The Kings County Distillery Guide to Urban Moonshining: How to Make and Drink Whiskey

Written by Colin Spoelman and David Haskell--the founders of Kings County Distillery, New York City's first distillery since Prohibition--this spirited illustrated book explores America's age-old love affair with whiskey.

A new generation of urban bootleggers is distilling whiskey at home, and cocktail enthusiasts have embraced the nuances of brown liquors. The Kings County Distillery Guide to Urban Moonshining presents whiskey's history and culture from 1640 to today, when the DIY trend and the classic cocktail craze have conspired to make it the next big thing.

For those thirsty for practical information, this book provides a detailed, easy-to-follow guide to safe home distilling, complete with a list of supplies, step-by-step instructions, and helpful pictures, anecdotes, and tips. The final section focuses on the contemporary whiskey scene, featuring a list of microdistillers, cocktail and food recipes from the country's hottest mixologists and chefs, and an opinionated guide to building your own whiskey collection.

"The moonshining world is notoriously full of orally-perpetuated misinformation and the legitimate whiskey industry is full of marketing lies and half-truths; Spoelman and Haskell have thankfully defied those traditions and released an educational book of honesty and transparency." --Serious Eats


About the Author
Colin Spoelman, a former rooftop moonshiner from Kentucky, and David Haskell, the great-grandson of a Prohibition-era bootlegger from New York, founded Kings County Distillery in 2010 to make small-scale batches of moonshine, bourbon, and other whiskeys. Spoelman also works in architecture and Haskell is a deputy editor at New York magazine.