Gravity Well Distilling has opened its doors in Brooklyn's Bushwick neighbourhood, becoming the first US distillery to produce exclusively potato vodka — a calculated bet on a growing consumer appetite for ingredient-forward, terroir-driven American spirits.
The Details
Founded by former food scientist Naomi Reyes and veteran bartender Declan Shaw, Gravity Well operates a 500-litre copper pot still sourced from Forsyths in Scotland — the same manufacturer used by Macallan and Glenfarclas. The production capacity of approximately 18,000 bottles per year will remain intentionally constrained, with both founders describing scale as a philosophical limit rather than a financial target.
The distillery sources its potatoes from three farms in upstate New York — two in the Finger Lakes region and one in the Hudson Valley — and produces three expressions annually, each from a single farm and a single potato variety. The inaugural release uses Adirondack Blue potatoes from a farm in Watkins Glen, producing a vodka with a distinctly earthy, mineral character and a rich, lingering finish.
"We wanted to prove that American potato vodka doesn't have to be a lesser version of Chopin," said Reyes at the opening event. "Our potatoes are extraordinary. The soil in the Finger Lakes is extraordinary. We just needed to get out of the way and let the raw material do the work."
Initial pricing is set at $52 per bottle — a premium positioning that reflects both production costs and a clear ambition to compete in the super-premium tier from day one.
Industry Context
Brooklyn's craft spirits scene has matured significantly since Kings County Distillery pioneered the borough's modern distilling revival in 2010. The neighbourhood now hosts eleven licensed distilleries, with a combined annual output estimated at 400,000 bottles. Potato vodka, however, has remained almost entirely absent from the American craft distilling conversation — most US craft producers default to grain, reflecting both lower raw material costs and greater production simplicity.
What's Next
Gravity Well's Adirondack Blue expression launches in February 2026, available initially through a curated list of 40 New York City accounts and direct-to-consumer online through the distillery's website. A second release — using Kennebec potatoes from Hudson Valley — is planned for summer 2026. The distillery has confirmed a waiting list of 200 accounts in 12 states, suggesting demand is already outpacing the initial allocation by a significant margin.
