Empire State Cellars Spirit Tasting Series

Last year, Kings County Distillery, making moonshine and bourbon, and Breuckelen Distilling Co., making gin and whiskey, became the first distillers to operate in NYC since Prohibition. Now local imbibers can add Brooklyn Republic Vodka to the list, which is made in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn.

Crafted by Brooklyn Spirits, LLC, the company was founded by Eastern European immigrants Gary Shokin and Mark Krupkin, and Shokin's daughter, Kary Laskin.

Laskin and her father Gary Shokin - a Lithuanian immigrant taxi driver-turned-auto-shop-owner, spent months toiling over the perfect recipe. Brooklyn Republic vodka was born - distilling the vodka six times,  bottling and filtering their hootch in a warehouse near the Brooklyn Navy Yard. 

 It's in Brooklyn where the magic of small batch vodka making begins.

 The vodka is blended, purified, perfected and bottled by a Master Blender who personally monitors every single batch for quality. He blends several grain spirits, including organic wheat and sweet corn, with purified local Brooklyn water, which is known for its distinct sweetness. The vodka is then rectified (purified) multiple times through active carbon at sub-zero conditions, a temperature condition many other vodka producers often forego. About seven days later, after several filtration and testing cycles to reach optimal taste and quality, the vodka is bottled, corked and ready to drink. 

 Stop by Empire State Cellars in Tanger 1 to try Brooklyn Republic Vodka.