Jason Barrett

“Making Lemonade Out of Black Button”

Jason P. Barrett was born on July 30, 1987 and grew up in the small Rochester, New York, suburb of Penfield. Graduating from Penfield High School in 2005, Barrett was soon studying political science at SUNY-Cortland. After college, he worked as a business consultant in Washington, D.C., but found himself drawn toward hands-on manufacturing and the idea of building something of his own. Looking back, he has credited time spent working alongside his grandfather at the family’s button factory with shaping his work ethic and his appreciation for craftsmanship. That family legacy also gave his future distillery its name. As various profiles explain, Barrett’s color blindness once led to a running joke that he could “only make black buttons” if he took over the family business; but instead of carrying on in the button business, he chose to honor that heritage in another profound way. So by 2012, at just 24 years old, Barrett committed to distilling full-time, returning to Rochester to build what would become the city’s first grain-to-glass distillery since Prohibition.

From the outset, Barrett positioned Black Button as a New York farm distillery rooted in local agriculture: grains from nearby farms, water from the Genesee Valley aquifer, and an emphasis on small-batch production. In a 2022 interview, he described the distillery’s distinctive “double pass” distillation approach and its commitment to regionally sourced inputs; by its first decade the company noted it was on track to exceed the state’s farm-distillery sourcing thresholds. The brand grew quickly, appearing on the ‘Inc. 5000’ list and expanding its distribution footprint. In July 2023, Black Button celebrated this major milestone by moving to a larger, more spacious home to support predicted growth.

From the outset, Barrett positioned Black Button as a New York farm distillery rooted in local agriculture: grains from nearby farms, water from the Genesee Valley aquifer, and an emphasis on small-batch production. In a 2022 interview, he described the distillery’s distinctive “double pass” distillation approach and its commitment to regionally sourced inputs; by its first decade the company noted it was on track to exceed the state’s farm-distillery sourcing thresholds. The brand grew quickly, appearing on the ‘Inc. 5000’ list and expanding its distribution footprint. In July 2023, Black Button celebrated this major milestone by moving to a larger, more spacious home to support predicted growth.

But despite his hard work and the subsequent growth, 2025 brought serious financial strain to Black Button and to Barrett personally. On July 3, 2025, local media reported that Barrett had notified customers and supporters that Black Button would close on July 12, citing a difficult alcohol market and the ethics of continuing to operate amid mounting pressures; the tasting room hosted a final “Last Call” event that weekend. Whisky Advocate covered the closure at month’s end, noting that even a recent airline placement for Black Button’s bourbon cream hadn’t offset broader headwinds. The outlook for Barrett’s lifelong dream looked grim indeed. But just two months later, the narrative shifted. On September 24, 2025, a newly formed Kentucky-based firm, Blackstar Company led by industry veterans Kris Comstock and Ray Franklin, announced an investment that would keep Black Button operating. The local ABC-TV affiliate reported that Blackstar’s funding arrived after the University Avenue tasting room had closed in July; Trade outlets and spirits publications echoed the news that Blackstar’s capital “saved [Black Button] from bankruptcy,” allowing distilling, bottling, and sales to continue in Rochester. The Rochester Business Journal added that the deal kept Barrett and his core staff in place as the company worked to stabilize.

As of that September 2025 reporting, the through-line of Barrett’s story of local manufacturing values translated into grain-to-glass spirits remained intact, even as ownership and capitalization changed. The brand that began as a nod to a family factory persisted after a summer shutdown, with new financial backing and the founder still on site, perhaps Jason is not only person excited about the change in ownership. Said Barrett, “It has totally changed my ability to be there and present with my family for dinner. It probably went from four nights a month to four nights a week.”

Sources:

  1. I Heart ROC/episode 29, “Jason Barrett: Black Button Distilling”, Taylor Wroblewski, April 6, 2016

  2. Black Button Distilling website/Our Story, blackbuttondistilling.com/our-story

  3. Rochester Business Journal, “Jason Barrett and the spirit(s) of Rochester”, Gino Fanelli, June 14, 2018

  4. Whisky Advocate, “Black Button Distilling’s Spacious New Home”, David Fleming & Danny Brandon, July 14, 2023, whiskyadvocate.com

  5. WHEC-NBC News 10, “Black Button Distilling to close after 13 years”, July 3, 2025

  6. Whisky Advocate, “Black Button Distilling Is the Latest…”, Danny Brandon, July 30, 2025

  7. WHAM-ABC TV13, “Black Button Distilling saved…”, September 24, 2025;

  8. Craft Spirits Magazine, “Blackstar Company Saves Black Button…”, September 24, 2025

Contributed by Tracy McLemore, Fairview, Tennessee