INSIDE THE MYSTERY OF A COUNTRY MOONSHINE BUNKER, NEW YORK TIMES

INSIDE THE MYSTERY OF A COUNTRY MOONSHINE BUNKER, NEW YORK TIMES

Distilleries are trendy in rural New York. But this one was open 88 years ago, during Prohibition. About 30 miles north of Poughkeepsie, in the small town of Pine Plains, is Ryan Road. Quiet and flanked by farmland, it has a discreet turnoff onto a long, gravelly driveway.

About 30 miles north of Poughkeepsie, in the small town of Pine Plains, is Ryan Road. Quiet and flanked by farmland, it has a discreet turnoff onto a long, gravelly driveway.

At the end of that is a large, new-looking barn, with revelers sitting outside at picnic tables, sipping cocktails and eating pizza and s’mores. Inside the barn is a state-of-the-art distillery, bar, and tasting room…

DUTCH’S SPIRITS BOOTLEGGING DISTILLERY BRINGS BOOZE BACK TO PINE PLAINS, HUDSON VALLEY MAGAZINE, OCTOBER 2020

DUTCH’S SPIRITS BOOTLEGGING DISTILLERY BRINGS BOOZE BACK TO PINE PLAINS, HUDSON VALLEY MAGAZINE, OCTOBER 2020

The historic former home of legendary mobster and bootlegger Dutch Schultz pours bourbon, gin, and rye in the Hudson Valley once more.

Prohibition was a dangerous, glamorous time in American history. It was that gilded, Gatsby era when giggle water flowed, speakeasies thrummed, and underground bootleggers like Dutch Schultz hit the jackpot. It was all the cat’s pajamas until October 10, 1932, the fateful day when the FBI raided the Pine Plains mobster’s illegal operation, confiscating two 2,000-gallon stills and over 10,000 pounds of sugar in the process….

POTENT HISTORY COMES FULL CIRCLE AT DUTCH’S SPIRITS, CHRONOGRAM, SEPTEMBER 2020

POTENT HISTORY COMES FULL CIRCLE AT DUTCH’S SPIRITS, CHRONOGRAM, SEPTEMBER 2020

On October 10, 1932, the FBI descended on a secluded, pretty spot in quiet Pine Plains. The innocently named Harvest Homestead Farm was a cover for what might’ve been the most impressive operation of the entire bootlegging era. Owned by mobster Dutch Schultz, the property encompassed a warren of underground tunnels and bunkers where the Feds found two 2,000-gallon stills and 10,000 pounds of sugar….