Coppersea Distilling Acquires New Paltz Farm, Will Begin Producing Estate-Grown Whiskies

02 Apr 2014 --- Coppersea Distilling, the Heritage-Methods craft distillery in West Park, New York, announced that it has purchased a 70-acre farm on Springtown Road in the town of New Paltz.

The farm, situated on the western bank of the Wallkill River and containing a stretch of the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail, will be transitioned to the cultivation of certified organic corn, barley and rye for use in Coppersea’s line of New York Farm-Distilled whiskies.

Coppersea Distilling was founded in 2011 as a New York Farm Distillery with the mission of producing ultra-premium whiskies and eaux de vie from Hudson Valley-sourced grain and fruit. Coppersea’s spirits have since been honored with awards from the American Distilling Institute and have been recognized by magazines such as Travel + Leisure, Wine Enthusiast, Edible Manhattan and Chronogram.

Using Heritage-Methods distilling traditions like open wooden fermenters, direct-fired copper-pot stills, sour-mashing and floor-malting; Coppersea Distilling is one of the few distilleries in the world capable of bringing nearly the entire whisky-making process in-house. Growing grain themselves will realize the vision of a true “farm-to-glass” distillery.

According to Michael Kinstlick, Coppersea CEO, “The Hudson Valley is at the heart of America’s craft distilling renaissance, and this is a major milestone on the path to our goal of being one of America’s premier craft distilleries. He continued, “The beautiful setting of the Wallkill River will be wonderful for visitors to enjoy our Heritage-Methods spirits and for us to grow our own grains and become a true farm-to-glass distillery.”

“Coppersea is an exciting new addition to our portfolio and Wilson Daniels is pleased to be a part of the growing craft spirits movement,” states Jack Daniels, president and founder of Wilson Daniels. Handcrafted products such as Coppersea are the perfect partner for our ultra-premium portfolio of luxury wines and spirits.”

Coppersea master distiller Angus MacDonald remarks, “The traditional methods that we employ are less refined than the modern scientific, industrial approach to making spirits. Our culinary method respects and preserves the character of the raw materials and the terroir of their sources.”

“We intend this farm to be exemplar of sustainable agriculture,” said Coppersea distillery manager Christopher Williams. “Our vision is to develop a closed-loop system that produces no waste, all while working to keep this beautiful acreage in agricultural production and helping to restore small-grain cultivation to the Hudson Valley.”