VUE

A sbury Park Distill- ing Co. is just one of many cra spirit distilleries who are working to become part of an indus- try that has long been dominated by household brands and its co-found- er, Zack Ohebshalom, believes cra distilleries are still in their infancy in comparison to breweries—especial- ly in New Jersey. It wasn't until 2013 that New Jersey changed its distilling laws for the first time since Prohi- bition, which got locals like Oheb- shalom thinking. He later opened Asbury Park Distilling Co. in 2017, which holds the distinction of being New Jersey's only distillery in a com- mercial downtown area. Gin was their inaugural spirit upon opening and they've since developed a number of innovative recipes and production techniques to create new expressions and styles, like their bar- rel-finished gin which is an emerging category in and of itself. "It's our same gin recipe but it gets aged in New American oak for four months," Ohebshalom explained. "What that process does is neutralize a lot of the citrus notes and enhance the herbal flavor." Aged gin isn't a new concept by any means, but it is being seen more oen as brown spir- its make their way to the forefront. e corn base and barrelling process of Asbury Park Distilling Co.'s bar- rel-finished gin shares similarities to bourbon, which is why they then re- use those same barrels, fill them with a two-year-old straight bourbon and age it another two to four months. V U E N J . C O M 115

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