Finger Lakes Distilling Reviews

Everytime time we visit the area my wife has to stop here. You must try their Bloody Mary! It's amazing!

Very beautiful place. Some very nice spirits. Service was a little odd. The guy was nice but didn't seem like he really wanted to help us or even be there. He seemed to be lacking alot of the basic information I wanted to know. Overall a mostly pleasant experience and nice alcohols. If you like distilleries I would put this on the list to visit.

We had a great time on a quiet Monday morning tasting! I love the options of tasting as more of a vodka/gin drinker surrounded by whiskey fans. The cherry cordial was delicious. Our bartender was knowledgeable and answered all of our questions. Will always comeback!

A group of 7 of us were doing a tasting tour for a bachelorette party. Yes it was a group of 7 women, yes we did do wine all day, BUT we would not have gone there if we didn't want to taste the alcohol. I am not writing to review the alcohol, (It was mediocre though, nothing special) I am upset with how patronized I felt during my experience there.
We waited in line to be served and most of us already knew what we wanted. An old gentleman comes to help us. Off the bat he is rude in telling me that "you're not getting anything until you pay at the front counter!". Uhh ok, I'm sorry, everywhere else we went took our money at the bar. Maybe you should have someone on the floor talking to the people in line so they know what to expect and could spend time explaining the place to them, since the bartender clearly didn't want to.
Okay, we're paid up. I order first knowing I was really excited about trying their brandy. "Now you are aware that this isn't going to be some fruity sugary cocktail drink....right?"
Yes..."sir", as a female it is possible for me to enjoy hard liquor as well as fruity wine. Thank you for stereotyping, being a sexist, and a dumbass for patronizing your customer.
I shrugged it off, hoping he was just trying to make conversation and not trying to be completely rude. Our bride, who only came because she knew the rest of our group wasn't into the fruity all day event, isn't much of a liquor drinker. She wanted the experience but we were told that she could get mini mixed drinks to try the alcohol. Listen, do not advertise that if you do not want to do it. When she asked for something special for two of her three shots, we got eye rolling and huffing and puffing from our VERY attentive bartender..(joking)
A few of my group did end up buying a bottle or two, but it most definitely wasn't because of the service we received. I think my group enjoyed their straight corn whiskey.

Fantastic food, fantastic service, fantastic view!!!

My favorite spot after a long weekend. Staff was awesome we had so much fun at tasting. Drinks were so good, looking forward to getting some ordered for home.

great distillery. Great people. highly recommend. so glad we discovered this place!

Super cool spot with fun tastings. They have a few pre-set tasting flights and everything we had was pretty good. Definitely recommend the Seneca Barrel Gin, and you should spring for a tasting of their Single Malt. They aged it 10 years, and it has notes of old leather. A real surprise for a craft distiller to have a whiskey of this age, and even more for it to be so good. The grappa is nice and the fruit liquers are very tasty and we bought some Cherry style to add to gin & tonics at home.

I always love visiting FLD. The staff is very friendly and inviting. I love how the tasting room is set up so visitors can look at all the distilling equipment. I also did a private tour when they offered them with the owner Brian. Not only did he take the time to show us everything including the process and bottling, he answered all of our questions. He's a very nice guy to talk to. My absolute favorite is the rye, I always have to have a bottle on hand.

Gorgeous distillery with a huge selection of tasty spirits. Tasting was well priced and perfect for figuring out the bottle to buy. Very clean and exceptional service! We will be back!

Excellent tasting room with a friendly, knowledgeable staff. Both their gins can stand up to globally acclaimed brands. If you like gin, their McKenzie Distiller's Reserve may be something truly special.

One of our favorite places on the FLX wine trail . Jenni loved the Raspberry liqueur and I liked the Sauce cocktail. The Murder Mikes BBQ sauce also rocks!

Went each of the past 2 years. Their Seneca Drums Gin is fantastic. Love the atmosphere as well.

It was our first time at a distillery. Had a great time. We truly enjoyed learning about the process of making the spirits and the history behind them. The Yobo was a group favorite! Rye whiskey was amazing. And the liqueurs were deeeealicious! We also enjoyed some cocktails on the deck overlooking the beautiful scenery.

