Of Course: Artisanal Williamsburg Hipsters Making Moonshine

Brooklyn's atavistic artisanal food fetish has reached its nadir or its zenith, depending on whether you want high-proof alcohol distilled in an old radiator from some bearded dude's Chevy Nova. At least, that's one way of making Moonshine. But David Haskell (an editor at New York) and Colin Spoelman (a Kentucky native) seem classier than that. They've applied for a license from the SLA to start producing their own "locavore liquor" in East Williamsburg, and Spoelman tells Grub Street he plans to make 80-proof, unaged corn whiskey that "will be more refined than anything in a jug or a mason jar." But will it still make us want to go down to the dump and shoot some rats?

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By John Del Signore in Food on December 22, 2009 2:02 PM

Comments [rss]

mx0

These guys aren't even making anything yet, according to the article. But they have "secured a studio space."

It will be interesting to check back on this and the Bushwick trailer park in 6 months, not to mention the dimwit with the free payphone "idea."

Seem to be a number of "stop the presses! I have a thought!" items lately.

asg749d

...and there you have it...the demise of hipsterism....

bornbrednewyorker

I dream of burnt out 70's Williamsburg buildings where you could get 20 joints out of a dime bag. Then I wake up to the nightmare it is today.

babyhitler

80 proof? that's one glass every 2 hours for me. You can't really enjoy it eating food though. It's more of a sitting around the fireplace contemplating the forces of the universe type of drink to me.

giraffo

I went to college with and know these guys fairly well. They're lame. I assume their "moonshine" will be, too.

Jordan

Hah. My friends have been making high quality absinthe in giant glass jars in Bushwick for years now. Losers!

kleinpeter

...do hipsters admit they're hipsters?

NannyState

That's a tough therapeutic goal for them. Most shrinks are fine with "narcissistic personality disorder"

HOTCUP

"Brooklyn's atavistic artisanal food fetish has reached its nadir or its zenith"

let's all hope so.

spazedog00

Am i missing something? 80 proof is normal for most hard liquors.

jaycjay

Missing... what? Nothing I've read here claims that it's particularly strong.

Like I pointed out earlier, this won't be "moonshine." It's just unaged corn whiskey. And as such, odds are it'll taste awful.

spazedog00

they changed the story. the first time i read the article it said something like "taking 2 swigs of 80 proof whiskey would make us want to go down to the dump and shoot some rats".

NannyState

I've had the real thing which feels like jet fuel going down. 80 proof makes me wonder why they'd bother. ( aside from the hipster pretend thing )