Fort Hamilton barrels their whiskey at a lower proof than almost anyone in the category. Everything else about how their bourbon and rye taste follows from that one decision. Most American distillers barrel their whiskey at or near the legal maximum of 125 proof. Higher entry proof means more spirit per barrel, which means lower production costs per bottle. It's an economic optimization, and it's the industry default. Fort Hamilton enters their rye and bourbon into the barrel at a significantly lower proof — a deliberate choice that prioritizes grain character over barrel character, produces a softer and more rounded spirit, and costs them more per barrel in exchange for a specific flavor outcome.
That decision — low barreling proof, with the grain emphasized over the wood — is the production fact that explains why Fort Hamilton’s whiskey tastes the way it does and why it sits in a different part of the flavor landscape than most contemporary American whiskey. The Brooklyn location, the Revolutionary War backstory, the watermelon gin — all of that is real and interesting. But the low barreling proof is the technical decision that defines the liquid.
Fort Hamilton Distillery was founded in 2016 by Alex Clark, a veteran bartender, and Amy Grindeland. The distillery is located in Industry City, Brooklyn — a repurposed industrial complex on the waterfront in Sunset Park.
The founding mission is specific: revive the pre-Prohibition “New York Rye” style of whiskey that was the dominant American spirit before Kentucky bourbon took over the market. Before Prohibition, rye whiskey — not bourbon — was America’s drink. The rye tradition was strongest in the Northeast, brought by German and Bohemian colonists who grew rye grain because it thrived in the colder, less hospitable soils of the mid-Atlantic and New England. New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland were rye country.
Prohibition killed the Northeast rye industry. When distilling resumed, Kentucky’s bourbon producers — with their established infrastructure, their corn supply, and their sweeter, more approachable product — dominated the market. New York rye never came back. The style essentially disappeared from American whiskey for most of the 20th century.
Clark’s goal is to produce rye whiskey in the pre-Prohibition Northeast tradition: heavy rye content, no corn in the mashbill, grain-forward rather than barrel-forward, and suited to the classic cocktails (Manhattan, Old Fashioned, Sazerac) that were originally designed for rye, not bourbon.
The distillery is named after Fort Hamilton, the Brooklyn Army installation, which is in turn named after Alexander Hamilton. The connection isn’t just a name — the distillery is surrounded by Revolutionary War landmarks. The Battle of Brooklyn (1776) began in a watermelon patch approximately one block from the distillery’s current location. Hamilton’s Hearts of Oak militia conducted raids on British forces in lower Manhattan during the same campaign.
This history shows up in the product line. The watermelon gin uses fresh watermelon as a botanical, a direct nod to the watermelon patch where the Battle of Brooklyn commenced. It’s a specific, verifiable historical connection rather than a vague heritage claim.
Fort Hamilton’s product lineup is organized around rye whiskey as the primary identity, with bourbon as a secondary offering. This is the inverse of most American distilleries, where bourbon is the lead product and rye (if they make one) is a supporting character.
The flagship Single Barrel Rye uses a 90% rye, 10% malted barley mashbill — no corn at all. This is an extremely high rye percentage. Most “rye whiskeys” on the market use 51-65% rye with significant corn content. Fort Hamilton’s mashbill is closer to what pre-Prohibition Northeast rye actually looked like: the grain itself is the dominant flavor, not a supporting actor propped up by corn sweetness.
The result is a whiskey that leads with rye’s characteristic spice (cinnamon, mint, black pepper), herbaceous notes, and a drier, less sweet profile than any bourbon or corn-containing rye can produce. Reviewers consistently note the cinnamon, caramel, mint, and cereal-grain character — flavors driven by the grain rather than imposed by the barrel.
Fort Hamilton’s bourbon runs a more conventional mashbill — 85% corn, 10% rye, 5% malted barley — but it’s produced under the same low-barreling-proof, non-chill-filtered philosophy as the rye. The bourbon is distilled at Taconic Distillery in Stanfordville, New York, using grain sourced entirely from Migliorelli Farm in Tivoli, New York. From grain to bottle, the bourbon is produced within New York State.
The bourbon is explicitly a complement to the rye — it rounds out the product line for drinkers who want something sweeter and more corn-forward, but it’s made with the same grain-over-barrel emphasis that defines the rye. The Double Barrel Bourbon blends barrels averaging around five years old, bottled at 92 proof, non-chill filtered. Named one of Wine Enthusiast’s “Top 100 Spirits of 2024.”
Fort Hamilton sources all grain from New York farms — corn from Migliorelli Farm in Tivoli, rye and barley from New York producers. This isn’t a marketing choice; it’s a requirement of the NY Farm Distillery license, which provides regulatory and tax advantages in exchange for using New York agricultural products. The result is a genuinely locavore spirits operation where the grain, the distillation (for the rye), and the aging all happen within the state.
