Each sip of our New Scotland Spirits is flavored by the finest grains of upstate New York—and the blood, sweat, tears, and love of an entire neighborhood team.
The inaugural sip of the inaugural whiskey, 2017
Jesse S. Sommer
Jesse is a former U.S. Army paratrooper and officer in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps. He was twice awarded the bronze star for combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, and was discharged honorably in 2022 after nearly a decade on active duty.
Jesse is a practicing attorney and lifelong resident of Albany County. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Government from Wesleyan University, and obtained both law and business degrees through the American University’s JD/MBA program. Read his monthly column in the Altamont Enterprise & Albany County Post.
Jesse’s heart and soul belong to his native New Scotland—a small farming town at the base of the Helderberg Mountains. The company fulfills a longtime ambition: crafting spirits imbued with the taste of his hometown.
Responsible for the look and “feel” of New Scotland Spirits, Jesse mines New Scotland’s history and culture for inspiration. At the company’s helm, he spearheads brand development, social media programming, marketing, supply chain management, sales strategies, and the business fundamentals underpinning the company’s Tasting Room and Distillery operations.
The Queen afterpartying with country music star Lee Brice!
Rosemary McHugh (👑🌹🥃)
“Queen Rosemary” is the company’s Executive Officer (XO) and most publicly legitimizing presence! After working in the legal profession as a paralegal for more than 15 years, Rosemary jumped head first into New Scotland Spirits; she’s now responsible for expanding the company’s high-end retail partnerships and coordinating its promotional events.
Despite working full-time as Albany County’s Economic Development Coordinator, Rosemary navigates the company’s immense demands as its second-in-command, managing an ever-sprawling army of part-time employees.
She routinely orchestrates team trainings and morale boosting events while ruthlessly demanding the strictest attention to detail in all aspects of production.
Part strategist, part goodwill ambassador, and a consummate presence in the company’s social media programming, Rosemary is increasingly the face of New Scotland Spirits. It’s no wonder that our company battle cry has become, simply: “All hail the Queen!”
The “Command Team”
Queen Rosemary & Peach
Greg, Jesse, Rosemary
The Monti family, at home in Maryland.
Christopher J. monti
Jesse and Chris at the finish line of the 2019 Bataan Death March, New Mexico.
Chris lives in Maryland with his beautiful-and-talented wife (Lindsay), son (Kyle), and daughter (Gianna). He’s an attorney for the Defense Department and a Major in the U.S. Army Reserves.* Previously, Chris spent nearly a decade on active duty, deploying to Afghanistan with the 82nd Airborne Division and to the Middle East with the U.S. Special Operations Command.
It was at Fort Bragg, NC, that Chris first met Jesse; they quickly struck up an enduring friendship, bonding over a passion for tackling physical challenges and their mutual appreciation for a fine craft whiskey.
Notably, Chris shares New York roots with the company’s native New Scots; his family hails from Glens Falls, a town just north of New Scotland along the Hudson River.
In joining New Scotland Spirits, Chris has taken on a strategic development role, contributing to the company’s market positioning as it expands its product lines and distribution footprint.
We extend limitless gratitude to Lindsay, whose unparalleled expertise is clearly her husband’s most valuable contribution to the company!
* Military rank, unit information, and uniformed photographs are for informational purposes only. Neither New Scotland Spirits nor its owners intend to imply any affiliation with or endorsement by the United States Army or Department of Defense.
The prince of both old Scotland and New Scotland…
Brian McGregor
“With spirits in the barrel, age is a privilege worthwhile,” says Brian, the company’s resident graphic artist and, behind Jesse, it’s longest-serving member.
By way of Boston, Brian is a Scottish-American dual citizen famously known for his freestyle imperial partial beard and mustache. When not in the studio making intricate illustrations, you’ll find him designing sets for large-scale music festivals, building a tiny home on a trailer, and creating elaborate costumes for pug parades in Portland, Oregon.
Operating off of Jesse’s label concepts, Brian has created recognizable and acclaimed “New Scottish” frescoes with illustrations that capture the ethos and essence of the founders’ rural hometown roots. Behind Jesse, he’s the company’s longest serving member—and its principal talent!
Kafka meticulously operates the fill station during one of the company’s late-night bottling sessions.
Bryan Kafka
Bryan is a full-blooded New Scot—born in Albany County and raised in Voorheesville, the historic “railroad village” along New Scotland’s northern border. He’s yet another company alumnus of the Voorheesville Central School District, as well as an Honors graduate of Plattsburgh State University, whereat he obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and a minor in Canadian Studies.
Known to even his family as just “Kafka,” he spent his early professional life in sales; he now leverages those skills as the company’s whiskey sales powerhouse. When not “slingin’ bottles” for New Scotland Spirits, Kafka serves as a Supervising Auditor at the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance.
Kafka wrestled alongside Jesse on Voorheesville’s Blackbirds Varsity Wrestling. But after graduating high school just north of 125 pounds, he’s dedicated more than 20 years to amateur bodybuilding, nutrition, and physical training.
Kafka brings to this enterprise a blistering sense of humor, tenacity, aggression, and unrelenting judgement of his colleagues’ personal dietary decisions. His approach to teamwork deftly oscillates between unconditional loyalty and rank insubordination.
ADCo: a testament to the entrepreneurial potential of downtown Albany, NY.
John Curtin
Albany Distilling Company owner and operator John Curtin grew up adjacent to Jesse in the Town of Bethlehem, NY. Now a New Scot himself, John is responsible for bringing New Scotland Spirits to life in the distillery he founded in 2011.
If not among the stills and barrels at his downtown distillery, you can catch John and his award-winning spirits at the ADCo Bar & Bottle Shop up the street. When Jesse would run into John at house parties and backwoods keggers back in the day, who knew they’d someday work together to unlock the terroir of New Scotland?