Located on the corner of Main and Jayne Streets in Florida, this Orange County distillery does things a little differently. A development almost 20 years in the making, Jayne Street Distilling Co. is a passion project that celebrates local agriculture with spirits made from locally sourced botanicals and a rotating list of seasonal cocktails that are as highly spirited as the faces behind the brand.
Distiller and founder of Jayne Street Distilling Co., Nick Spiegel, is an Orange County native who grew up in Pine Island. His lifelong passion for the culinary arts brought him to Hyde Park’s Culinary Institute of America, during which time he externed at Element 47 in Aspen, Colorado, before he finished his bachelor’s degree in Advanced Wines, Beverage, and Hospitality.
From studying in Napa Valley under a master sommelier to becoming a certified sommelier himself, Spiegel worked culinary jobs near and far — most recently as distiller and head of the cocktail program at Brown Barn Farms in New Hampton — before opening his own distillery in Florida.
A Family Affair
Although Spiegel manages the business and its operations on his own, Jayne Street Distilling Co. still has deep family roots. Spiegel’s father bought the piece of property on which the distillery is located in 2003 from a local farmer. While the barn on the property was once a workshop for fixing tractors and bagging potatoes, it has since been reimagined into the distillery it is today, which officially opened its doors in February 2023.
Spiegel’s father and brother are both lawyers, and they helped the business get off the ground in the first place. His sister is an artist and community gardener who produces the artwork for the distillery’s bottles and helps with gardening and foraging. Spiegel’s girlfriend is involved in the company, too, as a bartender and social media manager.
“I think the original vision was creating a space where I could do the things that I’m passionate about — high-end hospitality for locals by locals, with the goal of presenting the flavors and flora that represents the Hudson Valley,” says Nick Spiegel.
Jayne Street Distilling Co.’s Creations
As for the distillery’s products, Spiegel was inspired by the region’s hiking trails to create botanical-based spirits using the native and invasive flora of the Hudson Valley. As a result, Jayne Street’s first two spirits were a gin made with local ingredients like Eastern Red Cedar juniper, angelica root, and bramble and an amaro created from 100-percent regional flora and sweetened with local honey.
Other spirits that have since been added to Jayne Street Distilling Co.’s lineup include an in-state New York rum made with molasses from upstate New York and aged in Adirondack oak barrels and a single malt whiskey made with floor-malted barley from Hudson Valley Malt in Germantown. The Florida distillery also produces a vodka that is sold as Jayne x Soda — a canned vodka seltzer with a splash of cranberry.
A Unique Experience in Florida
At Jayne Street’s bar, you’ll find a rotating list of 10 seasonal cocktails, along with five seasonal food items, that change every three months. “I have no intention of ever using the same recipe twice,” adds Spiegel, assuring that there will always be something new and exciting on the menu. Even in the cocktails, the distillery crafts its own ingredients, from syrups to garnishes, so that everyone who visits is a part of a unique culinary experience no matter what they order.
Though obviously big on spirits, Jayne Street Distilling Co. is also big on community spirit, which is why the Florida destination hosts engaging events throughout the year for its consumers. Dinner pop-ups, seasonal festivals, and live music are a few of the locale’s current offerings, with plans for jazz nights, tiki nights, cocktail classes, and supper clubs in the future.
“Our hope was always to bring a different level of hospitality to the area, for locals to enjoy, but also for out-of-towners to seek out. We always dreamed of creating an establishment that could grow and spread its reach in the Hudson Valley and New York as a whole, and act as an anchor for our little village,” says Spiegel.
Jayne Street Distilling Co. is located at 41 Jayne Street in Florida.
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