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New York Distilling Company, one of the oldest craft distilleries in New York City, is moving and introducing a new whiskey. Opened in 2011, this distillery made Williamsburg, Brooklyn, its home until last year. In March it will open a new facility, three times the size of the original, in Bushwick. The new distillery will open for 90-minute tours, with a fee and reservations required, beginning on March 1; it will eventually open a new public cocktail bar and tasting room, but it will not be called the Shanty, as it was in Williamsburg. In addition, it is retiring its longstanding Ragtime Rye and replacing it with Jaywalk. The new rye is distilled from Horton rye, a grain varietal with roots dating back to 17th-century New York that the distillery has nurtured, growing it in the Finger Lakes region, over the past eight years. “This is the rye we have been dreaming of for 13 years,” said Allen Katz, the distillery’s co-founder. Three ryes will be bottled under the Jaywalk label: straight rye, a blend of 6-, 7- and 8-year-old ryes and 92 proof ($50 for 750 milliliters); bonded rye, 100 proof ($55 for 750 milliliters); and heirloom rye, cask strength, so named because it’s made from 100 percent Horton rye ($119 for a 700 milliliters). The new whiskies are robust and complex in their flavor, not merely spicy like many ryes. They will all be available starting Feb. 15 from Bottlerocket, in Manhattan, Brooklyn Wine Exchange and Gnarly Vines, in Brooklyn, and online. ROBERT SIMONSON
New York Distilling Company, 573 Johnson Avenue (Gardner Avenue), Bushwick, Brooklyn, nydistilling.com, jaywalkrye.com.
A Sweet Anniversary
Since 1924, Local Hive, a honey company based in Greeley, Colo., has been selling domestic raw, unfiltered honeys, labeled according to their geographic and floral sources. To commemorate its century in business the company has introduced a new wildflower honey, a blend from a number of regions that’s floral with something of a woodsy aftertaste.
Local Hive 1924 Golden Age Wildflower Honey Blend, $11.99 for 16 ounces, localhivehoney.com.
A Wine Company That Supports Prison Reform
The Prisoner Wine Company based in St. Helena, Calif., is known for its white and red blends, with grapes, often uncommon, obtained from scores of vineyards. As for the name, it came about because the original owner, Dave Phinney, received a reproduction of the painting “Le Petit Prisonnier” by Francisco Goya, and decided to use it on the label of a red blend as an unusual way to represent an unusual wine. Constellation Brands bought the company in 2016 and over the years has made donations to nonprofits that support prison reform. In 2023 it also started donating three percent of the price of the red blend to those causes. Doubling down, a series of special releases, called Corrections, was started last year, with labels showing art related to incarceration. This year, just being introduced, is a magnum wrapped with a reproduction of “Apokaluptein:16389067” by Jesse Krimes, who created it from 2010 to 2013 on 39 prison bedsheets during his 70-month sentence. The wine company is donating $75,000 to the Center for Art & Advocacy, founded by Mr. Krimes, along with five percent of sales. The wine, a red blend reserve, is sturdy yet sleek, has fruit that knows its place and keeps its 15.5 percent alcohol under control.
2021 Corrections Reserve Red Wine, 1.5 liters, $150, theprisonerwinecompany.com.
Tuscan Cooking at De Gustibus Cooking School
For decades, Cibrèo and its sibling restaurants have been high on must-visit lists for Florence, Italy. Without a trip to Tuscany, there is an opportunity early next month to see the executive chef, Oscar Severini, at work and sample his food at a class at De Gustibus Cooking School at Macy’s. He will be joined in the cooking demonstration, which will include dishes, served with wine, by Giulio Picchi, an artist and restaurateur whose father, Fabio Picchi, founded Gruppo Cibrèo 45 years ago.
Cibrèo, March 5 from 6 to 8 p.m., $150, De Gustibus Cooking School, Macy’s, degustibusnyc.com.
A Heart-Shaped Bowl
New to the gift shop at the Glass House — the architect Philip Johnson’s residence in New Canaan, Conn., that is on the National Trust for Historic Preservation and open to visitors — is this bowl by Lukas Urbanec. It has its heart in the right place: front and center at the bottom of the bowl. Whether you fill it with cereal or soup, the heart will show. The bowl, made of white or pink porcelain in Prague, is six inches across and dishwasher-safe. The Glass House is closed until April 15, but the bowls can be ordered for delivery from the gift shop.
The Heart Bowl, $45, The Glass House Design Store, designstore.theglasshouse.org.
Visit Postcard, a Bakery From the Nami Nori Team
In addition to its array of open-faced temaki and other Japanese items, Nami Nori in the West Village, and other locations, has become known for inventive desserts. They’re almost as much of a draw as the coconut shrimp and fried oyster temakis, so the owners have now taken over the storefront adjacent to the West Village restaurant. On Friday, they will open Postcard, a bakery and bubble tea shop. Miso shortbread cookies, strawberry mousse cake, chiffon cake fruit sando and a savory chicken katsu sando will be sold in the bright, somewhat whimsical shop with a few tables. Teas will be provided by Kettl in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
Postcard, 31-33 Carmine Street (Bleecker Street), postcardbakery.co.
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