Kings County Distillery sits in the Brooklyn Navy Yard at 299 Sands Street, operating out of a converted 1860s paymaster building where Civil War sailors once collected their wages. Founded in 2010 by Colin Spoelman and David Haskell, it holds the distinction of being New York City’s first whiskey distillery since Prohibition ended. Spoelman, a former architect with Kentucky roots, partnered with Haskell after bonding over moonshine-making experiments using techniques Spoelman learned from his grandfather. The 6,000-square-foot facility houses copper pot stills that Spoelman built himself, along with Scottish-made Forsyths stills they added as production grew. They focus exclusively on whiskey—bourbon, rye, and moonshine—using New York corn and sourcing other grains locally when possible. The operation started small with Spoelman literally welding together his first still from scratch, teaching himself distillation through trial and error. What began as weekend farmers market sales has evolved into a full production facility that cranks out about 150 barrels annually. The brick-walled tasting room maintains an industrial feel with exposed beams and concrete floors, while the production floor showcases the hand-built equipment that got them started. You’ll see fermentation tanks, the mash tun, and rows of barrels aging everything from two-year bourbons to experimental ryes.
