WORK IN PROGRESS

As fruit growers and distillers, we enjoy working with fresh, local fruit. Whether apples, pears, berries or grapes, each fruit presents a its own challenge to ferment and distill. Yet the rewards are evident in the final product: unique spirits that are true expressions of the fruit they come from.

GRAPPA

Estimated release date June, 2010 — Notoriously hard to make, Grappa is an Italian spirit derived from the grape pressings. A local winemaker recently gave us a load of grape skins to experiment with. Instead of adding sugar and water to the skins, we fermented them by adding sweet cider to the must. Although this will not be considered a traditional grappa, the test trials reveal promising flavors of fresh, New York grapes.

HIMBEER GEIST

Estimated release date September, 2010 — Himbeer Geist is a traditional south German spirit made with raspberries. Our version is a bit different: we use black raspberries that we grow ourselves just steps from our distillery door. Another important distinction is that the spirit is derived from the fermented sugar of apples, not grain. We used our entire 2009 harvest of black raspberries for our test trials and look forward to releasing a finished product after the 2010 harvest. This product is unsweetened and contains no sugar, just apples, black raspberries and water.

RARE PEAR

Estimated release date 2011 — Made from our whole fruit Pear Brandy, this spirit is aging in new oak barrels. This spirit will be very rare, just one barrel to date. We are considering bottling it at cask strength (50% ABV) to bring out the concentrated flavors of spiced pear and honeysuckle. Early barrel tasting reveals a spirit so rich in texture and aroma, that we can hardly wait for its maturity.