Paul Coughlin

“New York Farm to Glass”

Paul J. Coughlin III was born in 1964, which is interestingly, the same year that the US Congress passed a resolution declaring bourbon whiskey as “America’s native spirit.” Paul is a graduate of Georgetown University, where he played lacrosse and ice hockey. Before his entry into distilling, Coughlin had a long career in finance and investment, and was founder and managing partner of Longroad Asset Management, LLC. He also ran a private equity business. 

Coughlin’s early personal life is marked by his love of the outdoors, hunting and fishing; he spent weekends in New York’s Hudson Valley region as a member of the Tamarack Preserve club. In 2024, Paul and his wife, Carol Ann Coughlin, were married for 32 years, and from their union, they raised three daughters, Kathryn, Christina and Grace. Most of the family’s life was spent in Greenwich, Connecticut, but they moved their attention to Dutchess County, New York in 2010. There, the Coughlins bought about 120 acres of what was a former cattle ranch north of the Hudson River in the Stanfordville area, and named it Rolling Hills Farm. With that land, Paul and Carol Ann began exploring their next chapter, and together decided on the idea of farm-distilling, combining their land, the natural spring water on the farm, and locally grown grains. 

In 2013, Taconic Distillery was founded. Initially, the name “Millbrook Distillery” was used, but later changed to “Taconic,” which is derived from a Native American word meaning ‘in the trees.’ The Coughlins thought that the new name better reflected the distillery's scenic location. The distillery’s first spirit release, a farm-to-bottle bourbon, arrived later in 2013. Since that time, Taconic has released award-winning bottles of Taconic’s Dutchess Private Reserve, Founder’s Rye, several barrel-strength expressions and special finishes like maple barrel, and cognac cask. From the very beginning, Coughlin centered his whiskey vision on using his own corn-fields and spring water, manifesting his passion for the outdoors and love of the land.