The First Peck Slip Pickle Festival

Photos courtesy of the New Amsterdam Market

Watch video of the event here courtesy of The Pickle Club.

Brooklyn Brine Featured on History Channel's Modern Marvels: Built by Hand Episode

Brooklyn Brine is featured on the History Channel's Modern Marvels cable TV show in an episode entitled Built by Hand next Tuesday, November 29 at 11:00 p.m. Check your local listings for the cable channel in your area.

Best of NY: The finest pickles in the city

The Pickle Guys, Hundred Acres, Brooklyn Brine, Your Two Cents, and 2nd Avenue Deli were featured in the New York Daily News.

BROOKLYN BRINE CO.

Available at multiple retail outlets

photo by Jacob E. Osterhout

"The Brooklyn Brine Co. understands that a good pickle is crisp, tasty and comes from New York. With four types of pickles ($10-$12 a jar), plus pickled asparagus, beets, carrots and saurkraut — this two-year-old company, based out of Brooklyn, will pretty much pickle anything. And the flavors are outstanding. The signature whiskey sour pickles are made with Finger Lakes Distilling McKenzie Rye Whiskey and pack a powerful punch, while the Damn Spicy pickles are, well, as advertised.

The bad news is that there is no Brooklyn Brine storefront. The good news is that New Yorkers can swing by Murray’s Cheese, Williams-Sonoma and Dean & Deluca, amongst many other shops, to pick up a jar."

- by Jacob E. Osterhout & Amanda P. Sidman

Calling All Pickle Lovers!

The inaugural Peck Slip Pickle Festival takes place Sunday, Nov. 13 at the New Amsterdam Market featuring more than 20 pickle and fermented food producers.



Peck Slip Pickle Festival
Sunday, Nov. 13
11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

All this and more, as well as New Amsterdam Market's vendors featuring regional produce, meats, dairy, bread, charcuterie, and seasonal market fare.

Thank You, Seattle!

(photo courtesy of Shamus Jones)

A jaw-dropping display of Brooklyn Brine pickles at the Whole Foods Roosevelt Square welcomed Shamus to Seattle on the second day of his tour of the Pacific Northwest where he started his culinary journey years ago.

Saveur.com Features Brooklyn Brine as One Good Find

(photo courtesy of Mackenzie Smith)

Last year at New York City's annual International Pickle Day celebration, I tried a pickle I'd never encountered before: a lavender-brined asparagus spear from Brooklyn Brining Co., a small New York pickling company known for their unconventional flavor combinations and devotion to seasonality. I was hooked after a bite: they had the perfect blend of vinegar flavor, sharp spice, and a wonderful floral quality from the lavender. From there, it was just a few more bites until I fell for their fennel beet and chipotle carrot pickles; I love the idea of setting out all three with a spread of charcuterie and some good bread for a simple weekend lunch — or just eating them all in one sitting, straight out of the jar.

- by Allison Poindexter

Whiskey and Bourbon Brines a First of their Kinds

Some things are just meant to go together like apples and cinnamon, chocolate and peanut butter, nachos and salsa, and macaroni and cheese.

The sweet and tart Maple Bourbon Bread & Butter pickles made with caramelized onions, organic New York State maple syrup, and McKenzie Bourbon Whiskey debuted locally last August. (photo by Maria Manliclic)

Brooklyn Brine has taken that idea to a new level with the introduction of its brand new Maple Bourbon Bread & Butter pickles made with Finger Lakes Distilling McKenzie Bourbon Whiskey, and signature Whiskey Sour Pickles made with McKenzie Rye Whiskey, which debuted just over a year ago.

Finger Lakes Distilling McKenzie Bourbon Whiskey is made from raw whole grains from local New York State farms and aged in new charred oak barrels. (photo by Maria Manliclic)

"It's great to partner with a company that is equally committed to using local, high-quality ingredients to make hand-crafted products," said Brian McKenzie, co-founder of Finger Lakes Distilling.

Finger Lakes Distilling overlooks Seneca Lake in the heart of the Empire State's wine country. (photo courtesy of FLD)

The distillery, located in Burdett, NY, began producing a variety of handmade spirits made in small batches, as well as sweet liqueurs, in 2007.

The buttery, smooth McKenzie Bourbon Whiskey is aged in 10-gallon barrels for 12 to 18 months then transferred into Chardonnay casks from local wineries to breathe. (photo by Maria Manliclic)

"I was interested in the barrel-curing process, which gives a unique flavor and is just a cool way of making pickles," said Shamus Jones, founder of Brooklyn Brine. "The charred barrel and tannins imparted from the oak gives (the Whiskey Sour Pickles) a smokey flavor."

Brooklyn Brine's signature Whiskey Sour Pickles received a nod from Time Out NY magazine as a critic's pick. (photo by Maria Manliclic)

Jones, a former vegetarian chef, said using spirits is very common in cooking, like deglazing a pan with whiskey. "Taking that into a shelf-stabilized jar version just made sense intuitively. And the name whiskey sour just works together," he said. "It's our love letter to Brooklyn."

McKenzie Rye Whiskey, likely the oldest type of whiskey produced in America, is made from local rye grain from fields located across the lake from the distillery, aged in new charred quarter casks, and finished in sherry barrels from local wineries. (photo courtesy of FLD)

It's great to see people discovering how wonderfully spicy rye whiskey can complement a damn fine pickle," McKenzie said.

Thomas Earl McKenzie, Brian's business partner (no relation), describes the rye whiskey on FLD's website as "A fine, old-fashioned rye — spicy and full of character."

FLD founders Thomas Earl McKenzie, far left, and Brian McKenzie, right, (no relation) inspect bottles of their rye whiskey. (photo courtesy of FLD)

Jones experimented with different brands of whiskeys for months, but it wasn't until the owner of the Black Rabbit bar, Kent Lanier, in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, invited him to a tasting of the distillery's spirits and was given a sample of their rye whiskey, which he took home and made a test batch with. "I thought it was astounding," Jones said of the tester.

A 4,000-pound pot still, which can hold 300 gallons of bourbon mash, and rectification column made by Holstein in Markdorf, Germany is the centerpiece of the distillery. (photo courtesy of FLD)

"We started selling the (whiskey sour) pickles in our tasting room," Brian said, shortly after its debut in late August 2010. And immediately "sold through more than 25 cases," he added. "We're incredibly excited to be working with Brooklyn Brine."

- by Maria Manliclic