Brian McKenzie

The Path

Since 2007, the founder and original distiller of Finger Lakes Distilling has set the course for the house style. In Brian McKenzie, that role has meant more than production; it has meant holding the distillery’s identity together through a process grounded in local sourcing and careful execution. In Burdett, the work has developed over years rather than seasons, with place and process carrying equal weight.

The Work Today

Whiskey is still the clearest measure of that approach. “As far as distilling spirits there's nothing more fun than making whiskey,” Brian McKenzie has said. The line matches a practice built on method: grain, ferment, still, barrel, and the waiting that lets those parts settle into one another. McKenzie Straight Rye is the other flagship, a whiskey finished in local sherry casks. That finishing choice adds another register to the distillery’s language, joining local character to a cask tradition and giving the whiskey a more defined depth. It is the kind of detail that reflects McKenzie’s broader approach: familiar materials, handled with care, can produce something firmly rooted and clearly drawn.

Signature

Brian's signature wines include McKenzie Straight Bourbon, McKenzie Straight Rye, McKenzie Pure Pot Still Whiskey, and Empire Rye. Taken together, they mark the range of the house style. The straight bourbon and straight rye read as the clearest expressions of the distillery’s voice, while McKenzie Pure Pot Still Whiskey and Empire Rye show how that voice extends without losing discipline or place.

In Their Words “I like to kind of chew on the whiskey a little bit to really get all the flavor.”

Acclaim

The straight bourbon and straight rye function as flagships, while Empire Rye is identified as one of its most consequential whiskeys. Those releases have helped define the distillery’s standing, shaping a body of work built from grain, fruit, and cask with attention to nuance. Together, those releases show the shape of his arrival: a former bank vice-president who entered spirits through a professional meeting, helped build a distillery in 2007, and turned local grain, fruit, and cask work into a defined whiskey program in Burdett.