‘We’re Going to Focus on What We’re Good at’: Tommyrotter Distillery to End Whiskey Production With Plans to Continue Making Gin
Tommyrotter Distillery’s Cask Strength Bourbon Barrel Gin is made by aging its American Gin for over a year in virgin White American Oak Char #3 barrels. By the end of January, the American craft spirits producer will stop making whiskey in favor of shifting focus to its more popular gin line.
New York-based spirits producer Tommyrotter Distillery is set to cease whiskey production and shutter its manufacturing facility by the end of January, WBEN reported on Friday. The decision, communicated by Co-Founder Bobby Finan, emphasizes a strategic shift toward the distillery’s successful gin line, citing insufficient traction for the initially envisioned bourbon expansion.
“We got a lot of extra square footage in anticipation of a growing bourbon line and beyond our gin business, and it just didn’t take off at the same kind of rate that our gin did,” Finan shared in the report.
“We’re going to focus on what we’re good at, which is making gin and and you really need a much smaller footprint for that.”
The shift in spirit focus aligns with Finan’s assertion that craft spirits consumers, inclined towards mixology and cocktails, represent a distinct demographic from patrons of local breweries.
“While somewhat substitutional I think there are different audiences based on the type of consumer that pursues craft spirits, they might be more interested in cocktails and mixology,” Finan informed WBEN. “So it’s no secret that you’ve got lots of breweries and distilleries that have restaurants, bars, kind of entertainment spaces, maybe wedding venues attached to them. That pool of competition is squarely in competition with any provider of hospitality, restaurants, bars, clubs.”
As the manufacturing facility and tasting room draw their curtains, the continuation of gin production becomes the cornerstone of Tommyrotter’s future endeavors.
Read more about our favorite gin from Tommyrotter in our “Best Gins We Tasted in December 2023” roundup.
Read next:
Top 5 Weirdest Ways Gin Has Been Aged
These Are the Best Gins in the World, According to the 2023 Ultimate Spirits Challenge
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