The Original Tourist Attraction
For most of its history, the Brooklyn Navy Yard was a symbol of American military might and a tourist icon of Brooklyn.
Its Sands Street Gatehouses were built at great expense with an observation platform for visitors to witness the great Shipyard (think the NASA of its day). The original design was for a four-story building with barracks, mess, and a library budgeted at $50,000. This was eventually stripped down to the one-story version that holds Kings County’s tasting room and event space today.
Work began in June 1893 and the gate opened in June 1896. Thomas Edison was photographed traveling through the gates in 1914 and it became such an icon of Brooklyn’s cityscape that director Alfred Hitchcock included the Navy Yard gate briefly in his film Saboteur.
Sometime later, a second story was added bridging over Sands St. and the building was eventually used as the Brooklyn Tow Pound.
A Second Chance for a Landmark
In 2008, the Navy Yard received historic tax credits to move the Tow Pound to a new, purpose-built facility and to restore the buildings to their original glory.
The only problem was that it was zoned industrial, like all of the Brooklyn Navy Yard today. Kings County is an industrial tenant with a public-facing mission: a perfect fit for a whiskey manufacturer aiming to have a visitor-oriented tasting room and tour program.
How We Ended Up Here
In 2015, then-governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill to allow NY farm tasting rooms to serve cocktails with their spirits, and the Gatehouses opened the following May–a new program for a historic structure, and one of the most unusual places in New York City to get a drink.
But the Gatehouses are more than a historic building, they are one of the few places where not just the cocktails, but all the spirits inside them are made in house (or sourced from like minded NY producers). We believe that this creates a sense of community and purpose that goes beyond introducing our brand, but works to serve various communities that we are a part of: Vinegar Hill, the Brooklyn Navy Yard, whiskey lovers, history buffs, gastronomists, and so much more.
We’ve recently discovered a whole new generation of New Yorkers are finding the Gatehouses, no longer a novelty as “the oldest whiskey distillery in New York City,” but a permanent part of the fabric of the city. If you are new to New York, Brooklyn, or the Tri-State we encourage you to stop in and join the community.
Still Building on History
We’re actually looking to double down on New York, and without giving too much away, look for exciting things coming from both the distillery and the Gatehouses this year. We hope we deliver on the promise that all this history has to give.
