Over the past few years the Montauk name has been widely utilized for events and products. With this increased exposure, some question the authenticity of the label. It’s obvious with events that are held in Montauk, but when it comes to products utilizing Montauk in their name, people wonder if it’s truly a Montauk product or if it even has some history with Montauk. So to dispel some of the inquiries we’ve recently been hearing, we inquired and did some research, and found that the new Montauk Rum Runners rum, gin and whiskey line do indeed have deep roots here. Founded in 2014 by two local sisters with a passion for great booze and their family’s part in distributing it during Prohibition,
Founded in 2014 by two local sisters with a passion for great booze and their family’s part in distributing it during Prohibition, Montauk Rumrunners is a small batch liquor brand handcrafted on the Eastern End of Long Island in honor of the families who pioneered the Montauk Fishing Village (and the rumrunners among them). Their family story begins in the 1920’s, in Montauk’s pre-hurricane of 1938 fishing village. We were able to find a picture of the village in the book, Images of America-Montauk by Robin Strong and the Montauk Library. On p.89 the photo with caption lists the buildings and
Their family story begins in the 1920’s, in Montauk’s pre-hurricane of 1938 fishing village. We were able to find a picture of the village in the book, Images of America-Montauk by Robin Strong and the Montauk Library. On p.89 the photo with caption lists the buildings and Handrup’s Roadside Inn is one of them. 
In the late 1920’s, the Handrup family made the move from Brooklyn to the old Montauk Fishing Village. These were the great-grandparents of the founders of Montauk Rumrunners. Joining the small community of fishermen, they opened the Roadside Restaurant, two doors down from the Trails End, another well-known speakeasy at the time. In spite of Prohibition, there was seemingly no shortage of booze in Montauk and accordingly, the Roadside Restaurant was less “restaurant” and more bar. Ships carrying rum from the Caribbean, gin from London and whiskey from Canada parked just offshore in international waters in a line-up referred to as Rum Row, waiting for the daring fishermen by day, rumrunners by night, to sneak out of Fort Pond Bay and bring the booze to shore. This was a rather common occurrence in Montauk and the booze flowed just as freely at the simple “restaurants” in the old Montauk Fishing Village as it did at the more extravagant parties on Star Island that catered to the rich and famous. Keeping Montauk’s rich history and their own family’s history in Montauk in mind, sisters Kate Sarris and Kimberly (Sarris) Royal’s mission is to produce a line of spirits that are locally owned and locally distilled from local ingredients that have the taste and feel of Montauk in every sip. With a focus on liquors widely trafficked by rumrunners during prohibition (rum, gin and whiskey),
In the late 1920’s, the Handrup family made the move from Brooklyn to the old Montauk Fishing Village. These were the great-grandparents of the founders of Montauk Rumrunners. Joining the small community of fishermen, they opened the Roadside Restaurant, two doors down from the Trails End, another well-known speakeasy at the time. In spite of Prohibition, there was seemingly no shortage of booze in Montauk and accordingly, the Roadside Restaurant was less “restaurant” and more bar. Ships carrying rum from the Caribbean, gin from London and whiskey from Canada parked just offshore in international waters in a line-up referred to as Rum Row, waiting for the daring fishermen by day, rumrunners by night, to sneak out of Fort Pond Bay and bring the booze to shore. This was a rather common occurrence in Montauk and the booze flowed just as freely at the simple “restaurants” in the old Montauk Fishing Village as it did at the more extravagant parties on Star Island that catered to the rich and famous. Keeping Montauk’s rich history and their own family’s history in Montauk in mind, sisters Kate Sarris and Kimberly (Sarris) Royal’s mission is to produce a line of spirits that are locally owned and locally distilled from local ingredients that have the taste and feel of Montauk in every sip. With a focus on liquors widely trafficked by rumrunners during prohibition (rum, gin and whiskey),
In spite of Prohibition, there was seemingly no shortage of booze in Montauk and accordingly, the Roadside Restaurant was less “restaurant” and more bar. Ships carrying rum from the Caribbean, gin from London and whiskey from Canada parked just offshore in international waters in a line-up referred to as Rum Row, waiting for the daring fishermen by day, rumrunners by night, to sneak out of Fort Pond Bay and bring the booze to shore. This was a rather common occurrence in Montauk and the booze flowed just as freely at the simple “restaurants” in the old Montauk Fishing Village as it did at the more extravagant parties on Star Island that catered to the rich and famous.
Keeping Montauk’s rich history and their own family’s history in Montauk in mind, sisters Kate Sarris and Kimberly (Sarris) Royal’s mission is to produce a line of spirits that are locally owned and locally distilled from local ingredients that have the taste and feel of Montauk in every sip.
With a focus on liquors widely trafficked by rumrunners during prohibition (rum, gin and whiskey), Montauk Rumrunners has partnered with Long Island Spirits to produce a small batch coconut flavored rum, citrus flavored gin and honey flavored whiskey distilled using local ingredients. Long Island Spirits, also rich in history and tradition dating back to the early 1900’s, is the first distillery on Long Island since Prohibition and distiller of the award-winning Long Island Vodka.
