From backyard distilling to prohibition loop holes, Rochester is home to three beverage-focused brands with national and global reach, proving that great outcomes can be achieved through “small-batch” ideas.
Iron Smoke Distillery: Whiskey and Community
For musician Tommy Brunett, owner of Iron Smoke Distillery in Fairport, his journey into the beverage world truly started in his backyard. “I was in the backyard smoking ribs and drinking whiskey, and I’d just moved back from New York City and came up with an idea for apple-smoked bourbon—putting two American pastimes together: whiskey and barbecue,” he says.
It was an idea that turned into a passion, much like when he first picked up a guitar and just wanted to learn all about it. He began working with a distillery to get his product made, but the whiskey sold out so fast, the distillery couldn’t handle the volume. That’s when Brunett decided to find his own place to distill whiskey and bourbon. “We wanted to be a New York State farm distillery and take advantage of the wonderful farms we have here. It was a perfect storm for having a distillery, agriculturally speaking.”
Established in 2011, Iron Smoke Distillery found its true home in 2014 when it moved into the old American Can Factory in Fairport. Since then, it has grown into the industrial-meets-speakeasy hot spot it’s known as today, complete with a retail shop featuring the brand’s eight core whiskeys along with seasonal and collaborative releases.
Locally, Brunett stresses that the distillery is a space for the whole community to enjoy, with outreach playing a key role in its mission. Special releases underscore this commitment, from Purple Heart Whiskey crafted in partnership with Rocky Bleier, a veteran and former football player with the Pittsburgh Steelers, to bourbons benefiting organizations such as Veterans Outreach Center and Nazareth University.
On a national level, Brunett and his team recently worked with Nancy Fuller from the Food Network to make a specialty bourbon, called GG Guice, which is sold online and delivered to 48 states. Currently, Iron Smoke Distillery whiskey is available in brick and mortar locations in 12 states, including places like Yankees Stadium and the Guitar Hotel at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Florida.
While on a global level, Iron Smoke may not be selling in stores, Brunett says their fan base is international, with people from all over the world sending him pictures wearing their merch, and visitors from other countries visiting to check out the distillery. “My favorite part is growing the fan base and the following,” Brunett says.
In 2018, Iron Smoke was ranked in Jim Murray’s Whiskey Bible, putting them in the top 6% over 3,400 distilleries worldwide, scoring better than even high-end brands like Blanton's and Woodford Reserve. Not long after, Forbes named them one of the “10 Best Bourbons Beyond Kentucky,” and the "Today Show" featured the distillery’s Rattlesnake Rosie’s Apple Pie.
As Iron Smoke’s reputation grows, Brunett’s mission remains grounded: Craft the best whiskey they can while giving back to the community. That means sourcing ingredients from local farmers and embracing a “live off the land” mentality. For him, the true reward is in “creating something brand new where nothing existed before.”
Fee Brothers: 161 Years of Bitters and Innovation
If you’ve ever bought or been served bitters, chances are you’ve tasted a Fee Brothers recipe. The company got its start when Owen Fee Sr. passed in 1855, and his wife and oldest son began selling sandwiches to make ends meet. That evolved into a deli, butcher shop, saloon, and eventually their own wine and whiskey production. In 1883, the name changed to Fee Brothers, and by 1920, Prohibition was underway. A loophole allowing sacramental wine let Fee Brothers continue, and they soon began producing flavorings and cordial syrups to improve homemade alcohol, which became the foundation for today’s business.
According to co-owner Jon Spacher, all other bitters companies had to close during Prohibition except theirs, thanks to a vegetable glycerin base. Spacher and his brother Benn grew up around the business but didn’t take the reins until 2020, after their Uncle Joe passed. Their Aunt Ellen asked them to step in, and within weeks, she asked them to take over. “Ellen and Joe are fourth generation, and they did a phenomenal job creating products and demand,” Spacher says. The brothers “got the fun job of coming into a profitable business and figuring out how to grow the business.” Since then, revenues have tripled, staff has nearly quadrupled, international sales continue to expand, and they landed on the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce's Top 100 Fastest-Growing, Privately Owned Companies list.
Based on Portland Avenue since 1964, the company has long outgrown its space. Spacher says even buying a whole block wouldn’t be enough. Their global reach speaks for itself: One 20-foot container went to Europe in 2014; this year, 10–12 40-foot containers.
“Fee Brothers has had to reinvent itself over and over and over again over the last 161 years. I don’t think that's going to stop just because bitters are hot today. We need to keep continuing to reinvent ourselves,” Spacher says.
Last year, orange bitters lost the No. 1 spot to Fee Foam, perfect for creating a pisco sour’s foam without raw egg white. Fee Foam, around since the early 1900s, was originally made from animal fat, but Fee Brothers have upgraded it—now it’s kosher, vegan, and gluten-free, highlighting the brand’s ongoing evolution. With two new food scientists on board, they’ve launched three new bitters, including their first upcycled product.
While proud to carry on the family legacy, Spacher emphasizes employee and community care. “Some day I'm going to die, and hopefully our time on this earth contributes to people having a better life … I hope our personal legacy shows that care to our people and our employees.”
Whole Latte Love: Brewing a Home Coffee Revolution
Have you ever wondered how your morning espresso ended up at home? Whole Latte Love has been at the forefront of espresso machine distribution, focused on quality, education, and development of features to improve the home coffee experience.
Gary and Lauren Salzman got started selling “prosumer” espresso machines, a hybrid of professional and home machines, from their garage in 1997. “My father wanted to find something you couldn’t go down to your local store and buy at the time,” says Jesse Salzman, their son and company chief strategy officer. “He pretty much through sheer will and determination helped create the at-home coffee culture.”
Today, Rochester-based Whole Latte Love is the largest online retailer of espresso machines in the U.S., offering a wide variety of machines while educating enthusiasts through livestreams, YouTube tutorials, blogs, and more. “The family took this task on to educate and help people make cafe-quality results from their home with these machines,” says Zach Shouse, the company’s social media community lead. Their YouTube channel has 368,000 subscribers, over 108 million views, and a global audience.
Connecting with the community is also important to the team, like a recent collaboration with Towpath Bikes along the Erie Canal Heritage Trail, where they hosted a pop-up and treated everyone to a group ride and specialty drinks with equipment from Rocket Espresso.
Whole Latte Love’s expertise extends to cafes, outfitting them with machines and training staff. “There's a lot of kinds of machines out there, but I think with our vast knowledge we can make a better choice for the consumer in a world full of choices,” says Shouse.
Awarded America’s Best Customer Service in 2025 by USA Today, the company tailors advice to each customer. “What is their lifestyle like, what does coffee mean to them?” asks Jesse. He notes that interest in home brewing surged during the pandemic as people worked from home, sparking a growing community of hobbyist baristas.
“Advances in home coffee have begun to outpace development in the commercial setting,” adds Shouse. “Since it is a hobby, the onus is on us to be much more educated to pave the way for people to experiment and experience coffee in new and different ways.”
Creating a Legacy
Whether it’s Iron Smoke’s backyard-conceived barrel whiskey, Fee Brothers’ historical beginnings, or Whole Latte Love’s passion for home brews, these brands all share a common theme: dedication to craft, family, and community.
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"Time flies when you’re making whiskey." —Tommy Brunett