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Just a few months after opening up inside Patchogue’s old Blue Point brewery, The Better Man distillery has landed bottles of gin and vodka on a liquor store shelf for the first time.
J&J Spirit Shop Wine Factory at 199 Railroad Ave. in Sayville now stocks The Better Man’s Cosmic Soul Dry Gin and Starling Vodka — on a shelf that’s front-and-center and can’t be missed when you walk into the place.
Anthony Gruppuso and his daughter, Abby, of Bayport, own the distillery, which opened last year in the River Avenue spot vacated by Blue Point Brewing Company. They enthusiastically announced the placement earlier today on Instagram.
“Seeing our product on the shelves was such a surreal and momentous achievement,” Abby Gruppuso told GreaterSayville.com. “This morning at J&J, my dad and I stood there watching them put the bottles on the shelves, trying really hard not to jump up and down with pure joy.”
The Better Man is officially a year old this January, Abby Gruppuso said, so it was special to reach the major milestone at such a reflective time.
“We’ve had to overcome a number of obstacles over the past year, so it was overwhelming to finally get our product out into the world,” she said. “We also couldn’t be more excited to have our first cases at J&J! We’ve been patronizing their store for a long time, and since opening the distillery, we’ve developed a great relationship as two family-run small businesses.”
“This is what we’ve been most excited about with this venture — making connections in the community and building a stronger and better small business marketplace,” she added.
The distillery is celebrating the news today until 8 p.m. as part of its Chinese New Year Celebration event. It’s located at 161 River Ave. in Patchogue. They are pouring cocktails and bubble tea, and serving dumplings.
