Ralph Erenzo

“Resilience, Determination and Whiskey”

Born in 1964, Ralph Erenzo did not come to whiskey by way of the usual trade routes. He arrived as a literal rock climber, stubborn and inventive, with a plan that had nothing to do with barrels. In 2001, he moved to the Hudson Valley, New York, town of Gardiner, after buying the historic Tuthilltown Gristmill with the idea of building a climbers’ ranch near the famed Shawangunk cliffs. Neighborhood resistance forced a change of course, but not of nerve. Erenzo pivoted to thoughts of copper and grain, and in 2003, he co-founded Tuthilltown Spirits on the mill property.

From the beginning, Ralph and his son, Gable (“Gabe”), threw themselves into making whiskey. They started from almost zero: old buildings, a new license class, and a lot of trial-and-error. Their early focus produced a small-barrel, house-style whiskey that would become nationally known: Hudson Baby Bourbon. Released in 2006, it was promoted as the first legally produced whiskey in New York since Prohibition, and the first bourbon ever distilled in the state. To build a market, Ralph hustled. In legislative testimony years later, he described those first sell-in days vividly: bottles in the trunk, driving up and down the Hudson Valley and into Manhattan, walking into restaurants and retailers in person. At the same time, Erenzo worked the other front—the law. He became one of the crucial voices in Albany pushing to modernize New York’s spirits rules so that farm-based producers could actually thrive. That effort culminated in the 2007 Farm Distillery Act, which dramatically lowered barriers and opened tasting-room and direct-sale pathways. Industry accounts and state documentation point to Erenzo as a primary catalyst in getting that legislation framed and passed, a change that propelled the state’s craft whiskey renaissance. In the years that followed, dozens of New York distilleries opened; many produced whiskey, and every one of them had benefited from the door that Ralph had pried open.

From the beginning, Ralph and his son, Gable (“Gabe”), threw themselves into making whiskey. They started from almost zero: old buildings, a new license class, and a lot of trial-and-error. Their early focus produced a small-barrel, house-style whiskey that would become nationally known: Hudson Baby Bourbon. Released in 2006, it was promoted as the first legally produced whiskey in New York since Prohibition, and the first bourbon ever distilled in the state. To build a market, Ralph hustled. In legislative testimony years later, he described those first sell-in days vividly: bottles in the trunk, driving up and down the Hudson Valley and into Manhattan, walking into restaurants and retailers in person. At the same time, Erenzo worked the other front—the law. He became one of the crucial voices in Albany pushing to modernize New York’s spirits rules so that farm-based producers could actually thrive. That effort culminated in the 2007 Farm Distillery Act, which dramatically lowered barriers and opened tasting-room and direct-sale pathways. Industry accounts and state documentation point to Erenzo as a primary catalyst in getting that legislation framed and passed, a change that propelled the state’s craft whiskey renaissance. In the years that followed, dozens of New York distilleries opened; many produced whiskey, and every one of them had benefited from the door that Ralph had pried open.

The whiskey itself carried a distinctive New York identity. The squat bottles, the small-cask aging, and the insistence on sourcing grains from regional farms made Hudson an early standard-bearer for “local” hooch. The whiskey was good, and recognition followed; so did big-league partnerships. In 2010, William Grant & Sons, the British owners of several popular Scotch brands including Tullamore Dew and The Famous Grouse, acquired the Hudson Whiskey brand while contracting with Tuthilltown to continue producing the liquid in Gardiner. This pivot gave the Erenzos access to technical resources while retaining production control on site. Seven years later, in April 2017, William Grant & Sons bought the entire 36-acre Tuthilltown facility, distillery, visitor center, and grounds from Erenzo and his partner.

Erenzo’s whiskey story is also a family story. During this time, Ralph’s son, Gabe, had become a vital partner: co-founder, distiller, first brand ambassador, and ever-present face of Hudson whiskey on the road. The two were an unmistakable duo at festivals and in the trade, father and son sharing the same kinetic energy for New York whiskey and the same conviction that their state could compete with any place making brown spirits. Tragically, Gable unexpectedly passed away at age 41 in April 2021 in a tragedy felt across the whiskey world. Unfortunately, for Ralph, there were other hard chapters. A near-fatal automobile accident in 2010 put him into the ICU for three months and facing a long recovery, but as soon as possible, he returned to the stills and to public life, appearing at local ceremonies with his wife, Vickie, before family thought he was ready. The episode underscored what friends and colleagues already knew: stubbornness was part of his operating system, and Ralph's whiskey goals were resilient. 

By 2015, Erenzo had become as well known for advocacy as for distilling. He helped organize New York’s craft distillers, hosted early guild meetings at Tuthilltown, and served on the American Craft Spirits Association’s board and legislative committee, taking the tax and regulatory fights national. He spoke and wrote often about whiskey and policy. For Ralph, making whiskey and making it possible for others to make whiskey were two sides of the same calling.

As a husband, father, distiller, and advocate, Ralph Erenzo’s legacy is as much structural as it is liquid. Through it all, the whiskey remained available; the laws Ralph fought for remain on the books; and the pathway he helped cut through regulation, through skepticism, through the early days of craft, remains open for the next generation of New York distillers. And that is a whiskey legacy we can pour.

Sources:

  1. Hudson Whiskey/Our Story, hudsonwhiskey.com

  2. Gunks Climbers’ Coalition, “Interview: Ralph Erenzo Gunks Climber…”, Matt Logan, 2015

  3. William Grant & Sons website, www.williamgrant.com

  4. Poughkeepsie Journal, “Local Spirits Alive and Well”, Emily Stewart, April 15, 2014

  5. Edible Brooklyn, “How New York Legislation…”, Amy Zavatto, June 7, 2014

  6. The Spirits Business, “Gable Erenzo’s passing”, April 30, 2021

  7. The Gardiner Gazette, Issue 11, “Welcome Back Ralph”, Laurie Willow, Summer 2011

Contributed by Tracy McLemore, Fairview, Tennessee