Taconic Distillery

The Hudson Valley is filled with beautiful scenery, charming villages, National Historic Landmarks, and bountiful farms. It is home to the first wine-producing region in the U.S. and a world-class culinary institute. Four hundred years of history and hospitality make the region an ideal location for the production of our own native spirit – bourbon whiskey.

With a passion for the outdoors and a desire to work the land, the Coughlin family purchased part of Laufred Farms in Stanfordville, NY, a shuttered beef farm, and renamed it Rolling Hills Farm in 2010. The farm’s 113 acres of rolling hills became the inspiration for Taconic Distillery’s entrance to Dutchess County’s local agribusiness market.

What started out as a hobby became a passion shared by friends, coworkers and family members. This passion has taken off and is now a growing business, with distribution in more than 125 locations in New York, centered around Dutchess County. In the fall of 2015, Taconic will break ground on a 4,200 square foot distillery, which will include a bottling, aging, retail and tasting facility. The building will allow Taconic to substantially increase its sales and consolidate disparate facilities. The tasting room will provide visitors with a unique setting to explore its products as well more than 100 bottles of bourbon from various distillers. Said founder Carol Ann Coughlin, “We firmly believe you should enjoy bourbon in whatever form you choose, whether it be neat, on the rocks, or in cocktails.”

The logo that is the signature on all of its products includes a drawing of Copper, the foxhound, which is found on any bottle from Taconic Distillery. The origin of foxhounds in the United States can be traced back to an English hunter by the name of Robert Brooke, who settled in the Hudson Valley in the 1650's. George Washington, who had a home in the Hudson Valley and was himself a whiskey producer, purchased his own foxhound from the Brooke family several generations later. In the early 20th century during the prohibition era, foxhounds were notable for helping to alert moonshiners when government agents were closing in on their operations. For this reason, Taconic Distillery likes to credit Copper and his ancestors with bringing the phrase “Man¹s Best Friend” to the New World.