I’ve been cursed with being a Mets fan since I was old enough to walk (and yes, I have the embarrassing pictures to prove it). Growing up a Mets fan in the 90’s and early 2000’s was a masterclass in heartbreak. Heck, I was there that night in Shea Stadium back in 2000 when the Yankees clinched the series in game five. But this year, for the first time since 2015, the Mets have made it to the NLCS and I figured this was the perfect time to finally break out my bottle of Hudson Whiskey’s New York Mets bourbon and give it a proper review.

History

• Check out our article on the Tuthilltown Distillery for a more in depth look at the history of this distillery!

The Tuthilltown facility itself dates to 1788, when the eponymous Mr. Tuthill founded a grist mill to supply flour and other grains to the local region. The area became known as Tuthilltown (although that won’t help if you put that in Google – try Gardiner, NY instead) and is the quintessential bucolic upstate New York location.

The distillery itself started when a former professional rock climber named Ralph Erenzo purchased the land in 2001, planning to build a bed and breakfast to share the beauty with other New Yorkers looking to escape the busy urban cities. After some difficulty obtaining permits, those plans never came to fruition, but by 2003 Ralph had enlisted the help of Brian Lee (an engineer by trade) and decided to turn his plot of land into a distillery. If they couldn’t bring people to the land, they could bring a taste of the land to the people.

Over the next few years, the two built the distillery from the ground up — essentially creating the blueprints of how to run a farm distillery in New York (blueprints which others would soon follow). Using locally sourced ingredients and recipes true to the history of the region, they built a strong following and in 2010 the distillery was purchased by William Grant & Sons. Since then, the day to day operation has remained in the hands of the local New Yorkers, but thanks to that investment they have been able to greatly improve their output and start distributing their spirit to a much larger audience.

Product

• Learn More: What Is Bourbon Whiskey?

While there are plenty of liquor options at Citi Field, there’s only one “official” bourbon of the New York Mets, a collaboration with Hudson Whiskey to create this co-branded bottle of bourbon that you can pretty much only find at Citi Field or at the distillery itself. Generally speaking, this is a variation on Hudson’s existing Bright Lights, Big Bourbon whiskey, so the process that this goes through is the exact same with one minor change that might actually make this the better option of the two.

Normally, a modern bourbon is some mixture of corn and other ingredients. In this case, Tuthilltown Spirits makes their straight bourbon from 95% local New York grown corn and 5% malted barley.

Almost every part of the whiskey making process happens on-site. At least, the important bits do. The corn comes in pre-milled (the 1788 grist mill still exists, but it takes about four hours to make a single bag of flour– not economical) and is cooked and fermented on-site in large vats. Originally, the distillery used an old pasta sauce cooker for the process, but the 2010 acquisition means bigger custom-built equipment is used these days instead.

Once the grain is fermented, it is batch distilled in their hybrid pot still (which is a small copper pot still with a short column section on top), and the resulting spirit is filled into new charred oak barrels and socked away in the distillery’s rickhouses. Their more famous Baby Bourbon did not have an age statement and sometimes was matured for as little as a year. Bright Lights, Big Bourbon upped that to two years prior to bottling, and for this version it says right on the label: matured for a full three years in upstate New York.

Once the whiskey is properly matured, it is shipped to a New Jersey facility for bottling and distribution. And, for good measure, the whiskey is kosher certified.

Packaging

Normally, I’d complain about the label design, but for this specific version I’ll give it a pass.

The bottle is the same as usual for Hudson Whiskey: a plump, short cylinder with a gently sloping shoulder. The bottle is capped off with a wood and cork stopper — which is a slight improvement from the last version, but the wax seal is now missing.

As for the label, I truly loved the old branding for their line. It was rustic but simple, a beautiful and elegant design that was equally at home in a modern bar or the 1960’s styled TWA Hotel. It was fantastic.

That, however, is completely out the window at this point. In their re-branding, they have gone instead for bold and simple — less Michelangelo and more Mondrian. It feels more urban, and claims to borrow the styling of the New York City subway system. Which works… kind of… if someone already told you that’s what its suppose to evoke and if you squint real hard. My wife and friends could barely see the resemblance even after I told them about the NYC subway reference.

The only reason that this works for the Mets version of the bottle is two reasons. First, the Mets as a team have always embraced tacky and awful visual styles, and this fits right in. Second, I think this is an instance where the subway-style branding actually does make some sense. When thinking about this in the context of an upstate New York distillery, the subway inspired label seems disjointed and a bit of a reach — but for the heroes of the 7 line, it makes perfect sense.

