There’s something a-brewing over at Captain Lawrence, and this time around, it isn’t beer. Scott Vaccaro and the team are kicking off a brand-new distillery, Current Spirits, located right next door to the Captain Lawrence brewery. Rocking a tin ceiling and 1920s era wallpaper, Current Spirits will function as a tasting room with swanky speakeasy vibes.
Captain Lawrence founder Scott Vaccaro
According to Vaccaro, Current Spirits has been about 2 years in the making, although this isn’t the craft beer pioneer’s first foray into distillation. Back in 2013, Captain Lawrence collaborated on the 287 Single Malt Whiskey with Port Chester’s StilltheOne Distillery.
Current Spirits’ head distiller Kyran Tompkins
Working with head distiller Kyran Tompkins, formerly of Denning’s Point Distillery in Beacon, Vaccaro has assembled a brilliant lineup of spirits, flaunting smart and contemporary labeling that break from the old-fashioned aesthetic that’s currently trending. The gin is herbaceous and flavorful with subtle hints of fennel and vanilla. Both the 88-proof, barrel-aged bourbon and the straight rye whiskey are 3 years old and single-malt, distilled from 100% malted barley. Also included in the lineup are a smoother-than-smooth vodka, and a bold and unique barrel rested gin that is certainly the lineup’s MVP.
For now, the tasting room will just have the 5 new spirits available for tasting via $2 flights of quarter-ounce pours, or neat/on-the-rocks. There will also be small bites, like candied nuts and jerky from the Captain Lawrence kitchen to snack on, as well as 750ml bottles for sale. However, the goal is to introduce a cocktail menu closer to the distillery’s grand opening early 2020. Captain Lawrence, one of the county’s craft beer pioneers coming on the scene in 2006, has grown incrementally over the years, and Current Spirits is just another move that cements Vaccaro as one of New York’s most impactful craft-beverage distributors.
