NY distiller joins William Grant & Sons

Photo by William M. Dowd/P>William Grant & Sons, the Scottish distiller and distributor, has agreed to market and distribute the Hudson Whiskey range produced by an Ulster County, NY, distiller.

Tuthilltown Spirits' portfolio of whiskies -- Hudson Baby Bourbon, Hudson Manhattan Rye, Hudson Single Malt Whiskey, Hudson New York Corn Whiskey, and Hudson Four Grain Bourbon -- is the first American whiskey to join the William Grant & Sons line. Grant already has such familiar brands as Glenfiddich, The Balvenie, Hendrick’s Gin, Milagro Tequila, Sailor Jerry Rum, Frangelico Hazelnut Liqueur and Stolichnaya vodka.

“We are extremely happy to be working with a family company that shares our philosophy.” said Ralph Erenzo, distiller and partner for Tuthilltown Spirits. “This new relationship will enable us to maintain the high quality of our products and allow us to continue to meet the high level of demand, without sacrificing any of the principles that make us what we are."

Erenzo, who said the agreement is not a takeover of his company, and partner Brian Lee founded the Tuthilltown micro-distillery in 2006 in a former gristmill in the town of Gardiner. Although there now are a number of micro-distilleries in New York, Tuthilltown made the first whiskey distilled in the state since Prohibition and the first ever New York state-produced bourbon.

Said Simon Hunt, Grant's managing director/North America:

“When our founder William Grant first built his distillery by hand in 1886, he had one dream: to create the best dram in the valley. That dram became Glenfiddich and that valley was the Valley of the Deer in Speyside. More than a century later, history is repeating itself as the Hudson Whiskey range becomes a part of the ... family. This time, the dram is Hudson Whiskey and the valley is the Hudson Valley. We are delighted to see that the spirit endures into the 21st Century.”

[Go here for my Tasting Notes on the Tuthilltown portfolio.]

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