New York City doesn’t exactly conjure images of good ol’ boys drinking bourbon and moonshine, but that hasn't stopped Kentucky-raised Colin Spoelman and his business partner David Haskell from gaining a serious reputation for their handcrafted American spirits, born and bottled in Brooklyn.

Operating out of a 113-year-old building in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Kings County Distillery uses traditional distilling equipment and NY-grown corn to produce its distinct and authentic whiskeys.

In fact, Kings County Distillery is the oldest operating whiskey distillery in New York City — even though it was just established in 2010, it's NYC's first distillery since prohibition. It’s taken decades for state laws to catch up and allow liquor production in the neighborhood (since then, however, a slew of other micro-distilleries have popped up in Brooklyn — check out Breuckelen Distilling and New York Distilling Co. for more exceptional handcrafted spirits).

So what does Brooklyn bourbon taste like? Very fine, indeed. King’s County bourbon whiskey comes on rich and sweet with a caramelly taste and a strong finish. Judges seem to like the spirit as well. Recently, King’s County Distillery took home silver medals for both its bourbon and moonshine at the 2013 American Distilling Institute’s Craft Spirits Conference.

You don’t have to buy a whole (not inexepensive) 250-ml. bottle to taste Kings County for yourself. A growing number of area bars and restaurants are serving the spirits, including favorites Char No. 4, The Richardson and Rye House.

If you’re feeling adventurous, tours of the distillery are also available, and frp, 2:30–5:30 PM every Saturday, no reservations needed, just show up. For just $8, you'll get a look inside, plus a tasting of Spoelman and Haskell's latest.