spirits

Vacuum distilled beer whiskey and fernet made in New York City

The Arcane

Arcane Fernet

The Arcane

Lone Wolf

The Arcane

Vacuum Distilled Beer Whiskey Gets a New Blend

Beer (Whiskey)

As fans of the Lone Wolf program know, Arcane's vacuum distilled beer whiskey's are definitively unique. All of the flavors and expressions of beers, distilled into a whiskey. But, this isn't just a beer flavored whiskey, this is beer whiskey.

Blended (and loving it)

While The Arcane's big brother, Lone Wolf, is distilled from single batches of beers, The Arcane is designed around a blending method. Choosing several beers of different flavor profiles allows for amazing new flavor possibilities in the final whiskey. You could almost think of the Lone Wolf as our single malt and The Arcane as our blend.

collaboration (always)

At Arcane, we make whiskey, not beer so every single batch of our whiskey is a collaboration. The Arcane is no different. With up to 5 different beers and featuring brewers from all of New York State, every batch is a bit of a craft brewing who's who. Every bottle has a unique batch serial that you can use to track just who's beer was used to make your whiskey. Check out our Instagram to track down your brewers.

Tech (not kitsch)

The Arcane uses the same vacuum technology that was developed explicitly for the Lone Wolf program. All-glass distillation systems paired with state of the art vacuum pressure control allow for extremely precise distillations at nearly room temperature. It looks cool and is actually, well, cool. Check out the Two Headed Monster on our Instagram for more info.

Arcane Fernet

The tradition of bitter amaro comes to New York City and grows from Brooklyn roots.

Storied (but true)

It all started as a bet - “Hey, I bet you can’t make fernet”. We like bets, so it was on - but we had help. New York City loves its fernet, so we did our research. Over the course of a couple of years and with the advice of the bartenders and drinkers of NYC (and beyond... yeah we see you NZ... ), Arcane Fernet was born. To all the folks that helped alpha, beta, and zeta test this baby, you're awesome.

Bitter (but refined)

With a hearty gentian base note, Arcane Fernet was designed from the ground up to pay homage to its traditional bitter origins, but with an eye on refinement. The bitterness of the gentian is aided by 3 different types of citrus peel for a more nuanced, deeper bitter that steers away from astringency.

sweet (not saccharine)

Amaro are known for being sweet, but there's no reason for them to be syrupy. Using an old candy-maker's secret, the sugar content of Arcane Fernet is dramatically reduced without compromising on flavor. The other not-so-secret "sweet" ingredient is our peppermint. While not contributing any actual sugar, the delicate flavor of the peppermint botanicals cleanly rounds out the spirit leaving your palette refreshed.

herbaceous (delicately)

Fernet isn't all about bitterness, the famous herbal quality of the amaro hearkens back to its medicinal origins. With Arcane Fernet we focused on the stomach soothing nature of a traditional digestif amaro. With this in mind, we sought out herbs known for their gentle nature, including one fairly unusual one - hop flowers. Arcane has 3 different varieties in every batch and it works out beautifully.

smooth (because, science)

One of the biggest complaints in our, uh, "research" was what we came to call "fernet-face". It was the grimace that folks invariably made after downing a shot of fernet. To fix this we went right to the core of the matter - the alcohol used in the maceration itself. Instead of any old neutral spirit, Arcane Fernet is crafted with spirits distilled in-house on lab-grade stills. Science - helping prevent "fernet-face" one shot at a time.

balanced (with a bite)

The research done for the the "Great Bet of 2015" yielded a lot of interesting results, but one in particular stood out - ALL amaro need balance. The ingredients and technique need to come together - layered on top of each other, to give the spirit the class and intrigue that amaro are known for. With Arcane Fernet, we think we've done just that.

Lone Wolf Whiskey

Lone Wolf is a malt whiskey vacuum distilled from craft beer. These incredibly limited runs of whiskey are unique to each beer and no two are alike. The vacuum distillation process ensures that everything that you love about great beer makes it to the whiskey.

Delicate hops - check; yeast-driven saison esters - no problem; roasty malts - got you covered. From the dankest Imperial IPA's to the sour wonderland of wild fermented farmhouse ales, you'll find it in the Lone Wolf project.

Lone Wolf isn't just a whiskey though, it's a program that started with New York brewers and homebrewers back in 2015 to really push the envelope of whiskey production. If you're interested in being part of the Lone Wolf program, drop us a line.

Show All barrel agedBrettanomycesfarmhousehomebrewerIPAPro-Brewersour beerstout

about us

arcane (not archaic)

Ar•cane (ärˈkān) adjective - understood by few; mysterious or secret. Our passion is to create unparalleled spirits while dispelling myths, setting records straight, and bringing a scientific eye to the tall-tales world of spirits. Instead of going down the superannuated "craft distiller" path, we're going to take the path less traveled and bring you along for the ride. If you are searching for copper pot 'stilling, "tiny craft barrels", old-timey marketing shtick, or "apple pie moonshine" then you've come to the wrong place. That's archaic - this is Arcane.

Advanced Machines (that make booze)

At the core of the Arcane Distilling ethos are our machines, and the science(s) that built them. We specialize in vacuum distillation, named so because it operates at greatly reduced pressures. Our machines operate at such high vacuum, that water can be boiled at room temperature. This particular process lies far outside the sphere of conventional distillation techniques so it requires specially designed, custom built equipment - all of which we are thrilled to create (seriously, over the damn moon!!) Our spirits are made by machine, but our machines are built by hand.

who (why?)

Nerds. Nerds run Arcane Distilling. Why nerds? Well, for one thing we don't stop thinking about making things better. Don't believe us? Distiller and engineer David Kyrejko's hobby is high efficiency heat exchanger design. When Dave's not playing around with pushing the ΔT, he's messing around with rotary evaporators, putting new spirits through their paces in a reactor, or pestering local brewers about distilling their weirdest beers. Why? Because, nerds are decent people.

Find Us

Use this interactive map to locate sellers of Arcane Fernet, Lone Wolf Beer Whiskey, as well as the fine bars and restaurants that pour them. Do you carry Arcane spirits but you're not on this list? Contact us!

      recent press

      People talk (thanks!) For media requests please contact us for more information.

      The Best Whiskeys in Every State Right Now - Lone Wolf beer whiskey Esquire Magazine

      read full story

      The Tiny Sunset Park Distillery Making Fernet You’ll Actually Want to Drink - Edible Brooklyn

      read full story

      BEST of NEW YORK 2017 EDITION- Arcane Fernet - NY MAG

      read full story

      The Best New Beer and Spirit Collaborations- Lone Wolf Whiskey Men's Journal

      read full story

      Contact Us

      We don't bite. Usually.

      Drop us a line with any questions, comments, or concerns. Also, if you're a retailer looking to carry Arcane spirits, we're all ears!

      If you would like to be a brewer for the Lone Wolf program, please put "I Want To Brew for Lone Wolf" in the subject.

      If you already have a Lone Wolf invite, click here.