High Spirits
Staff | April 15, 2016 | Comment
The 2007 Farm Distillery Act made it easy for micro-distilleries to become viable businesses, even despite strict requirements, like using at least 70 percent New York raw agricultural material. In fact, this caveat has helped define the hyper-local spirits being produced in the Hudson Valley. The stuff being mashed and aged, stirred and strained in the Hudson Valley is pure poetry. Here are five of the best local distilleries creating liquid lyricism.
After absinthe was re-legalized in the U.S. in 2007, Cheryl Lins revived the oft-misunderstood spirit by using 18th-century European distilling methods. Her absinthes brighten many a pre-Prohibition-era cocktail at Stockade Tavern in Kingston. (607) 865-5056. Walton.
Made from 100 percent Jona Gold apples and aged in a mix of charred oak and Black Dirt Bourbon barrels, Black Dirt Apple Jack has developed a niche demand among the Hudson Valley’s cocktail community. (845) 258-6020. Warwick
Run by partners John Glebocki and Bryan Ensall, the year-old field-to-bottle distillery grows, harvests, malts, mashes, and distills all of the products used to make its spirits on premise. (845) 651-2929. Goshen.
Karl Johnson grew up on a 6,000-acre farm, so it’s no wonder that New York State-grown grains and herbs are the main event in his spirits—from the White Rye Whiskey to the new Maid of the Meadow Vodka, which incorporates local herbs and honey. (845) 230-7905. Beacon.
Hillrock Estate is a sustainable enterprise in the truest sense of the word—growing, harvesting, malting, and distilling is all completed on-site. Hillrock’s solera-aged bourbon is a favorite among the Hudson Valley’s cocktail elite. (518) 329-1023. Ancram.