Neat

I believe it when they say that this spent more time in the barrel than usual — I lamented in my review of their Bright Lights, Big Bourbon that the aroma lacked the apple notes I loved from their Baby Bourbon from years ago, but in this case it seems like that fresh crisp apple is back. Combined with the brown sugar and vanilla that is also wafting off the glass, it makes for a slightly fruity and very appealing first impression, like the aroma you get off a caramel apple at the state fair.

Taking a sip, it’s like a Lindor lead-off home run: it’s going deep. It starts strong with some great oak flavors, like slightly charred brown sugar, vanilla, and baking spices. As the flavor develops, there’s a rich dark chocolate note that adds depth, and on the finish is a bit of earthy coffee or tobacco. After repeated sips, you can pick out some other supporting flavors, like the crisp apple from the aroma. That’s all wrapped in a smooth blanket of malted barley goodness.

Rich, flavorful, spicy, but still smooth and delicious.

On Ice

With the addition of some ice, everything starts to come together. What were distinct flavors become a cohesive unit, mellowed out and improved as a whole. Like the 2024 Mets (after Grimace threw out the first pitch in June, of course).

The two sharper edges of the flavor profile when taken neat were the charred brown sugar and the dark chocolate, which almost had a touch of bitterness associated with them. With the added ice, those sharp edges have been smoothed out, leaving behind a deliciously balanced glass of whiskey. The sweet brown sugar, the vanilla, the baking spices, and the dark chocolate all come together to make something deliciously harmonious, with a little bit of cedar chips adding some aromatics and levity,

Cocktail (Old Fashioned)

I love a richer, deeper flavor profile in my bourbon specifically because it makes an absolute grand slam of an old fashioned. And that’s exactly what we have here.

What I appreciate most is that the deep brown sugar and dark chocolate flavors perfectly balance out the aromatics and the bitters, allowing each to play their part and still come together for something that is an elevated and more interesting cocktail. Throw in a splash of orange citrus peel and you’ve got something that is undeniably enjoyable.

If I have one complaint, it’s that this could have a little more complexity. I’d love to see the baking spices come out more, or maybe some darker fruits that add to the complexity of the depth of flavor. But as-is, it’s a perfectly delicious cocktail for an afternoon watching a ball game.

Fizz (Mule)

There are a couple of things that I look for in a mule, but most important is that the flavors of the spirit bring something to the table and that there’s a uniqueness to the experience that you would not otherwise get with vodka.

In this case, the deep rich caramel and vanilla flavors are clearly present and do a great job balancing out the bright and cheerful ginger beer without overpowering them. And the addition of that little bit of a charred brown sugar note adds some richness and depth that is very much appreciated, and makes sure you know this isn’t some boring Moscow Mule.

I myself like a bit of a rye content to add some black pepper spice to the mix, but that isn’t an option here. That said, the finish is smooth and even with a lingering sweet ginger flavor, so I’m not complaining.

Overall Rating

I’ve worked my way through most of Hudson Whiskey’s product line and I don’t think there’s a bottle I’ve come across that I didn’t like. Some were better than others, but they always make a solid product that is well worth the time. In this case we’re looking at a version of their existing Bright Lights, Big Bourbon product but I want to call out something that I think makes a difference and give this bottle the edge.

I’ve also seen a LOT of co-branded products in my time — most of them are cheap cash grabs with little effort made to make an actually good product. But in this case, Hudson could have simply re-labeled an existing stock and called it good, and it seems like instead they went to the extra trouble of selecting barrels that had been matured longer than usual for this release. They made an effort to make this special and unique among their product line, and that I appreciate.

As a result, I do think that this is a better version of their whiskey. I like it better than the baseline product that they released, which was already batting slightly above average for the price range. Keep it in the barrel a little longer and you’ve gone from barely scraping out a base hit to a solid double.

What would make this perfect is a little more complexity in the flavors — and in my opinion, a little rye in the mash bill. But even as-is, this is well worth your time and your cash.

All reviews are evaluated within the context of their specific spirit classification as specified above. Click here to check out similar spirits we have reviewed.

Overall Rating: 4.5/5
Surprisingly powerful, well balanced, with some good depth and complexity. A great choice for the price — even more so if you’re a Mets fan.