By Peter Lyons Hall
Nick Spiegel is not your usual distiller; he’s as much at home explaining why spirits are different and describing some of the science that goes into the process as he is as the producer of the spirits and determining the recipe for each batch, which is what makes Jayne Street Distilling a unique place to visit if you’re in the mood for an environment that is conducive to experiencing stylish early 20th century cocktails made from bourbons, rums, gins, and vodkas while enjoying camaraderie and conversation with friends.
“We do 10 cocktails that change every season, so I don’t do the same recipes twice,” reveals Spiegel. Some of his cocktails are inspired by the noted inventor, Sam Ross, co-owner of Attaboy and Diamond Reef in New York City. For example, some of the cocktails involve a modern variation of the Last Word, a classic, equal-parts drink composed of gin, lime, maraschino liqueur and Green Chartreuse (110 proof), according to Liquor.com. Spiegel’s cocktails contain many of his own homemade ingredients, however, including the dark and rich cherries that often adorn the drinks. SPRANG CHICKEN, for example, contains Elderflower Liqueur, Lemon Shrub, and Pennings Cider, a tip of the hat to one of the popular local producers of ingredients that he likes to use. Another is THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MANGO, made from Orange County Distillers (where he once ran the beverage program in their early years) Bourbon, Lemon Juice, Bitter Red, and Mango Foam.
Nick is an experienced forager, familiar with many of the naturally-occurring and invasive species of plants and herbs that can be found throughout the Hudson Valley, if you know what and where to look. And he uses these ingredients with superb skill, creating unique flavor combinations and recipes. He developed a gin with uncommon congeners and botanicals, with Eastern Red Cedar juniper (Juniperus Virginiana), angelica root, anise, wild bergamont, bramble, and a special version of amaro created from local plants. “I forage for about 75% of ingredients, and for the other 25% I grow in our little Black Dirt raised beds. It’s essentially like the native things I can still find in the wild I’ll pick myself; the things that are hard to find – like native root stock (that’s hard to find in the wild anymore), that I’ve grown from native root stock in my little raised beds. Then I’ll dilute it with water sweetened with local honey,” he admitted.
While still in high school, Spiegel was working as a sous chef at Rogowski’s farm in Pine Island, under Heather Kurosz. After he graduated he went to the Culinary Institute of America for its culinary arts program. “I was training to be a chef and I got to do an externship in Aspen at The Little Nell, a Guide Michelin hotel, which had one of the best wine programs in the country and that’s really where the beverage aspect of hospitality started to peak my interest. When I came back to the CIA in Hyde Park, NY one of the last programs you do there is take a course about wines, which I fell in love with. I fell head over heels for beverage and wine and decided like I wanted to be doing production and it kind grew after that,” admitted Spiegel.
He then decided to learn about distillation from those who were doing it, so he backpacked through Europe, beginning with a one-way ticket to Edinburgh. One of the places he came upon in Percy, in the Highlands of Scotland was a little distillery there run by a husband and wife. They were using these special types of pot stills and since Nick was the only person there they gave him a tour of the place and he was hooked. They told him that they got their still from a fifth generation mom and pop shop out of the Black Forest in Germany that produces all of these pot stills. While he was coming up from Switzerland into Germany he reached out to the family and they were happy enough to pick him up from the train station and bring him to their house and their manufacturing facility. Later they gave him a tour of their whole operation, which left Nick with a lasting impression of how he was going to create his own space when he returned home.
Nick Spiegel gradually became the founder of Jayne Street Distilling Co. after having refined his skills at Element 47 at The LIttle Nell, and Rogowski Farm, and creating the beverage program at Brown Barn Farms. Nick has created over 300 unique cocktails and promotes sustainability in his production. Nick’s dedication to handcrafted quality, local ingredients, and sustainable practices define Jayne Street Distilling Co., [https://www.jaynestreetdistilling.com/], which is open Friday through Sunday.
Photo credits: Peter Lyons Hall (L to R: Bartender Maeve, Distiller Nick Spiegel, and Bartender Lily)
