A century ago, New York could claim that much of its liquor was local, thanks to distilleries large and small that supplied a lot of the whiskey, gin and rum that kept New York City (and the rest of North America) lubricated. Then Prohibition arrived and the industry largely dried up, before trickling back to life in the 21st century.Now, distillers in New York state are toasting a revival 80 years in the making.Tuthilltown Spirits is one of the first boutique distilleries to open in New York since Prohibition. It's been 12 years since co-founder Ralph Erenzo bought the property in Gardiner, N.Y., a rustic corner of the Hudson Valley about 75 miles north of Manhattan.In his first career, Erenzo owned a climbing gym in New York City. He was looking for an agricultural product he could make in the Hudson Valley. Then Erenzo found out about a recent change in New York law that cut the licensing fee to open a small distillery dramatically — from $65,000 to just $1,000."We knew less than
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