The Tuthilltown Spirits/Hudson Whiskey story has been a long, dramatic saga of epic ups and downs, right from the beginning when Erenzo had to spend much of his time in Albany lobbying to loosen New York State Liquor Authority restrictions on farm-based distilling and sales that had prevailed for more than 80 years.
Those who know a thing or two about the history of New York’s craft beverage boom know that Tuthilltown Spirits Distillery in Gardiner was where it all began. In opening the first distillery in New York after Prohibition and advocating for updated laws to do so, Founder Ralph Erenzo jump-started the state's craft beverage industry and made Tuthilltown's link of Hudson whiskeys a household name in the process. Suffice it to say, a day trip to Gardiner to hang out at the distillery and its bucolic 36 surrounding acres is a bit like visiting New York’s craft distilling Mecca, complete with exclusive access to the distillery's full line of spirits and plenty of gorgeous Hudson Valley acreage to roam.