This rabbi ages whiskey named for Jewish pirates with music. Get a taste in North Jersey

PASSAIC — A lot is happening along Main Avenue.

At one end, a rooftop bar will soon open. Meanwhile, at the other end, near Park Place, the city's first boutique whiskey distillery and tasting room opened this month.

The man behind ExquisiteSip Distillery and Lounge is Binyomin Terebelo, a rabbi, a retired moonshiner and a master distiller. When he has a bit of free time, he's also a chronicler of Jewish pirates, all the while running his full-fledged distillery, Terebelo Boutique Distillery, in Utica, New York.

Last week Terebelo took some time to talk about whiskey, his plans for a local distillery and a lot more in the tiny tasting room on Main Avenue.

Music plays a part in whiskey-making

When aging whiskey, should you play Metallica's heavy metal or the soothing sounds of classical music?

The answer, Terebelo said, depends on what type of whiskey you want to get via sonic barrel aging.

Some distilleries are experimenting with music and sound waves during the spirit's aging process. Some experts say the process, or sonic aging, is good only for spirits aged in wooden barrels, like whiskey, brandy and bourbon. It does not work for vodka or gin.

Heavy metal music waves, such as Metallica's, are believed to push the whisky deeper into the oaken staves. It's worth noting that Metallica has its own brand of whiskey, called Blacken, which uses its music to stimulate the product in the barrels.

Terebelo said more soothing sound waves, such as those coming from classical music, gently swirl the whisky.

At Terebelo Boutique Distillery in Utica, classical music is used. Not the "1812 Overture," but more like music for dancing the waltz. It moves the whiskey more gently in the barrels and causes it to brush lightly against the wooden staves.

Either way, the movement from sound waves helps with the aging process as the whiskey and alcohol mellow while evaporation takes place.

"Wood is porous," Terebelo said.

His whiskey is very mellow, with little burn, and depending on the type of keg used, it offers some different finishing flavors. He uses kegs from tequila, mescaline and rum.

Open for business

The tasting facility on Main Avenue opened on March 10. Tastings are done by appointment only at this time. Terebelo said once he has the New Jersey license, he will be able to do more. He said the business has jumped through most of the hoops toward that end. Terebelo has a federal license and a local certificate of occupancy. He said he expects New Jersey to approve his craft distillery license in the next few weeks.

In the meantime, Terebolo is busy looking for a location in New Jersey that will house a craft distillery. He said having a facility in New Jersey will make it easier for him to get his product in front of New York City bartenders and sell it in the Garden State. New York and New Jersey have very different laws regarding distilleries, sometimes making it difficult to do business.

He said having a Jersey license will also allow him to experiment with various distilling techniques.

Moonshine in his blood

"If someone comes with something I've never heard of before, I say, 'Let's try it,'" Terebelo said. His confidence in trying new things comes from a long family history in the distilling business.

Terebelo said he has been distilling since he was a child, playing around with a still in his parents' Lakewood backyard as his grandfather cheered him on. His grandfather Seymour knew what he was doing, as he was involved in rum-running in Detroit during Prohibition.

"He'd walk around with a bottle in his baby carriage during Prohibition in Detroit" to avoid police, Terebelo said. "He'd say they'd go after everything else, but they never hit the baby carriages."

The family's distilling days can be traced back to Belarus in Eastern Europe, where Terebelo's great-great-grandfather Eliezer made spirits. He taught his son Binyomin, Terebelo's great-grandfather, the process, and he brought it to the United States and passed it on to Grandfather Seymour.

That's where there seems to be a break in tradition.

Seymour's son, who is Terebelo's father, chose another route, that of a rabbi. Terebelo combined the two.

"Until my father, they all had stills," Terebelo said. His father's first still came when he had a mechanic weld one for him.

"Dad was passionate about my distilling," Terebelo said.

Jewish pirates of the Caribbean

Because New York state law requires all spirits to have a name, Terebelo went back to a time in Jewish history that's little known: Jewish pirates of the Caribbean.

Spanish Jews fleeing the Inquisition colonized Jamaica. After the British captured the island, Jewish pirates were born.

Terebelo has two whiskeys — Yaakov Koriel and Blauvelt — both named after prominent pirates.

What's next

Terebelo said he's anticipating getting his New Jersey distillery license soon. When that happens, he will be free to have walk-in tastings and make local whiskey.

Only a few stores carry his New York whiskey. It can be found at Total Wine and More in Union, The Vineyard and Wine on the Nine, both in Lakewood, and Passaic's Cork & Barrel, in Brook Haven Mall.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Try whiskey in Passaic tasting room made by a rabbi, aged with music