Behind: "Creating a Buzz," for Edible Manhattan

When I called up new distillery owner Ed Tiedge for a tour, he must have wondered how long I thought it would take. The space is slightly bigger than a decent garage, but plenty cases of his already award-winning, NYC-bartender-approved honey vodka and gin have made their way across Manhattan and Westchester County since it opened in August. It's the county's first distillery since Prohibition and one of only a handful in a state that once claimed more than a thousand.

It didn't hurt that it opened right off the marina in my hometown, formerly known as Sawpit for the ship-building scraps of early settlers. I think they (and Prohibition-era residents) would be proud of the new exports. Port Chester once housed the Lifesaver building and keeps people coming back for chili-cheese-topped Hubba's hot dogs and classic Italian dishes from the Tarry Lodge, a century-old restaurant newly revived by Batali-Bastianich with an adjacent market some might call a mini-Eataly.

Read the full story on Comb Vodka and Comb 9 Gin, including why it's never been easier to start up a distillery, in the current (all alcohol) issue of Edible Manhantan on stands at these fine places. (Or subscribe for a free trial.)

(Photographs by Brooklyn-based Max Flatow)