Of Spirits and Secrets – An Xperience Article

Of Spirits and Secrets – An Xperience Article – by Will Mukrdechian.

“Justin” wants to be called “Justin” because—he asks, with a rhetorical flourish—“What good comes from revealing what’s in a hot dog?”  I’m here at the New Scotland Spirits Tasting Room, Center Square’s newest installation at the intersection of Lark and State Streets, to probe how Albany’s sausage is made.  To do so, I’m interviewing a friend-of-a-friend-of-a-roommate. He’s a self-described “policy advocate,” whom less charitable circles would call a “lobbyist.”

The sausage at issue is of the political persuasion, and it’s worth noting that Justin ain’t merely a lobbyist in the eyes of those less charitable circles; he’s also a lobbyist per his annually mandated state registration with the Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government. Yet he’s adamant that the term “lobbyist” is pejorative and, in any event, irredeemably sullied.

“Yeah, I get paid pretty well for my services,” he says. “But what I do for clients is still in the public interest. I like to say that my second client is the community.” (The cynic in me waits a beat so Justin can laugh at his own outlandishness, but he declines the opportunity.)

This tasting room is the first retail outlet for New Scotland Spirits, a Capital Region-based “farm distillery” named after the founder’s Albany County hometown. It distills the “Helderberg” line of rye, wheat, and bourbon whiskies which have become ubiquitous seemingly overnight. I’ve intercepted Justin at this place so he can help answer a pointed question: how did a venue that launched just three months prior so quickly find itself at the intersection of politics and influence-peddling in New York’s notoriously insular capital city?  Or, to borrow social media’s phrasing: how did such a plucky little upstart become “Albany’s newest smoke-filled backroom” (sans the smoke)?

That distinction first appeared on TikTok. In a since-deleted video captioned “Official Home of Pre-Session Machinations,” three supposed legislative aides say they’re “prepping the battlefield” for the approaching legislative session. “Zoom may be secure,” one of the babyfaces says, “but it’s hard to find common ground without all the cocktails.” Following that initial video, the Reddit commentariat ran with the implication that this strange new venue was expressly designed for booze-fueled dealmaking.

But how did that reputation get so quickly entrenched?  Aside from a newly installed restroom, a food preparation area, and a utility closet, the New Scotland Spirits Tasting Room is true to its name as a single room—one barely big enough to contain the bar that for 80 years was situated a few doors down in the historic Larkin Restaurant, which was itself once patronized by the state’s political class.

In short, the Tasting Room’s intimacy doesn’t exactly make for clandestine conversation.

“Unless,” Justin says, “you just rent the room.”

Bingo. Turns out New Scotland Spirits is just dusting off a playbook perfected by the long-ago dispatched Governor’s Inn Motel: if you want to do your dirty in private, you rent a room. Duh.

Among the features that make the Tasting Room different from almost any other bar or lounge in the Capital Region is the fact that it’s practically designed for private parties. Modeled after a Prohibition Era speakeasy, it for sure has a vibe. It’s elegant yet understated, boasting all the accoutrements of a high-end whiskey lounge. And its walls are tastefully adorned with authentically period-appropriate photos, news articles, and other ephemera. The ambiance is determinedly perfect for smaller and more exclusive events.

Yet there’s something really odd about that entire premise. For example, the website offers would-be reservees a rate structure (fine so far) alongside a notice that Tasting Room staff are obligated to countersign “airtight nondisclosure agreements, available for review and execution upon request.”

Um, what?

Prior to meeting Justin, I asked Tasting Room proprietor Rosamaria Luppino about the purpose of those NDAs. She minimized and deflected, explaining that her “business partner is an attorney, and he just likes covering all the bases. You know how it is with lawyers.”

Actually I don’t, and apparently neither does Ms. Luppino’s business partner, Jesse Sommer, if his unconventional in-your-face social media antics are any indication. Since founding New Scotland Spirits eight years ago while still in the Army, Mr. Sommer has delighted in courting controversy from his perch on the company’s Instagram account. It’s not exactly the “under the radar” approach you’d expect from a venue soliciting the inconspicuous.

But Justin thinks that might be the strategy: “He sucks up all the attention, so people in here are invisible compared to whatever bullshit he’s up to online.”

Ms. Luppino conceded that part of the reservation fee entails a contractual option to turn off the security camera system and maintain guests’ confidentiality. But she insists there’s no nefarious intent.

“Stop being paranoid,” she scolds when I ask if she’s overheard anything juicy. “We serve cocktails and whiskey flights. Unless there’s a lovers’ quarrel at the bar, I’m not interested in private conversations.”

Whereas venues like the War Room Tavern pay homage to Albany’s “colorful” political legacies, the closing of Jack’s Oyster House has left New York’s capital devoid of an authentic hangout for the political class. Sure, you can likely find insular collusion in area Country Clubs or the Fort Orange Club, but these jaunts are for the locals. As that notorious TikTok video made clear, out-of-towners are increasingly making the Tasting Room their “discreet retreat.”

Ms. Luppino disputes even this assessment. “Mostly our patrons are from right here in [the] Center Square [neighborhood] or from just down the road in our native Town of New Scotland,” she says. “We’re seeing more downstate visitors, but that’s probably because our labels are making inroads there.  We’re focused on expanding distribution beyond the Hudson Valley and into New York [City].”

New Scotland Spirits may now be the Capital District’s most recognizable distilling outfit. Its whiskies and award-winning vodka have become staples in area bars and liquor stores; expanding awareness of the Tasting Room is reportedly driving interest in the company far beyond its Center Square digs.

Still, I’m curious as to how such an otherwise inauspicious location even ended up on the apparatchiks’ radars.

“You’ll just have to come to one of our private meet-ups [at the Tasting Room] to see why,” Justin tells me. “Go ask the bartender for an extra NDA.”

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