You could possibly say that Josh Grosvent resides the dream, like his pal Jack Daniels and his associate Jimmy Beam.
Properly, possibly that’s going a bit too far.
However Grosvent, a morning DJ at Syracuse radio station KROCK, is now within the whiskey enterprise, too.
Since October Grosvent (aka KROCK Josh) has been peddling bottles of his model, Weekday Whiskey, round Central New York.
It’s distinctive: It’s a wheat whiskey, not a bourbon or rye. It’s offered, for now, in small 200-mililiter bottles, at $15.99 apiece.
And it’s geared toward individuals who aren’t whiskey snobs and who wish to drink, properly, on weekdays.
“Everybody appears to be like ahead to having a drink on the weekends, however generally you want one on a Tuesday,” Grosvent stated.
Or, as its says on the model’s website online: “No historic distillery. No household legacy. No fancy notes, end, or any of that snobby liquor advertising and marketing. Josh likes good whiskey, so he made an excellent whiskey.”
Weekday Whiskey doesn’t have what Grosvent calls “that whiskey burn.” It’s a comparatively modest 80 proof (40% alcohol).
“I hate to say it, however possibly it’s just like the Budweiser of whiskey,” he stated.
Weekday Whiskey, a wheat whiskey, is owned by Josh Grosvent and made underneath contract at Lock 1 Distilling in Phoenix, Oswego County.Kristin Petzoldt
Weekday Whiskey is produced for Grosvent at Lock 1 Distilling in Phoenix, Oswego County. (Chances are you’ll bear in mind Lock 1 because the producer of now-discontinued Cuse Juice and different spirits).
That is smart, as a result of apart from being a DJ and a whiskey model proprietor, Grosvent is a patriot about Phoenix, his hometown. He’s recognized Lock 1 distiller Brenden Backus and the remainder of the crew at Lock 1 for a very long time.
“Phoenix is a pleasant, blue-collar form of place,” he stated. “That matches me and the model.”
Whereas Lock 1 makes the whiskey, the model is owned and self-distributed by Grosvent.
“However I wanted somebody like Brenden who truly is aware of tips on how to distill,” he stated. Collectively they tried a few completely different blends, and settled on the wheat whiskey as a result of it’s pretty unusual and produces a end that’s not harsh.
By federal legislation, to be labeled a “wheat whiskey” a spirit should accommodates at least 51% wheat and be aged in new charred oak barrels. (Bourbon has a minimal 51% corn and rye is a minimal 51% rye).
Grosvent selected the smaller measurement bottles as a result of he was searching for one thing “that you possibly can throw in your pocket and take to events, and live shows and out of doors occasions. Then, after all, Covid occurred and nobody’s doing that.”
That measurement has confirmed widespread, however Grosvent and the crew at Lock 1 are ready to place the following batch within the extra conventional 750-mililiter measurement. To date, Lock 1 has produced 4 barrels of Weekday (53 gallons per barrel).
“I’ve truly had folks say to me, ‘I just like the small bottles however I need extra!’ ” Grosvent stated.
As a self-distributor, Grosvent finds himself as of late hauling bottles throughout Central New York when he’s not on the air.
You’ll discover Weekday Whiskey at shops like Harborview Wines & Liquors in Syracuse; Liquor, Wine and Moonshine in Lakeland; Bremer’s Wine & Liquor in New Hartford; and Pascale’s Liquors in Liverpool.
It’s additionally at bars and eating places akin to House Group Pub in Liverpool and Jake Hafner’s Tavern in North Syracuse, and on the Lock 1 tasting room in Phoenix.
Grosvent has stored his day job at KROCK, and that’s led to one thing a bit odd. He talks about Weekday Whiskey on the air, however underneath an settlement together with his bosses at station proprietor Galaxy Media in Syracuse, he has to purchase air time.
“So I’m like my very own sponsor,” he stated.
And even when Grosvent does drink slightly of his whiskey on weekdays, he has to to watch out. In spite of everything, his radio shift begins at 6 a.m.
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Don Cazentre writes about craft beer, wine, spirits and drinks for NYup.com, syracuse.com and The Submit-Commonplace. Attain him at [email protected], or comply with him at NYup.com, on Twitter or Fb.
