Behind the Brand

Celina Perez, Head Distiller for Great Jones Distilling Co.

Lee Diaz, ReserveBar Staff Writer

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If you were to start a distillery to produce whiskey, where would you build it? Of the list of places that quickly came to mind, would you have considered Manhattan? That’s exactly what the producers of Great Jones have done – in fact, they’re the first whiskey distillery in Manhattan since prohibition. Paving a new path forward for the whiskey in NoHo might be tough enough, but add to that a mid-pandemic build, an insatiable focus on local sourcing and sustainability, and a flair for exploring the art of experimentation – now you have something truly special. We sat down with Head Distiller, Celina Perez to learn about her love for whiskey, her view of Great Jones in NYC, and vision for what’s to come.

CAN WE START WITH A VIEW OF GREAT JONES AND PRODUCTION?

Great Jones was a project that was started around 2019, and our build out took about a couple of years. We are the only whiskey distillery in Manhattan, located in Noho. To add to that, we’re a farm distillery with 100% of our grain grown in New York, and everything we produce is distilled, aged and bottled in the state. We predominantly make bourbon and rye as our signature spirit offerings, but we also have a lot of smaller niche barrel-aged innovation and experimental styles of whiskey that we’re developing. In fact, we have a very big experimental edge, and we do a lot of collaborations with local wine producers and partners – we’re pretty entrenched in the whole New York vibe, and love everything about it.

WHAT LED YOU INTO PURSUING SPIRITS?

I've always had a really strong interest in whiskey in general. Professionally, I do come from the service industry and also have a food background. I used to be a cheesemonger, and I love to cook and bake bread at home, which is very similar to making beer and whiskey. It's all just a combination of grain, temperature, water, sugar and fermentation science. So it's been a lifelong passion for me, and this just was a very natural progression having the upbringing that I've had. Here in New York, I was also bartending for a decade, so it's hard to not start to care about what you're drinking or become curious about where it's coming from.

WHAT LED YOU TO WORKING WITH GREAT JONES SPECIFICALLY?

It was a little bit of a coincidence. I've always been more of a whiskey girl, so I started making whiskey in Brooklyn maybe around 12 years ago. And I hopped around a bit, then working for a liqueur company, a rum company, and I’m very proud to now be the Head Distiller at Great Jones and usher in a new era of whiskey-making in Manhattan. I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to learn about how to build a distillery right as we were doing it from the ground up, working with contractors, plumbers, electricians to oversee the process design and engineering for the building. It was really a big sink or swim learning moment for me, but it was invaluable to my experience in the industry, and I’m very grateful for that time.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN BEING CENTERED IN NYC TO BE PRODUCING WHISKEY REPRESENTING NEW YORK?

It's an absolute dream. It's so strange to live in this place that has been so influential to my life – actually next week I’ll hit 23 years that I've been living in New York City, I'm not really sure I could live anywhere else.

Then I get to do what I love in the center of the place that I love, and at the same time, being able to support local farmers and create these connections with more of the agricultural areas of New York State. It’s something most people don't even really think about; when you think of New York, you typically think of the city. But there's a lot out there, and it's a real privilege to get to be here, and be on the creative end of it.

CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT HOW GREAT JONES HAS CONNECTED WITH THE NY ART SCENE?

Specifically with our Jean-Michel Basquiat releases, we have this beautiful intersection of creativity in two fields: Art and Craft. I went to art school just two blocks down the street at NYU, so I’m very versed in the New York art scene. All of our collaborations are rooted in authenticity and the fact that Basquiat’s art studio and apartment was located around the corner on Great Jones street made him a perfect partner for us. There’s also a nice synergy between the nature of our finishing program (to push these boundaries of whiskey making) and his artistic style. It ended up being a really happy sort of marriage with the Basquiat Estate, and our limited-edition bottle is probably one of my favorites to date.

HOW HAVE THE VARIOUS STAGES OF YOUR CAREER DEVELOPED YOUR PALATE AND APPROACH FOR WHISKEY?

I think that it can become pretty difficult to remain fresh and open to new flavors with a wide view for what’s out there. There's something called cellar palette, when you keep drinking the same things over and over again, and you don't really open yourself up to the variety of spirits that are out there in the world.

You become acclimated to just liking everything that you make. So, I think it's really important to center yourself by changing that up constantly. It's an aggressive role, but you have to drink a lot of different things. What I tend to lean towards recipe wise is a little bit of specialty grain, but I am also very interested in heirloom varietals of corn, especially ones that are locally grown.

