Iron Smoke Distillery Opens Tasting Room and Event Space

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — To coincide with World Whisky Day on May 19th, Iron Smoke Distillery is pleased to announce the grand opening weekend of their newest space with the full title of  “Iron Smoke Distillery’s: World Famous Spirit Factory, Watering Room and Side Show.”

The Watering Room and Side Show is a tasting room with fully licensed bar carrying all New York State products. It is a also music venue and retail outlet featuring Iron Smoke’s iconic mascot, “Skully.” Finally, it serves as an event space for parties or corporate events.

In line with the exploding growth of craft distilleries and breweries over the last few years, the 4,000-square-foot addition to the Fairport-based Iron Smoke facility expands the distillery’s original mission, as co-founder and CEO Tommy Brunett puts it, “This is a massive step for us in enhancing our vision of supporting local agriculture, businesses, artists and musicians. Western New York has amazing grains, farms, people, art and music. It’s an exceptional place to live and we are proud to showcase that through our distillery and products. This is truly the house that spirits built.”

Iron Smoke began distilling whiskey in 2012, moving into its Fairport home in 2014. The new room’s Victorian look is a match for its location in what’s known as the Old American Can Factory, 111 Parce Ave., a rambling collection of warehouses, some of which date back to the Civil War.

The rustic brick and wood-beam construction is typical of the contemporary re-purposing of such old buildings, with plumbing and vents left exposed and period fixtures.

Dominating the refurbished room is a massive wood back bar and an original victorian era “gasolier,” a light fixture that once ran on gasoline, rigged now for electricity in an acknowledgement of the arrival of the 21st century.

Iron Smoke Straight Bourbon Whiskey was recently named among the world’s top 6 percent of 46,000 bourbons rated by expert Jim Murray, leaving Jim Beam, Buffalo Trace, Baysil Hayden, Jack Daniel’s and more in its rear-view mirror. The four-grain bourbon mash, seasoned with a very slight hint of applewood smoke using the same process as a backyard barbecue smoker, is done in the 21,000-square foot distillery next door to the tasting room. Iron Smoke also produces Rattlesnake Rosie’s Apple Pie Whiskey, a all natural elixir that tastes just like grandma’s apple pie.

The small-batch farm distillery is also mindful of local ingredients and sustainable  processes. Finger Lakes family farms within a 50-mile radius of the distillery provide the ingredients, with the stripped mash returned to the farms to be used as livestock feed. Those are some happy cows!

The Watering Room and Side Show will be open:

Thursday and Friday: 4pm-10pm

Saturday: 12pm-10pm

Sunday: 12pm-6pm

For more information on Iron Smoke Distillery, click here.

About Iron Smoke Distillery

Based in Fairport, NY Iron Smoke Distillery produces the multiple award-winning Iron Smoke Straight Bourbon Whiskey and Rattlesnake Rosie’s Apple Pie Whiskey in their 21,000-square foot facility. Iron Smoke Straight Bourbon Whiskey is an applewood smoked, four-grain bourbon mash bill, where the grains are smoked using the same process as a backyard smoker. As a New York State small-batch farm distillery, Iron Smoke uses local ingredients from Finger Lakes family farms within a 50-mile radius of our distillery, and our stripped mash is returned to the farms to be used as feed for their livestock. Follow Iron Smoke on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.