Two years and $2 million later, the big moment in the life of Long Island's new distillery came in March when co-owner Dan Pollicino put his pinkie into the first liquid flowing out of the still and tasted it.
"When we got to the heart of the run and my first time dipping my finger in there, that was a real exciting moment,"he said. "It almost evaporates on your tongue and you get the flavor. It's got like a little buttery, vanilla, ripe banana tasting note to it."
Pollicino, 42, a retired New York City firefighter, and partner Richard Stabile, 46, a former executive in the semiconductor industry, have rolled out their first crop of 5,000 bottles of "LiV"(rhymes with five) from Long Island Spirits in Baiting Hollow, the area's first modern distillery. Priced at $44 for one liter or $38 for 750 milliliters, the bottles were distributed to country clubs, stores and restaurants last month.
"When we got to the heart of the run and my first time dipping my finger in there, that was a real exciting moment,"he said. "It almost evaporates on your tongue and you get the flavor. It's got like a little buttery, vanilla, ripe banana tasting note to it."
Pollicino, 42, a retired New York City firefighter, and partner Richard Stabile, 46, a former executive in the semiconductor industry, have rolled out their first crop of 5,000 bottles of "LiV"(rhymes with five) from Long Island Spirits in Baiting Hollow, the area's first modern distillery. Priced at $44 for one liter or $38 for 750 milliliters, the bottles were distributed to country clubs, stores and restaurants last month.
While potatoes make only a small percentage of most vodkas, LiV, according to its makers, is 100 percent from spuds, requiring about 15 pounds per bottle.
It's taken 250,000 pounds of spuds to get to the first big run.
It's taken 250,000 pounds of spuds to get to the first big run.
