This weekend, the Craft New York Act went into effect, freeing craft distillery tasting rooms to offer serving-size 1.5 ounce pours (they’d been previously restricted to .25 ounce pours). The Wall Street Journal reports that this new legislation also will allow distilleries to incorporate their spirits into cocktails and mixed drinks opening up more opportunities for craft distilleries to generate income while their spirits age for interims of 10 to 15 years. This Act also exempts small distilleries from paying the annual state liquor authority fee and applying for a new license to operate a branch. It even allows restaurants on-site.
New York State sees craft distilleries as potential destinations and opportunities to extend tourism revenue outside of Manhattan. And because food and drink rise together, what’s good for NY craft distilleries, breweries and wineries will also benefit local fromagers, butchers, fisheries and small farms. Their efforts will be further supplemented by the $3 million set aside by Governor Cuomo to promote the region, comparable to California’s investments in Napa Valley.
But this is also about taste and approachability. Black Button Distilling‘s Jason Barrett points out that many people don’t drink whiskey straight and this will allow visitors to taste their whiskey the way they’d drink it at home. Perhaps this is the beginning of a new category of distillery-cum-cocktail bar. [The Wall Street Journal] [Image: Flickr/Garrett Ziegler]