At Klocke Estate, Columbia County’s new luxury “soil-to-glass” distillery and dining destination, timing is everything.
As the website proudly states, “We believe that making fine brandy is a celebration of time and place.” This guiding philosophy is a foundational throughline that’s evident in every aspect of the property, from its sustainable land cultivation and brandy distillation practices all the way down to its name (“Klocke” comes from the Dutch word for “clock”).
The 160-acre farm is located in Claverack, just 10 minutes outside of Hudson. A ceremonious ribbon cutting marked its grand opening this July, but Klocke Estate’s origin goes back much further – starting as only a seedling of an idea in founder and CEO John Frishkopf’s mind more than 30 years ago.
Frishkopf grew up in Boston, but it was his 10 years spent living in Europe that initially sparked his love of brandy.
“I had always been interested in winemaking,” he recalls, “and it was through my passion for wine that I became fascinated with brandy.”
While based in Vienna, he’d visit regions like Tyrol and Wachau that specialized in eau de vie, a clear brandy made from distilled fruits. Then he moved to Prague, where he learned to make eau de vie from friends who would make apricot brandy in their homes.
“My friends would make apricot brandy in their homes,” he says. “It was basically moonshine, but with a very strong cultural history dating back to the 1700s.”
When he returned to the U.S., Frishkopf moved back to the Northeast and started thinking about opening a winery of his own. But the more he researched the idea, the less it appealed to him.
“There are some great wineries in the Finger Lakes region, but it’s really tough to do, and there are just so many wineries now,” he observes. This realization sparked a new idea – the one from which Klocke Estate was born. “Then I thought, well, what about brandy? What about distillation?”
From there, it wasn’t a matter of if, but where. He found that New York, and the Hudson Valley in particular, would provide an ideal climate for distilling. “The Hudson Valley was like that perfect Venn diagram of fantastic apples and great microclimate for brandy grapes,” he shares. “So when we found this property, it was off to the races.”
The Klocke Estate property was purchased in January 2018 as a wild and empty plot of land with endless potential. Construction started in 2019 and continued through the pandemic. It was a long and complex project, but Frishkopf and his team saw any setbacks they faced as opportunities.
“We had time,” he says, smiling. “When the opening would get delayed, we’d just use that time to keep refining our recipes.” After four years, $21 million, and over 120 different vermouths sampled, it’s all starting to pay off.
Klocke Estate is now fully operational, with a 12,000-square foot distillery and hospitality venue and 60 acres of sustainably farmed vineyards, apple orchards, and botanical gardens. All of the processing, aging, distilling, and bottling is done onsite, with additional fruits and botanicals being sourced from nearby farms as needed. The venue is already serving and selling three of its own spirits: Brevis White Vermouth, Brevis Sweet Red Vermouth, and Klocke Estate Apple Brandy, with both sweet and sour cherry eau de vies soon to come.
What makes Klocke spirits really stand out? The secret starts with the barrel room, located toward the bottom of the property. Constructed using the same concepts as Cognac barrel rooms, its impressive timber frame was made and assembled by a local woodworker. The structure is sunk six feet into the ground, with clay and lime soil floors and walls made of straw bales coated in plaster for maximum breathability. Inside, the large barrels are lined up in neat rows.
“One of the most important things when making brandy is the barrel,” Frishkopf explains. “In my opinion, the biggest mistake other American brandy producers make is using American oak barrels, which imparts a very intense vanilla flavor that’s great for bourbon, but not for brandy. Brandy is much more delicate and subtle, so it gets overwhelmed by that flavor. That’s why we use new French oak and neutral barrels. Most of the oak flavor has been extracted, so as the brandy is aging, it breathes slightly over the years, and that subtle complexity of flavor can really develop.”
The striking estate, nestled at the top of the property, was designed by BarlisWedlick, an award-winning architecture and interiors firm with offices in Hudson and New York City. The interior was brought to life by Ken Faulk, an Architectural Digest AD100 designer known for creating textured, maximalist, and immersive spaces. Rich fabrics and hues, warm woods, and hand-painted murals are expertly combined with more ornate elements like crystal chandeliers and organic printed wallpaper throughout, giving a sense of luxury without the pretension.
Within the main restaurant building, there are several unique zones. Each has its own purpose and vibe, but they all work cohesively and flow into one another with ease.
“You can come in and do a tasting on the North Side, have cocktails and snacks at the bar overlooking the mountains, or sit down for an elevated meal in the dining area,” says Kristine Danks, Klocke Estate’s general manager of hospitality. The result is a fully realized space that is both visually stunning and buzzing with energy, striking the perfect balance of refinement and enjoyment.
Guests can choose to take a tour, currently led on weekends by owners John Frishkopf and Brett Mattingly, which includes a tasting as well as a deep dive into the estate’s fascinating history and distillation processes. The bar serves up Klocke’s own spirits, to be savored simply on the rocks, in a spritz, or stirred into one of the signature cocktails. It also offers an extensive wine program and a selection of local craft brews.
The restaurant, led by Chef Becky Kempter, serves an a la carte menu of seasonal fare and is open for dinner Wednesday through Sunday from 5–9 p.m., as well as lunch Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 12–3 p.m. The culinary program aims to blend the heritage and traditions of brandy-producing regions with the farm-to-table spirit of the Hudson Valley.
Everything on the menu is meant to pair with the brandy-focused cocktail offerings, many of which are approachable twists on timeless classics. Try the Appletini ($24) for something crisp, elegant, and endlessly drinkable made with Klocke’s own 00 Apple Brandy, or the Everything You Want ($19), which combines gin, Blanc Vermouth, Granny Smith, lemon, soda, and a hint of miso for something a bit more unexpected.
Appetizer highlights include the Ouef Mayonnaise ($15 for three pieces), a decadent bite of luscious jammy egg and Jonah crab topped with bottarga, smoked trout roe, and sea beans. There’s also the Beets & Melon ($15), a generous portion of red and yellow beets and cubed summer melon sitting atop a zesty mint labneh with cured olive, pistachio, and sorrel. Dining with a group? Start it off with the Petit or Grand Aioli ($30, $55), a beautifully presented tower of summer vegetables, chilled shellfish, and farm egg.
For lunch, the duck confit panzanella ($28) is an absolute must; the crispy, salty confit duck leg paired with toasted torn focaccia, grilled peach, juicy heirloom tomatoes, radicchio, basil, and parmesan makes for the perfect summery bite. For entrees, the vegetarian cavatelli dish ($32) is equally delicious, with tender pasta made fresh each morning enveloped in a sumptuous combination of heirloom squash, burst cherry tomatoes, ricotta, basil, and lemon. The pork chop au poivre ($45) with black garlic and charred broccolini is another standout, and only available during dinner service.
For dessert, it’s hard to beat the impossibly moist almond cake ($15), topped with Armagnac figs, fluffy mascarpone, orange blossom honey, almond slivers, and sprinkled with flower petals from Klocke’s own botanical garden.
Whether you’re a brandy connoisseur, a five-star foodie, or just wanting to take in a panoramic sunset view of the Catskills (spritz in hand, of course), you’ll find what you’re looking for at Klocke Estate. Owner John Frishkopf is hopeful that, much like the brandy the distillery produces, the estate will only get better with time.
“It’s a legacy project,” he observes. “The expectation is that this will be here for hundreds of years. I’m very eager to see how it evolves.”
Klocke Estate
2554 County Rte 27, Hudson
Website
Related: A Look Inside the World of Distilling in the Hudson Valley
