Dobbs Ferry News

Crespo Whiskeys & Wines: Grand Opening Nov. 18 in Dobbs Ferry

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November 16, 2021

By Linda Viertel—

As whiskey connoisseurs know, half of the pleasure is in the bottle, the other half in the atmosphere. It’s not just the drink, it’s where you drink it.

Now, brothers Jersom and Janxel O’Sheaf have taken this concept a step further. If consuming a dram can be enhanced by your surroundings, why not extend that pleasure to the place where you can buy the product itself?

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In Dobbs Ferry, Crespo Whiskeys & Wines has neatly met the challenge. The brothers O’Sheaf have created a 1920s-inspired Prohibition Era shop, low-ceilinged, with brick floors and two small-scale rooms with comfortable upholstered chairs and benches, well-worn carpets and wood shelving lined with a wide array of fascinating spirits and wines, some famous, some undiscovered.

There are oak barrels and whiskey cases, antiques and collectibles, including a painted half-size piano. Archival Prohibition photos line the walls, which are covered in French wine label-decorated wallpaper and lit by charming industrial fixtures.

Eclectic design elements on display at Crespo Whiskey & Wines in Dobbs Ferry (Crespo Whiskey & Wines)

The inspiration for the shop came not from actual history but from the popular TV show Boardwalk Empire. When Jersom O’Sheaf lost his job as a result of the pandemic, he began to envision a concept whiskey shop with a modern twist — offering a vast array of whiskey alongside a curated collection of some of the best wines from around the world. The brothers named the shop for their mother. “She was a single mom in Yonkers,” Jersom explains. “She raised three sons, and she’s my inspiration. And her last name was Crespo.”

The front room of this charming store features whiskey of all types — bourbon and rye, Scotch and Irish, American, European and Asian. The brands range from the familiar to the exotic to the unknown, which makes it a wonderful browse.

After exploring the front room’s extensive collection of whiskeys, one steps into the wine room. There is a generous selection of niche wines: “Great wines for great prices,” according to Jersom. “You can get a 15-or-30-dollar bottle that tastes like an 80-dollar bottle.”

The O’Sheaf brothers also sell a collection of international gins — hailing from Japan to Minnesota to Portchester, N.Y. There are artisanal mescals from family-owned distilleries, an array of vodkas, brandies, rums, Vermouths, ports, champagnes and other “bubblies,” Cognac, Armagnac, sakes and limoncellos. There is even a single malt from Italy.

Wine connoisseur and author of Hidden Gems of Italy, Tony Margiotta, helped Jersom experience small batch, organic and biodynamic wines. Skurnik Wines and Spirits and T. Edward Wine — importers and distributors who handle smaller shops and restaurants — also mentored and supported O’Sheaf in supplying his new shop.

There are tastings every weekend, alternating wines and whiskeys, but there are always a few extra bottles of whiskey open for tasting. Wine books are available for reading and purchase on the shelves; you can even relax and enjoy a glass with friends and read about the wine you are sipping.

Online shopping (with free delivery) is available, and there will be a grand opening on Nov. 18 with a ribbon cutting, spirit and wine tasting, and small bites provided by the restaurant Hudson Social. Crespo will prove a welcome addition to the rivertowns’ wine and spirit scene and a pleasantly nostalgic walk into the past with, as Jersom O’Sheaf says, “a modern twist.”

If You Go:
72 Main Street, Dobbs Ferry
(914) 219-4935
Hours: Wed.-Mon. 1-10 p.m.
Closed Tues.
info@crespowhiskeys.com
www.crespowhiskeys.com
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