Our Distillery Partners

Van Brunt Stillhouse

"I like to make our Whiskies unique because I’m not trying to create the same as others. What goes into our casks is more complex than other single malts out there."

Daric Schlesselman, Owner & Master Distiller

World Whiskies Awards 2017 - Design Best Standard

In the heart of Brooklyn, the Van Brunt Stillhouse is built on the principles of integrity, creativity and pure hard work. Driven by a love of craft and a passion for creating artisan spirits, owner Daric and his team have been producing small batch farmhouse style whiskies that celebrate the flavourful essence of the grains they use since 2012.

Sourcing premium ingredients directly from upstate New York farmers, they make every spirit from scratch in the waterfront neighbourhood of Red Hook in Brooklyn under the watchful eye of the Statue of Liberty.

Eschewing the tradition of using distillers malt, Daric is known instead for his use of speciality brewers malt to bring a variety of flavours to his spirits making them as unique as possible. In his words, "If brewer’s do it, why wouldn’t whisky makers?" The result is a unique take on single malt whisky.

The Van Brunt Stillhouse Founders - Daric & Sarah

Starting out, it occurred to me that there was an artisanal side to distilling that had really been lost for a hundred years or more

Daric Schlesselman, Owner & Head Distiller

Interesting Facts

Prior to starting the distillery, owner Daric was a producer on The Daily Show for over 20 years, and moved into whisky production to follow his passion for artisan spirit creation after a self-funded internship at Kilchoman, Scotland
Master Distiller Daric’s preference is to use a double distillation process, and keep the grain on during fermentation and in the wash. It’s then removed allowing the spirit to benefit from the sugars and all the available flavours before distillation.
At Van Brunt they don’t use distillers malt as it has the least amount of flavour, preferring brewers malt to add variation to their spirits
Due to their city location, Van Brunt source high quality New York malt from select farms near Buffalo on the Western Coast and the Hudson Valley
The distillery is housed in a former paint factory
As well as single malt, Van Brunt produce bourbon, rye, moonshine and rum, plus they even have a popular bar if you find yourself nearby of an evening!

Cask World's Highlights

Daric is a one of a kind distiller, not afraid to go against the grain and experiment with production methods, while at the same time being a traditionalist keen to focus on creating farmhouse style whiskies in the heart of the city.

There is something special about this distillery. As we walked along the streets in Brooklyn I could feel it. So much history - since the 1800’s the smell of fermenting grain and new make spirit has been an everyday part of life here. The streets have hidden many an illegal still - this place goes back to the whisky wars where the authorities fought with batons, knives and axes in the alleys to root out the illegal tax-avoiding moonshiners.

Initially set up by Daric and his wife the brand is already established, with many New York outlets stocking their wax-sealed products. Although the majority are bourbon and rye whiskeys, Daric has produced a single malt like no other that has been well received and enjoyed around the world - there just isn’t enough of it!

With that in mind he’s keen to produce more and has already begun to lay down more limited bourbon and sherry cask matured Brooklyn single malt – and due to this we at Cask World are lucky enough to have access to some of New York’s only premium single malt whisky.

Already commanding a strong and good value price point, he is now maturing new make spirit produced with local New York state malt in Spanish sherry casks. Van Brunt Stillhouse Single Malt is super undervalued and given a bit more time and exposure this will become a well sought-after single malt and certainly the Big Apple's favourite.