Fort Hamilton’s yeast strain and fermentation approach are tuned to support the grain-forward philosophy that defines the distillery. For a 90% rye mashbill, the yeast’s job is particularly consequential — rye fermentation is notoriously difficult compared to corn-heavy bourbon, because rye grain produces a thick, sticky mash that can stall fermentation if the yeast isn’t selected for the job.
The yeast strain Fort Hamilton uses is chosen to ferment cleanly through that heavy rye mash without producing off-character compounds, while contributing esters that complement rather than compete with the rye’s natural spice. The goal is a fermented wash where the rye grain’s character — herbaceous, peppery, slightly floral — comes through intact to the still, rather than being masked by fruity or yeasty fermentation byproducts.
This is the foundational step in the “grain over barrel” approach. If the grain character is lost in fermentation, no amount of low-barreling-proof aging will bring it back. Fort Hamilton’s emphasis on clean, grain-expressive fermentation is what makes the low-entry-proof and non-chill-filtered approach work — the grain character that arrives at the barrel is strong enough to remain present after years of aging.
The three production decisions that define Fort Hamilton’s whiskey are the low entry proof, the refusal to chill filter, and the emphasis on grain character over barrel character. These aren’t marketing positions — they’re technical choices with specific flavor consequences.
When whiskey enters the barrel at a lower proof, it contains more water relative to alcohol. Water and alcohol interact with wood differently — water extracts different compounds than alcohol does, and the balance between the two determines which flavor notes dominate as the whiskey ages. Lower entry proof generally produces whiskey with more grain expression, a softer mouthfeel, and less aggressive barrel-driven flavors (heavy char, intense tannin, overpowering oak).
Most large American producers barrel at or near 125 proof because it’s the most cost-efficient approach — more concentrated spirit means fewer barrels needed for the same volume of finished product. Fort Hamilton’s lower entry proof means they use more barrels per volume of finished whiskey, which drives up production costs. The payoff is a spirit where you can taste the rye grain itself, not just what the barrel does to it.
Chill filtering is a common industry practice where whiskey is cooled to near-freezing and passed through a filter to remove fatty acids and proteins that can cause the liquid to look hazy when served cold or over ice. The process makes the whiskey look cleaner in the glass but also strips out some of the compounds that contribute to mouthfeel and flavor complexity.
Fort Hamilton doesn’t chill filter any of their whiskeys. The consequence is that their rye and bourbon may develop a slight haze when served cold — a purely cosmetic issue — but they retain the full complement of oils and fatty acids that give the spirit weight and texture on the palate.
Fort Hamilton ages in new American white oak barrels with a #3 char — a medium char that’s less aggressive than the #4 “alligator char” that many bourbon producers prefer. The lighter char aligns with the grain-over-barrel philosophy: #3 char provides color, vanilla, and structure without overpowering the grain character the way a heavier char can.
The barrels come from Independent Stave Company (Cooper Select barrels), a major cooperage that supplies many American distilleries. The barrel choice is conventional — what’s unconventional is the low entry proof going into a medium-char barrel, which tilts the aging outcome toward grain expression rather than wood dominance.
Fort Hamilton ages their rye whiskey on the Brooklyn waterfront at Industry City. The aging environment is New York City weather: hot, humid summers where the warehouse turns into an oven, and cold winters where the temperature drops sharply. The temperature swings are dramatic — not Iowa-dramatic, but significantly more aggressive than a climate-controlled warehouse.
The Brooklyn climate drives faster aging interaction than a milder environment would. The whiskey picks up color and oak influence at a pace that outperforms the age statement — five-year-old Fort Hamilton rye reads with a maturity and integration that could easily pass for older whiskey in a blind tasting.
The Single Barrel Rye is aged a minimum of five years. The Double Barrel Bourbon averages around four and a half to five years. Both are bottled without chill filtration at proofs that preserve the distillate‘s character — 90 proof for the Single Barrel Rye, 92 proof for the Double Barrel Bourbon.
Fort Hamilton produces in genuine small batches — roughly 500 bottles per release of the Double Barrel Bourbon. This isn’t a marketing claim disguised as “small batch” while actually running thousands of barrels. Five hundred bottles from hand-selected barrels is a production volume where every barrel in the blend is individually chosen by founder Alex Clark.
Alex Clark is a veteran bartender who founded Fort Hamilton specifically to address what he saw as a gap in the American whiskey market: the absence of traditional, pre-Prohibition, Northeast-style rye whiskey. His bartending background means the whiskey is designed with cocktail use in mind — the proofs, the flavor profiles, and the grain-forward character are all calibrated for spirits that work as well in a Manhattan or Old Fashioned as they do neat.
Amy Grindeland co-founded the distillery and handles the business operations. The operation is small enough that Clark is personally involved in barrel selection and blending decisions for every release.
The distillery holds an Orthodox Union Certified Pareve Kosher designation on their Single Barrel Bourbon — a detail that reflects the New York market they serve and the diverse consumer base in Brooklyn.
Alex Clark didn’t come to distilling from farming, chemistry, or a family tradition. He came from behind the bar. That background shapes Fort Hamilton’s approach in ways that might not be obvious from looking at the bottles.
