American craft distilling is undergoing a significant revival – the desire for ‘authentic’, small batch products has walked hand-in-hand with the global trend for all things brown spirit for a number of years now. Whilst California still has the largest number of craft distilleries, New York State is not all that far behind (now over 180 distilleries, up from a mere 50 back in 2012) – something you’ll often hear Governor Andrew M. Cuomo highlighting. Under his watch (since 2011) some significant regulatory barriers have been removed to help foster the growth of the craft beverage sector. But it’s far from plain sailing - regulations and red tape still exist and considerable additional scrutiny from a variety of city agencies has been emerging.