in starting his own business. Thomas Earl's background included wine-making, brewing, farming and consulting for distilleries. It was a fateful meeting - and a great match of talents to start a new distillery. Today, they are well on their way to realizing a dream of working with good friends and family to create products they can offer with pride.
The area Finger Lakes Distilling is an associate member of the Seneca Lake Wine Trail, the largest wine trail in the Finger Lakes wine region. More than 40 wineries encircle the lake, attracting visitors and wine-lovers from around the world. The climate is key to attracting vintners, brewers and distillers. Seneca Lake is the deepest of the Finger Lakes, reaching down more than 630 feet. The water of the "lake that never freezes" retains the heat of summer well into the winter, creating a unique micro-climate - perfect for hardy grapes, grains and other fruits and berries that go into premium spirits. Finger Lakes Distilling is in the heart of a great territory for exceptional raw materials.
The still The centerpiece of Finger Lakes Distilling is the giant pot still and rectification column made by Holstein in Markdorf, Germany. The 4,000-pound still traveled nearly 4,000 miles (3,997 to be more precise) to its new home in the Finger Lakes. You can see its copper gleam through the distillery's windows, all the way from Route 414. It's an even more impressive sight inside, where the rectification column rises up to face the second-floor tasting room.
Distillery design The architecture of the distillery was inspired by the clean lines of classic Scottish distilleries. The building has a pagoda roof and white stucco finish with black trim. "Green" practices have been an important part of the distillery's practices from the start, including the use of reclaimed lumber (even the crate the still arrived in has been repurposed into storage shelves), recycling process water, using process heat to heat water for the building, and sharing spent grains from production with local farms as animal feed. Most of the raw materials that go into Finger Lakes Distilling products are local, and in many cases, organic. The tasting room overlooks the still and production area, and has a spectacular view of Seneca Lake. The floors are reclaimed lumber - formerly oak siding from a Kentucky tobacco barn. (It can't hurt to have a little bit of Kentucky at a distillery - they make pretty good whiskey there!) Suspended over the tasting room is a unique chandelier to rival the still as an attention-getter. At over 15 feet long and 3 feet at its widest, the canoe is a striking reminder that the distillery is in the midst of the Finger Lakes. Our partners Finger Lakes Distilling is a proud member of several organizations, including New York Farm Bureau, Finger Lakes Culinary Bounty, the Watkins Glen Area Chamber of Commerce, Schuyler County Partnership for Economic Development (SCOPED), Finger Lakes Tourism Alliance, Finger Lakes Wine Country, and an associate member of the Seneca Lake Wine Trail. |