Bartenders think about spirits differently than distillers do. A distiller optimizes for the neat pour — what does this taste like in a glass by itself? A bartender optimizes for the mixed drink — how does this spirit interact with vermouth, with bitters, with citrus, with sugar? Fort Hamilton’s whiskeys are explicitly designed for both uses, but the cocktail perspective is the one that drives production decisions.
The proof points are bartender-calibrated. At 90 proof (Single Barrel Rye) and 92 proof (Double Barrel Bourbon), the whiskeys are strong enough to maintain their character in a cocktail with ice dilution, but not so hot that they overwhelm a delicately balanced drink. The non-chill filtration preserves oils that improve mouthfeel in cocktails. The grain-forward profile means the whiskey contributes distinct character to a drink rather than just generic “whiskey flavor” that disappears into the mixer.
Clark has been explicit about this: the whiskeys are designed to make historically accurate cocktails. A Manhattan made with Fort Hamilton Single Barrel Rye is closer to what a bartender in 1880s New York would have served than a Manhattan made with any contemporary Kentucky bourbon. Whether that matters to you depends on whether you care about cocktail history or just want a good drink — but either way, the spirits are calibrated for the purpose.
Fort Hamilton Single Barrel Rye Whiskey (90 proof, ~$55-65). The flagship. 90% rye, 10% malted barley, no corn. Aged minimum five years in char #3 barrels, non-chill filtered. Cinnamon, caramel, mint, cereal grains. The bottle that represents the pre-Prohibition New York Rye revival — the spirit the distillery exists to make. Buy this first.
Fort Hamilton Double Barrel Bourbon (92 proof, ~$45-55). 85% corn, 10% rye, 5% malted barley. Distilled at Taconic Distillery (Stanfordville NY) from New York grain. Averaged five-year age, non-chill filtered, 500-bottle batches. Wintergreen, cinnamon, brown sugar, vanilla, black pepper. Named Wine Enthusiast Top 100 Spirits 2024. The bourbon-drinker’s entry point to the Fort Hamilton lineup.
Fort Hamilton Single Barrel Bourbon (47.5% ABV, ~$65-70). Hand-selected single barrels, higher proof than the Double Barrel, hand-painted bottles. Toasted pecan, sage, lemon peel on the nose; brioche, brown sugar on the palate. The splurge bottle for drinkers who’ve already tried the Double Barrel and want to see what a single barrel does with the same mashbill.
Fort Hamilton New World Dry Gin (80 proof, ~$35). Distilled from 100% New York corn with eleven botanicals including fresh watermelon, cucumber, and juniper. The watermelon is a nod to the Battle of Brooklyn, which commenced in a watermelon patch one block from the distillery. A genuinely distinctive gin that tastes nothing like London Dry.
Fortress Vodka (~$30). New York corn-based vodka. Clean and straightforward.
Organic Bourbon Barrel-Aged Maple Syrup (~$25). Not a spirit, but a cult product — maple syrup aged in Fort Hamilton’s used bourbon barrels. Vanilla, salted caramel, and a touch of orange peel. Makes a remarkable Old Fashioned sweetener.
If you drink rye whiskey, start with the Single Barrel Rye — it’s the distillery’s reason for existing and the purest expression of their grain-over-barrel philosophy. If you primarily drink bourbon, start with the Double Barrel Bourbon — it’s the more familiar format (corn-forward, sweeter) but made under the same low-proof, non-chill-filtered approach.
The barrel-aged maple syrup is a sleeper recommendation. It’s inexpensive, it lasts forever, and using it in an Old Fashioned with Fort Hamilton rye is arguably the most historically accurate version of that cocktail you can make outside of a time machine.
Fort Hamilton’s entire identity is built on being the opposite of what most contemporary American whiskey is doing — low barreling proof instead of maximum, grain-forward instead of barrel-forward, rye-first instead of bourbon-first, non-chill filtered instead of cosmetically polished. Whether you experience those choices as “this is what whiskey should taste like” or “this isn’t what I expected” depends entirely on your palate and what you’ve been drinking.
OAKR is built to predict which side of that divide you’ll land on. Our blind tasting panel scores every whiskey across more than 100 flavor notes, organized into 10 macro categories. No labels, no Revolutionary War stories, no Brooklyn cachet influencing the scores — just the liquid and an honest read on what’s in it. Add a few bottles you already know you love, and the AI builds a palate profile that tells you whether Fort Hamilton’s grain-forward, spice-driven, rye-dominated character will land as revelation or as a mismatch with what your palate actually wants.
You stop paying $55 for a rye whiskey because the backstory is compelling. You start paying $55 because the data says you’ll love what’s inside.
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Bourbon enthusiast, spirits industry analyst, and the voice behind OAKR's distillery guides, brand reviews, and bourbon education content. Visiting distilleries, dissecting mashbills, and translating the craft into data since 2024.
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