great jones | NYC Whiskey Review

6 Days left to Christmas! Do you have your bottles yet?! This is #6 on my list for 2025!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! – Chris

The Great Jones Distillery is located at 686 Broadway, New York, NY (Broadway & Great Jones St). The distillery was opened in August 2021 and states it is the first legal operating distillery in NYC since the 1920 Prohibition.It is owned by Proximo Spirits (aka Jose Cuervo) and Black Dirt Distillery in upstate New York is a sister distillery.

The space is very impressive for its size and location in NYC. The layout, bars, restaurants, finishes work, gift shop, etc. all appears to be high quality. I can see a large amount of money was spent to build this venue. I would guess it was $75M all in, and it looks like it was money well spent. Great Jones is a nice place to drop in for a drink and the menu looks good but I did not sample any of the food.

Great Jones has a variety of things you can experience. They have tours, VIP tours, merchandise, Saturday Jazz Brunch, light lunch/apps menu, lounge areas, and a bar. It strikes me as they are covering all the NYC basis of what a venue can offer. Overall, it is a very nice place to visit, but here comes the “BUT”.

But the whiskies I sampled were ok at best. I did a very basic tasting and did not blow any wind up my skirt. I do not want to disparage Great Jones, but if you have never been to a distillery they can be a great experience, but also you can end up having an Emperor’s Clothes experience if you are not paying attention. I am going to go back soon at try their the higher end expressions in the near future and I will provide reviews for their bourbon and rye soon.

Great Jones Expressions (2025):

Peated Scotch Cask Bourbon ($150), 10-year Distillery Reserve Bourbon ($200), Wheated Straight ($50), Straight Bourbon ($45), Empire Rye ($45), and Wolffer Estate Cask Finished Bourbon ($60).

If you are in NYC and are looking to try stop for a whiskey, give them a try. I would love to know what you think.

If you like it, drink it! – Chris

If you like it, drink it!

The Great Jones Distillery is located at 686 Broadway, New York, NY (Broadway & Great Jones St). It was opened in August 2021 and states it is the first legal operating distillery in NYC since Prohibition (1920).

My last review was on the facility and this review will be on the three-whiskey flight that I ordered when I visited the bar.

Great Jones Straight Bourbon: 43% abv aged for 4 years. Notes and taste of corn, oak, vanilla and pepper.

Great Jones Four Grain Bourbon: 45% abv aged 4 years. Notes of corn, rye, cream and wood with tastes of the same with notes of wheat/honey.

Great Jones Rye: 50% abv aged 4 years. Notes of rye, white pepper, dark fruit with taste of rye and spices.

These whiskeys were all very “light tasting” and the four years of aging did not impart much depth of flavor. This flight was ok, with no one whiskey being better or worse than the other. They were overall good, but they all fell a little flat for my taste. I noticed that the tasting cards are suggestive as they seem to tell you what to think with descriptions of “well balanced or complex & layered”. Hey Great Jones, I will be the judge of that one.

This tasting cost $15 which is very affordable for NYC prices and the bar/lounge area. I will go back and try some more whiskeys soon such as Peated Scotch Cask Bourbon ($150), 10-year Distillery Reserve Bourbon ($200), and Wolffer Estate Cask Finished Bourbon ($60).

If you like it, drink it! – Chris

If you like it, drink it!

The Great Jones Distillery – NYC

The Great Jones Distillery – 3 Whiskey Flight

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