Lilac Gin. Garden Gin. It is all coming from the best in the game. “First and foremost, I make what I like to drink: gin; vodka; bourbon; bourbon cream; moonshine. You spend a lot of time around these products and if you don’t love what you’re selling, it will never work,” Jason said. Garden Gin is Black Button’s most recent seasonal release. For this collaborative batch, Jason and Jeff teamed-up with the New York Wine and Culinary Center to create a botani- cally- balanced, smooth finish gin that satisfies gin connois- seurs and cocktail volunteers alike. “Our Bespoke Bourbon Cream is also pretty popular among the cocktail crowd. We always recommend the Root Beer Float recipe: two ounces of our Bourbon Cream – which is like Irish cream, only better – and three ounces of Saranac root beer on ice. It’s delicious.” “I’ve got my favorites, for sure,” Jason continued. “A Citrus Gin Gimlet made with two ounces of our Citrus Gin and one ounce of lime juice; a Manhattan made with two ounces of our Four Grain Bourbon and one ounce of sweet Spanish vermouth – with a cherry on top; Our Apple Pie Moonshine in a Harvest Mule with ginger beer or our 20-Plate Vodka in a Roc City Ice Water are also great cocktails.” This fall, Black Button Distilling will be adding to its col- lection. “We’re releasing a straight rye whiskey, as well as several new gins with unique fruits like loganberry and kiwi. We also are working on a spirit-infused chocolate. Because, I mean, craft spirits in craft chocolate – what could be wrong with that?” Food pairings, Jason insisted, aren’t limited to craft beers and wines. “I like bourbon cocktails with red meat like steak, for instance. And gin, to me, suits a summer time lemon-soaked chicken. I think it’s all about bringing like or contrasting flavors together. Heavy stone fruit flavors go well with a Manhattan. Light and citrusy notes go more with a gimlet.” Jason explained that while Black Button is in essence a manufacturing business that frequently allows him to flex his creative muscles with new and innovative products, it’s also “a bar business and a distribution business.” “We are widely distributed west of Route 81 in Upstate New York and we can be found throughout New York State. Black Button is also available in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Kentucky, Maryland and DC, as well as Georgia, Missis- sippi, and Alabama. That level of commitment means that our relationships with suppliers and distributors are para- mount. We are probably closest with our farmers; they grow every ounce of our raw ingredients. There’s the farmer who grows our grain; the orchard for our cider; the dairy for our cream; and the yeast company for the proprietary strains of yeast we use. All told, Black Button has 348 vendors we (If you are the self-appointed mixologist of your social circle, this part is for you.)
Jeff Fairbrother, Black Button Distilling’s Production Distiller (L) has prior experi- ence as a commercial brewer, and Jason Barrett, Black Button Distilling President/ Head Distiller (R), is a former accountant. The combination of their diverse backgrounds has resulted in some of Black Button Distilling’s most innovative products.
ter community,” he said in a February 2016 interview with BevNet.com.
One particular opportunity Jason has brought to the distill- ing community goes above and beyond.
Black Button offers two distilling classes “to help new dis- tillers or folks considering joining the industry to learn how to make whiskey, vodka, and gin,” Jason explained. “We also help with safety issues and licensing.” The Craft Distill- ing Experience in a three-day group class with select dates in February and June. The Master Distilling Class is a three- day private class available January through August, “but it must be planned well in advance.” Having apprenticed at some of America’s most well-re- spected big brand commercial distilleries, Jason’s lesson plans have a real industry appeal – an appeal not lost on entrepreneurs. The Black Button classroom seems to be occupied more and more these days, partly because current and pro- spective gin distillers alike got word earlier this year: two of Black Button’s distillers are in The Guild. In April, Black Button’s Head Production Distiller, Jeff Fairbrother and Jason became the second and fourth Americans to be “welcomed into the Worshipful Company of Distillers and so named Warden Rectifiers of the British Gin Guild” since its incorporation by Royal Charter in 1638.
Yes.
It is that good.
They are that good.
Citrus Forward Gin. Barrel Reserve Citrus Forward Gin.
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SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2017
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