How do Boutique Spirits Get Into Stores? The Story of Park Avenue Liquor Shop
I don’t usually do New Year’s resolutions or goals but this year I was inspired by my nieces who whipped theirs out unprompted on Christmas Day. I set two for New Dawn in the New Year: Get into bars and liquor stores and participate in more tasting events.
[Full blog laying our New Dawns 2025 goals here]
Never one to let my goals languish, I found myself on the early train from Baltimore to NYC two weeks ago with the sole purpose of meeting with bar and liquor store owners and buyers to get New Dawn on their shelves. To be clear this wasn’t my first tour, I had been cultivating placement opportunities all fall but I was determined to “close the deal” this excruciatingly cold winter day. First on my list was an appointment with Park Avenue Liquor Store on Madison in Avenue in Downtown Manhattan.
I was excited because for once I actually had an appointment! To peel back the veil on liquor sales, I have sent many an email and made many calls to stores and bars to make appointments but 9 times out of 10 I find myself showing up unannounced with a bag of whiskey on my shoulder and my sunny personality front and center hoping for the best. My first visit to Park Avenue came as a recommendation from a friend when I was last in town. I waltzed into the store in November just before Thanksgiving and they told me to come back in the new year, make an appointment and we’d talk then. Fast forward, appointment secured and I scurried into the store out of arctic temps for a 10am tasting. Having been before, I did my very best to steer my eyes away from the shelves so I wouldn’t end up schlepping even more whiskey around the city later. Park Avenue has a sublime whiskey collection which is one of the reasons I was so excited for this appointment. I love stores with curated whiskey offerings because it increases the chance that whatever you pick it's going to be good, which makes it a good space for people to be open and willing to try a new brand.
Jonathan, Eric, and I gathered around a clear bit of counter near the registers and I pulled out sample bottles of the 6 and 10 and two full bottles so they could see my babies in their full glory. We started with the 10-year and while they let their pours get some air and took refreshing sniffs we discussed the unusual choice of aging the first two years in a temperature controlled environment rather than at the end like many others do, my label and “the vibe”, the cooperage and mashbill, and how I was seduced by a wheated whiskey. As I told them about my background and the sustainability of the brand, they took their first sips savoring the ginger and vanilla notes and the slow building heat that dissipated into citrus. Impressed, we talked more about the flavors and aromas, and whether it was sacrilege to make cocktails out of fine whiskey. We cracked open the 6-year and they peppered me with more questions about the leap from science to conservation to whiskey only to discover Jonathan and I both went to Washington University in St. Louis!
As we waited for the 6-year to get some air, we reminisced about our time in St. Louis and joked about attending the “Harvard of the Midwest,” something Jonathan regularly lords over Eric who went to Syracuse. As they tasted the 6-year, surprised by its depth given its age, I mentioned New Dawn’s cocktail program and how the 6-year had brought quite a few newbies to the fold. The conversation shifted to pricing, distribution, and how to make an order and I held my breath… and they made a request for two cases of the 10-year! Success!
And that is the story of how New Dawn’s 10-year Wheated Whiskey found its first placement, at Park Avenue Liquor Shop in New York City! If you’re in the area be sure to stop by and grab a bottle for immediate gratification!
And if you want to see us in your local stores or bars let us know where and be sure to talk us up so when we make that first introduction people know New Dawn will already be appreciated by clientele.
