Acid

March 1, 2024 / Photo: Courtesy of Acid

These experimental spirits are made using repurposed ingredients and a special distillation process.

All of Acid’s products are made with three concepts in mind: up-cycling, locality and seasonality. Their Harvest Series features products sourced from local farms, while their Versa Series repurposes ingredients donated from partnering businesses. They also utilize vacuum distillation, a process that separates compounds or extracts essences by lowering their boiling point. This saves time and energy, while expanding what kinds of compounds can be distilled. 

Joe McDowell, a veteran beer brewer, began creating Acid’s libations in 2020. And though the pandemic created initial tumult for the brand, he now has an established distilling location in Ridgewood, Queens. 

Among the current products on offer are spirits infused with sugar kelp from Atlantic Sea Farms, repurposed coffee grounds from Cafe Grumpy, and organic orange rinds from the in-house orange juice made at Brooklyn’s BEEPUBLIC. They also offer several spicy pepper products in partnership with sauce shop Heatonist, using farm-grown peppers and post-distillation pepper mash.

McDowell is continuing to expand his brand and promote Acid’s offerings at events around town.

More about Acid can be found here.