Awesome tour, and excellent products. I was pleasantly surprised by the high quality across the board of all the spirits distilled there. The proprietor, Brian McKenzie was extremely hospitable.

My wife and I were expecting more personality, if that makes sense. We love distilleries for their story and background, their drive behind what they make. You don't get that here. And, yeah, I liked their bourbon. But I like a lot of bourbon. They're also selling too much other stuff. Not my style. Too much going on, nothing amazing. But tastings are cheap.

Pretty good local made booze. Friendly staff and service, great view. Maybe work on smoothing them out a bit.

We happened to drive by and were interested in this place based on their sign. I m so glad we ended up stopping here! They had many choices and my favorite was the sweeter fight of cordials they offered. The bartender, Glenn, made the experience very unique. He was passionate about the products and explained everything perfectly. Luckily we were the only people doing a tasting on a Friday afternoon. I would highly recommend visiting this for a change when you want something different than a winery.

I just recently toured the distillery, and I was impressed by the sophisticated equipment and processes used to make whiskey and vodka. The staff was friendly and provided the perfect tasting experience. The cherry liquor which is vodka based is fabulous. It is a must have in my opinion. Take the time to visit after lunch in you do not have a DD.

We scheduled a bus trip for my wife 50th and couldn t have been more impressed with Finger Lakes Distilling. The facility is beautiful, the spirits are excellent and view is outstanding. We're so glad we made this stop and will definitely be back.

I have to come to the defense of Fingerlakes Distilling - we always stop in when in the neighborhood - it's a great place- unique spirit products - they do a lot with grappa (essentially grape "vodka"... a clear high horsepower product that starts out as grapes)... they do a killer 'moonshine' type clear corn liquor, and a killer bourbon. Don't know if everything is available all the time.. things vary and you're reading a post from a total amateur. But what is totally UNFAIR and MISCONSTRUED is the review from the limo guy implying that they were unwilling to server his group "of color". I MUST CALL TOTAL B.S. ON THAT. That may be the story given to the driver and he was probably sincere with his post - I don't know, but I have ZERO doubt that what happened was someone who had a little too much liquid fun before he/she arrived raised a red flag for the bartender, and that's all. 'Back in the day' when I was playing in local bands, I've seen it myself many times - one person is refused service for being "intoxicato" and the rest of the group gets into "group-think" mode "If you don't serve our buddy here... you're not gettin' our business either... c'mon everyone let's go...." And out they all go - mad.

Since in NYS the server can be held personally responsible if they serve someone already intoxicated and something bad happens after they leave, you will find them all to be very cautious these days. But show up (mostly) sober at any of the wineries/breweries/distilleries/cidreries/meaderies and restaurants throughout the region you're going to find all types of people hanging out enjoying themselves and sampling our excellent local products. So please don't base your opinion of Finger Lakes Distilling on one guy's bad experience.

The bartender was informative and very good ambassador for the drinks, especially for those of us not well acquainted with the liquors. He also kind of looked like Conan O'Brien. Dogs were welcome in the tasting area as well, which is a big plus. Good selection of liquors to taste as well.

Fun to visit and good selection of different spirits. My clear favorite is the rye whiskey. They also make an interesting honey-infused dessert whiskey, if you're looking for something that's a bit different.

Alright products such as Cassis and whiskey. Their Grappa does taste like gasoline, even though their quoted as saying, A lot of people think grappa is harsh and tastes like gasoline. Not ours. Each grappa is a true representation of the grape it came from. Must be they don't drink their own grappa. They are very, over priced, even for being a craft distiller. I would recommend going if you were literately driving by, but would not go out of my way to stop in any other time.

Great experience loved all the products fun fun fun

Love this place!!! Nice to have whiskey on our wine tour!!

