Colin Spoelman grew up in Harlan, Kentucky, where he'd make regular trips home to visit family and return to Brooklyn with jugs of bootleg moonshine—contraband that became legendary at parties. In 2009, inspired by those liquid memories and armed with college roommate David Haskell and a dream to make legitimate whiskey in New York City, they convinced state legislators to change microdistillery licensing laws. Kings County began production in April 2010 in a cramped 330-square-foot warehouse in East Williamsburg with five tiny 24-liter stainless steel stills running 16 hours a day, seven days a week. It was the smallest commercial distillery in America. In 2012, they moved into the Paymaster Building at the historic Brooklyn Navy Yard—just steps from where the famous Brooklyn Whiskey Wars raged in the 1860s and the waterfront once bustled as a distillery district. The symbolic weight of that location wasn't lost on the team: a Kentuckian making bourbon in the Navy Yard, reviving a tradition Prohibition had killed. They installed copper stills imported from Scotland and never looked back. Kings County became the first whiskey distillery to legally operate in Brooklyn since Prohibition ended, and it's remained fiercely independent in an increasingly consolidated craft spirits world.
- First legal distillery in Brooklyn since 1933: — The Brooklyn Whiskey Wars of the 1860s left ghosts everywhere. Kings County is literally rebuilding that legacy.
- The Moonshine Origin Story: — Colin's Kentucky bootleg sideline inspired the entire enterprise. Sometimes the best business plans start as contraband.
- New York-Grown Grain: — The Peated Bourbon uses 70% New York corn, 15% Golden Promise malted barley, and 15% peat-smoked malt. Ultra-local terroir.
- Colin Spoelman's Credentials: — He literally wrote "Guide to Urban Moonshining" before going legitimate. Maximum irony points.
- Smallest Distillery in America (2010): — Started with five tiny stills in a 330-square-foot room. This is bootstrapping taken seriously.
- The Gatehouses Tasting Room: — On-site cocktail bar and bottle shop with DJs, discounted cocktails, and Thursday open houses.