The Story

We started UpEnd Distilling in 2018 to invite you back to spirits you thought you knew. Our focus on bold, approachable flavors offers a fresh experience to completely upend your perception of a spirit.

Our journey began years earlier working together in Westchester County. Finance brought us together, but a shared appreciation for quality pours built a friendship and changed everything. Together, we’ve turned meaningful life experiences and passion into the standard for our craft brand.

For Matt, inspiration began at home, brewing beer in the kitchen, sharing negronis with his father, and living in the heart of Long Island wine country. Chris’s path was paved by his grandfather, a veteran distributor rep in the Hudson Valley whose home was a living library of spirits. His stories gave life to the liquid beyond the glass.

While our early days were spent exploring mostly whiskeys and beers, Chris eventually brought gin – a long-standing family staple – into the mix. Already a fan of the spirit for its role in a negroni, Matt soon discovered a deeper respect for the subtle complexities and diverse profiles of gin on its own.

UpEnd was born from a simple realization: the right experience can completely upend your perception of a spirit. We launched with two distinct takes on gin, each crafted with nuanced yet relatable profiles designed to let you experience the spirit for the first time, again.

As proud New Yorkers – born and raised – we look to represent the state’s diversity and relentless energy in everything that we do. From the wild reaches of UPstate to the coastal East END, UpEnd captures the collision of rugged agriculture and urban industry. Our goal is to put a piece of that New York spirit into every bottle we fill.

Experimentation is everything; so sip it, mix it, but most of all enjoy it, responsibly.

UpEnd your perception. It’s not where you start, it’s where you EndUp.