I also go back and forth from doing these really experimental things to focusing on really basic grain recipes that I feel will showcase the grain itself. And I think both are important, and I think that both contribute to creating great whiskeys. You can't make innovative whiskey unless you can make core whiskey incredibly.

DO YOU HAVE ANY ROUTINES OR RITUALS THAT YOU VALUE HAVING IN YOUR WORK?

We do blind tastings at the distillery with our wider team – I think that these sort of inner department tastings are very important. We are able to get people who aren't necessarily in the operations, from the office or the restaurant to come in and talk to me and taste stuff. I think that's really important to get people that aren't so hands-on with the production process to really get dirty with the actual process. I don't know if that would quite be considered a “ritual”, but it's such an important consistent part of keeping us aligned and aware of broader view points. It keeps me on my toes, opens us up to new feedback and helps us grow as we’re producing.

WHERE DO YOU FEEL LIKE A GREAT JONES FITS IN THIS PROGRESSIVE GROWTH OF AMERICAN WHISKEY?

I think the really cool thing about Great Jones is that even though we are owned by a parent company in Proximo, we lean towards sustainability and supporting local farmers, and they give me that freedom. That's what makes it progressive in that we are really giving back to the community in terms of the people we collaborate with and buy from. Foster Farms (not the Chicken company) for instance is a smaller family farm that’s been around since around the 1700s or earlier – their heritage dates back to the Mayflower.

Without people like me purchasing large quantities of corn from them, they would have to pivot and learn how to survive. I am proud to have the ability to do that – and to be an active member of the distilling community and the farm community. Our spent grains get turned into animal feed locally as well, and there’s always more that we can do.

Just to be able to exist like this is amazing to me and it definitely makes it worth the work, and then we’re also making great whiskey, so you can't forget that part.

IF SOMEONE IS NEW TO GREAT JONES, HOW WOULD YOU ENCOURAGE THEM TO START EXPLORING YOUR WHISKEY?

I have an affinity towards the Rye myself. It is a 100% rye, all grown in New York State. Most rye whiskey on the market will have a certain percentage of corn in them, and tends to be a little spicy when you taste it.

Our rye is grown in New York and is completely different; it's minty, it's like cucumbery – it’s like fresh cut grass – it's a whole different beast. I don't think I've ever tasted anything quite like it. So, definitely start with the Rye.

And then you should move your way to our bourbon, which is a little more on the vanilla side. We also have a Wheated Bourbon, with a small percentage of wheat, resulting in a more rounded out, longer profile. All of these releases are aged within New York for four years.

HOW DO YOU PREFER TO DRINK GREAT JONES?

Oh, neat. I drink all my whiskey neat. But when it comes to a cocktail, I like spirit-forward cocktails like a Manhattan, Sazerac or an Old Fashioned. Nothing that's going to really compete with the flavor profile of the whiskey itself. Because I just love the taste of whiskey.

WHAT ARE YOU EXCITED ABOUT THAT'S COMING SOON?

We have a lot of interesting whiskey in the pipeline. For instance, we’ll be doing more collaborations with local wineries and breweries for barrel finishing. And next year, some of the grain experimental projects that we made in 2021 should be coming of age. We also have other Distillery Exclusives in the works, and we can’t wait to share those, when they’re ready.

SPEAKING OF THE DISTILLERY, CAN YOU TELL US WHAT VISITORS SHOULD EXPLORE?

I love our second floor Bar – it’s an absolute must for any visitor. There's this chandelier that's hanging from the ceiling that’s really stunning. Collin Frazier, our bar manager, just came up with some great seasonally-inspired cocktails, and our chef, Danny Wright has a bunch of incredible dishes that pair nicely and really elevate our whiskey.

Besides that, even the entryway has some compelling features like the exploded still, which is a miniature version of our upstairs still that was made by the same company, Vendome. They sold it to us as a fully functional still, and we exploded it. It looks really cool, and allows visitors to see all of the inner functionings of it, like the steam jacket.

The overall aesthetic of the space was really masterfully developed to let you experience a modern urban distillery and enjoy the results of what we have produced.

DO YOU HAVE ANY CLOSING THOUGHTS BEFORE WE GO?

Great Jones Distilling Company is just like this uber New York project, and I think that's what makes it so cool. Our location near Washington Park, the grains that we source, the collaborations we’ve developed, and the experience we’ve built – it's exclusively New York City. I love just working for a company that is so emblematic of the best city in the world. And it's such a pleasure to work here and to do what I do.