This Month’s Featured Article

If you find yourself traveling on Bulls Head Road in Stanfordville, NY, you’ll likely find pass a sign for Taconic Distillery. A bit off the beaten path, the distillery, which is located on Bowen Road, is a community hub that is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year. 

Owners Paul and Carol Ann Coughlin previously resided in Greenwich, CT, but Paul had been making trips up to the Hudson Valley, as he has been a member of Tamarack Preserve, a hunting and fishing membership club on the Millbrook-Amenia border, for many years. Because they were so familiar with the area, the Coughlins were looking for land within a ten-mile radius of the preserve club where they could build a home and create a business. In 2010, they purchased 120 acres of an old beef farm that would later become Taconic Distillery. 

Distilling is a second career for Paul. He worked in the investment world for many years, and he and Carol Ann raised their three daughters in Greenwich. While they had no prior experience in alcohol production, they were extremely interested in the idea of creating a distillery. So naturally, after they bought their land in Stanfordville, they obtained a New York State Farm Distillery license and quickly got to work.

“When we started this, it was more of a weekend hobby,” Paul said. “We had no idea it would turn into a vibrant commercial business. It was good timing that we started selling in 2014 because we really caught the wave of distilleries becoming popular.” 

Simply Taconic

When it first opened, Taconic Distillery had one product – bourbon whiskey – and only distributed within New York State. The Coughlins ran the whole production out of the barn on the farm for about two years before they quickly realized that they needed more space to expand production and to welcome visitors to the farm. 

Now, they have a cozy tasting room and retail space that is open year round and serves Taconic’s spirits, as well as local beer, wine, and ciders. They also have an expansive outdoor space, including a patio with lawn games and fire pits overlooking the farmland, and an expanded production space inside the 5,000-square-foot building. 

The majority of Taconic’s business is wholesaling. They first started out selling just in New York and going door-to-door to have businesses taste their product. They were bottling once a month and were selling everything they bottled. 

Now, they also have a room completely dedicated to bottling that features a full bottling line and a bottling machine. While Taconic still does much of the bottling by hand, it’s nice to have a machine that helps to streamline the process and keep up with demand. 

Now, Taconic Distillery also wholesales across a dozen states and produces over ten bourbon blends, in addition to a variety of other merchandise and accessories. Among the most popular blends are the Dutchess Private Reserve, Double Barrel Maple Bourbon, and classic Barrel Strength Bourbon. In honor of their ten-year anniversary, they also released a limited edition straight bourbon at 100 proof. This bourbon was aged in new charred American Oak barrels and offers a balance of caramel, vanilla, and oak notes. 

“There’s a huge survivor bias in this business. I think 20 distilleries went out of business in New York just last year,” Paul said. “It’s a competitive market and no matter what we do, we’ll never be a massive player. We’re the underdog every single day.” 

Taconic Distillery also partners with other local businesses to create specialty products. They work with Catskill Mountain Sugar House to produce barrel aged maple syrup. “They asked for some of our bourbon barrels to age the maple syrup, and then we take them back to age our double barrel maple bourbon in them,” Carol Ann explained. They also partner with a winery on Long Island to age their bourbon in Cabernet wine casks. By the same token, the winery uses some of the distillery’s barrels to age their cabernet in. This way, they ensure that none of their barrels go unused. 

Everything they produce is made with ingredients that are grown in New York. The distillery grows corn on its property, and they purchase corn, rye, and barley from other local farms. They also pride themselves on being environmentally friendly and trying to produce as little waste as possible.

“At the end of the distilling process, you separate the solids from the liquids, and there’s a product left over that’s kind of like cornmeal,” Carol Ann explained. “We save that, and a local farmer comes to the farm to pick it up and feeds it to his beef cows. That way, we’re not creating any waste, and we’re closing the loop.” 

The mash bill is the combination of grains that are used in a distiller’s recipe to create the product. It consists of some percentage of corn, barley, rye, and/or wheat. Paul shared that by law, the mash bill has to have at least 51 percent corn. Taconic Distillery’s mash bill is made up of 75 percent corn, 20 percent rye, and 5 percent barley. 

The spirit of family

 As an ode to Paul’s love of the outdoors and interest in hunting, the tasting room is decorated with taxidermy and pays homage to outdoor activities. 

“We’re big proponents of conservation in terms of how we run our business and our joint ventures,” he said. “We want you to sip our bourbon outside by a campfire surrounded by your friends and family. That’s the vibe that we hope you get when you taste a Taconic product.” 

In that same vein, the biggest reward for Paul and Carol Ann is that they are able to work with their family on a daily basis. “We’ve been married for 32 years and have been working with one another for the past ten. I really enjoy that,” Paul shared. “Our three daughters are involved in the business as well, and we like to drag in other family members to help.” 

The Coughlins note that Taconic Distillery is one of the biggest employers in Stanfordville. “We created an agro-business essentially from nothing, and now we employ a large number of people who love what they do. There’s nothing better.” 

Carol Ann also shared that the business is intrinsically social, as they are constantly attending farmers markets; wine, beer, and spirits festivals; and other events where they can interact with customers personally. 

“We all take turns working in the tasting room and talking to our visitors. It’s a fun business in that way,” she said. 

Expanding in the Northeast

Taconic Distillery has made a point to stick to what they know and do it well. While many distilleries will expand and branch out to produce many different kinds of spirits, Paul and Carol Ann have never been interested in taking that route. Instead, they prioritize the quality of their products over the quantity. 

“We make bourbon and rye whiskey, and we’ve tried to keep that pretty constant. We mix in a few new things over time. Our main goal is to keep it fresh without going overboard,” he said. 

Being conscious of their markets and expanding wisely is their goal going forward. After ten years, they’ve learned to expend their energy efficiently when it comes to wholesaling. They’ve scaled back distribution in certain states – such as Oregon and Arizona – because their products weren’t moving consistently. Now, they’re focusing their business on the Northeast. 

“We want to expand in a smart way, and we want to focus on the biggest market, which includes New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. We can ensure that we can be there to physically serve those markets.” Whenever possible, Taconic sales representatives will travel with the distributor representatives to sell products to restaurants, breweries, and other establishments. 

“Our main goal is to keep every-one employed and continue to have a thriving business. That’s what it really comes down to at the end of the day.”

Visit Taconic Distillery at 179 Bowen Road, Stanfordville, NY. The tasting room is open Saturdays from 12-6pm year-round. Taconic Distillery will be hosting their 10th annual Maple Bourbon Release Party on Saturday, September 28 from 12-6pm to celebrate their tenth batch of Double Barrel Maple Bourbon. There will be live music from 3-6pm and food from I Morsi all day. For more information, visit taconicdistillery.com/home and keep up with them on Instagram @taconicdistillery and Facebook at Taconic Distillery.