Sadly, we didn t get to taste anything. We were walked into the tasting area by the very lovely hostess, she was super sweet. She sat us at the bar and held up 2 fingers, signifying to someone that we were there. We sat and perused the menu and waited...and waited...and waited. The older gentleman tending to the tasting bar was engaged in a conversation with the patrons at the other end of the bar. When he finished, he walked away and never acknowledged us. There were only 6 people sitting there so it s not like they were swamped. I got up to use the restroom. When I came back, my husband stated that he STILL hadn t been acknowledged. At that point, another staff member had engaged the older gentleman about attending to guests (um...) At that point, we just got up and left. I know Covid has made things trickier for these places to operate but that was inexcusable.

Server was awesome. The samples we tried we're great. Biggest problem was trying to decide what to get. Recommend a designated driver because the taste samples are full shots.

The finger lakes are for more than wine thanks to this place!! great whiskey!!!

Their McKenzie Rye Whiskey is now my go to whiskey. usually I am a scotch fan but this whiskey is probably my favorite american whiskey. Awesome. Their clear spirits are also top notch. Can't wait to try the single cask and also eventually some well aged whiskey.

Wonderful tasting!! Whiskey, Apple Maplejack and Cherry liqueurs. Delicious!

This place is fantastic. The service is amazing, and they are extremely cautious with Covid guidelines. Couldn t recommend more.

Fantastic whiskey! This place is awesome our bar tender was friendly the whiskey and spirits are fantastic. Barrel aged whiskeys, pot still,rye, Bourbon, and Wheated numerous clear spirits. They have an excellent lineup great views and friendly staff swing in a check them out.

I've been in the limo business for 14 years yesterday has truly marked a sad milestone. As much business I bring into this establishment I have never witness such a blatant disrespect to a group. I accompanied my group into the establishment spoke to the hostess about paying for tastings for the group, she was very friendly she explained that she would collect payment if it was with a credit card otherwise in that the bartender will collect all cash. My group proceeded to the bar and not even a second after they sat on the stools the bartender decided that she did not want to serve this group never gave an explanation but claimed that she wasn't going to serve. I am assuming after many years of bringing many people to this establishment this is my first time bringing a group of color into their establishment she did not even think for one moment and just decided not to serve this group. This group was not over intoxicated because we just started our wine to her they're at Hazlet and from there we came to The Distillery. I am very sure that I will no longer recommend this establishment and as I drive my groups I will continue to pass by their establishment and not bring my people there ever again.

Beautiful building with a great view, good placke to learn about distilling

I wasn't really impressed. The place felt big and empty. You quick taste a few things and then buy stuff and go.

Enjoyed the whiskey and grappa! Nice and informative staff. Much Thanks.

Came for a tasting with a few girlfriends and had a great time. We made a reservation for the covered patio. We had the space to ourselves and the rep that did our tasting (Doug) was wonderful. He had great stories and fun facts that he sprinkled throughout the tasting. I surprisingly really liked the soju. I would also recommend sampling the grape brandy. It is unlike anything I have ever had. The bourbon whiskey was nice as well. I bought some of the cassis for making kirs with the white wine I plan to purchase from one of the wineries in the area. The view of the lake from the patio is so beautiful. If you are in the area, I recommend making this a stop.

The tasting of the spirits was delicious and varied. Very good advice from the staff. We had a fantastic view from the terrace.

A perfect addition to the Finger Lakes Wine Region. Make sure you put this on your wine tour itinerary. If you enjoy whiskey, then you're sure to take home a bottle or two of McKenzie Rye.
Take a look to the right and click on the "See Inside" thumbnail image and you can take a Google Virtual Tour of the distillery.

We had a great experience at Finger Lakes Distilling, we were seated within 5 minutes of arriving, and placed in a area that was "social distancing" approved. We have a good time and will visit again.

Excellent find on our wine trail weekend. Beautiful setting, good food and spirits.

Finger Lakes Distilling makes good spirits. Their gin, grappa, and whiskey are standouts. You can buy bottles at the distillery or retail places around the Finger Lakes area.

Their tasting room has been good in the past but in recent times it is understaffed and poorly run. The last time we visited was a busy Sunday and they had two people working the entire facility. So they were trying to operate the cash register, service a large party bus, and handle regular visitors...all with two people. After waiting almost 30 minutes we gave up and left.