New Scotland Spirits reinvigorates Albany’s cocktail culture By James A. Peterson Leave it to Jesse Sommer, the combatively loquacious founder of New Scotland Spirits, to turn his Tasting Room’s hours of operation into a political statement. “[We’re open] 11am to 11pm, every day of the week,” he says, hand balled into a fist with … Read more
By James A. Peterson I’m at Albany’s New Scotland Spirits Tasting Room, which just celebrated its grand opening with a ribbon cutting a couple weeks ago. With me is Mark Brogna, the venue’s landlord and already its preeminent regular, along with his partner John McLeland and friend Julianne Burnham. Even though the Tasting Room is … Read more
Yes. True Brew is a “Craft Beer Lifestyle Magazine,” and we love craft beer. Yes, we are here to shed light on and support the emerging craft beer scene here in the Capital Region. And, YES, we do at times enjoy other non-beer drinks. I personally love a couple of fingers of whiskey after a … Read more
John Curtin and Jesse Sommer, owners of the Albany Distilling Company and New Scotland Spirits, respectively, are two aspiring “whiskey magnates” situated here in Albany County. Sommer claims his company wouldn’t exist without the encouragement and technical assistance Curtin has provided him, but Curtin insists he’s just paying forward the support he once received from … Read more
Readers will be forgiven for assuming I’ve been assigned “the New Scotland Spirits beat.” After all, I wrote three articles about the company last year, and I’m already kicking off 2024 with another. Yet New Scotland Spirts may well be New York State’s most dynamic craft distilling outfit, and I’ve watched from the front row … Read more
“Like every single veteran in every single city in every single state, I cringe when people thank me for my service,” says Jesse Sommer, a former U.S. Army paratrooper and founder of Albany County-based New Scotland Spirits. “The gratitude doesn’t fit. Like, yeah I saw some shit. But I also made it home, got paid … Read more
Mead and Meat, Wine and Whiskey, Beer and Bands Jesse Sommer, founder of Albany County-based New Scotland Spirits, is no stranger to the pages of True Brew Magazine. That’s no accident. As part of a deliberate strategy to generate awareness for his company’s products, Jesse has postured his company to participate in any (every) event … Read more
Halfway through a decade-long military career, Albany County native Jesse Sommer—then a U.S. Army paratrooper and officer in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps—had an epiphany: his place of duty was at home. “My mother had been diagnosed with a degenerative illness, my sisters started having babies, and after bouncing around America from one duty station … Read more