Back in August, WCP made mention of a new distillery opening within the 500 Seneca Street development building (see here). At the time there was not a lot of news pertaining to the distillery, other than the following:
In addition to a manufacturing area, the space will include a showroom and tasting area which will be located in a windowed mezzanine (lead image from WCP’s original post) overlooking the distilling floor. The mezzanine will have an entrance on Seneca Street. Both visitors and passersby will be able to view the distillery operations though large street level windows.
Now, additional information has been released, including the name of the operation, and some background on the partners.
Founders Robert Finan and Sean Insalaco decided that they did not want to open on a grassroots level, a decision that led them to secure a larger distillery operation within Savarino Companies’ 500 Seneca building. The plan is to open the doors to the public for tours of the 16 feet tall, 100 gallon, copper distillation system.
The two entrepreneurs both bring distinct attributes to the table. Final has a history as a distiller and compliance director at a farm distillery in Central New York, while Insalaco has experience as both a marketer and developer.
While the partners are excited to create a strong local brand, they have set their sights on the national market.
Tommyrotter Distillery plans on opening in the spring of 2015, with a focus on botanical gins and vodka (to start).