Great Jones Distilling Co Collaborates with Wölffer Estate Vineyard on a Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Cabernet Franc Casks

A limited edition ode to the Empire State

When Great Jones Distilling Co opened its doors in 2021, it became the first whiskey distillery in Manhattan since Prohibition. It’s only fitting then that the pioneering brand would partner with Wölffer Estate Vineyard—the brand that elevated Hamptons rosé into a coveted culinary and cultural luxury—on a limited edition collaboration. Together, they’ve harmonized their flavorful expertise to perfect a Straight Bourbon Whiskey Finished in Cabernet France Red Wine Casks ($50). Great Jones’ head distiller, Celina Perez, and Wölffer Estate’s winemaker, Roman Roth, carefully crafted the cask-finished bourbon, which we tasted in advance of its 15 February release, at Wölffer‘s stunning Sagaponack estate.

To study the list of components is to understand the extent of this Empire State collaboration. It begins with 100% New York State pioneer corn that’s then locally distilled and aged (in New American oak barrels at Black Dirt Distillery, upstate). A hand-selected blend of four- to seven-year-old Great Jones bourbon is then finished for more than a year in Wölffer Estate’s Caya Cabernet Franc barrels. Ultimately, it’s brought down to 88 proof with water drawn from the Catskills Mountains.

Brand milestones wouldn’t matter if the liquid itself didn’t deliver—and taste superlative. The purposeful selection of Wölffer Estate’s Caya Cabernet Franc barrel has yielded a delectable profile on the nose and palate. On the former, notes of vanilla, caramel and toffee yield to cracked pepper. A sip reveals complementary flavors of crème brûlée and fig. The higher proof does not zing the throat and numb the senses; it sings with a sweet warmth into a velvety finish.

“The Caya is our top-of-the-line. It’s our most concentrated Cab Franc,” Roth tells COOL HUNTING. “2019 was a dream vintage, maybe one of the best I’ve ever seen on Long Island In my 31 years. This is the foundation—the nutty, toasty notes.” The influence of the Cabernet Franc barrel is substantial if not surprising.

The process involved immense experimentation. There was a series of tests and tastings over months, incorporating several blends of finished and unfinished whiskeys, at various strengths. “It’s a really harmonious blend,” Perez says. “We all agreed across the board the second we tried it. It was unanimous. It’s well-rounded. The wine even pulled some of the tannic nature out of the whiskey.”

The bottled release is a marriage of 60% Wölffer Estate-finished bourbon with 40% Great Jones Straight Bourbon Whiskey. “We could have gone bolder but bolder isn’t always better,” Roth adds. “It was about the sweet spot.”

This partnership was nearly three years in development—and there may be additional products down the pipeline. “When you’re a family-owned estate, you can take risks,” Roth says. “We go with a gut feeling. You want to find someone you’re aligned with: where you don’t have to do all the homework, where it all works together, where you have shared standards. It all became very organic as a result and here we are,” Roth says.

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