Bottle

Vermont Spirits Distilling Co Brands Capture the Essence of the Green Mountain State

BY ROBERT COOK

When asked how he views Vermont Spirits Distilling Co’s flagship brands: No 14 Bourbon, Vermont Gold Vodka and Coppers Gins, Randy Carlson doesn’t hold back.

“I think they are among the best on the planet,” said Carlson, who serves as the distillery’s CEO.

Many other Vermont craft distillers probably make the same claim about their spirits, as they should. But when one visits Vermont Spirits Distilling Co in Quechee Gorge Village and sees how they make their spirits, Carlson’s pride is in lockstep with the quality and craftsmanship that goes into every bottle.

Carlson is also part of a dream team of distillers who produce these signature spirits with the same hand-crafted process that was used when the company began in 1999.

Master Distiller Harry Gorman and Don Kolp, whose official title is apprentice distiller but does much more, help Carlson fulfill the craft distillery’s core mission: make Vermont in a bottle.

“We believe every sip should be an experience,” Carlson says.

Named in honor of Vermont, the 14th state, No 14 Bourbon unites two American Classics: bourbon whiskey and pure Vermont maple. The strength of the bourbon is softened by a hint of sweetness, which broadens its appeal to a variety of palates. The result is a surprisingly smooth spirit with a warm and lasting finish. On its own or in a cocktail, No 14 Bourbon is a wonderfully smooth and distinctly American spirit. Kolp says they get most of their maple from the Richardson Family Farm, their friends and neighbors just up the road from the distillery.

The award-winning, small-batch Vermont Gold Vodka is handmade from nature’s most eco-friendly ingredient: the sap of maple trees. Maple trees need only rain, soil and temperature changes for sap to flow — the tree is tapped and the sap captured. The sap is then concentrated and skillfully fermented to preserve the unique characteristics of its sugars. The maple wash is distilled in their one-of-a-kind glass column still and blended with pure Vermont distilled water to produce an exceptionally clean, 80 proof American Vodka.

Coppers Gin, which takes its name from the currency used by the former Vermont Republic before it joined the union in 1791, is unique, yet recognizable, with curated blends of hand-picked wild Vermont juniper berries from the St. Johnsbury area in the Northeast Kingdom where the company was first established.

Coppers American Gin, with its seven botanicals and light body, is a contemporary gin for the sophisticated drinker. Coppers Barrel Gin is double barrel-aged to create a whiskey-like spirit with rich woody flavors delighting even the non-gin drinker. Coppers Sugarwood Gin, with its pure maple finish, is gin with a Vermont twist.

“A true artisan sets out to make something beautiful and that’s how we make Vermont in a bottle,” says Carlson.

The distillery also offers custom blends and small-batch liqueurs and brandy for their patrons to enjoy. For example, the 1791 Cocktail is a twist on a Boulevardier cocktail that features Massachusetts cranberries, Vermont honey, American Rye whiskey and Orleans Herbal Cider.

Vermont Spirits Distilling Co places a strong emphasis on utilizing as many natural resources as they can along with a commitment to community stewardship and sustainability.

Carlson explains the company powers a great deal of its operation with hydro power generated by Green Mountain Power’s hydro dam on the Ottaquechee River at the base of Quechee Gorge and via solar power. One of their goals is to make their operation completely green by putting enough solar panels on their building to not only provide their power needs but also the neighboring businesses in the plaza.

The Meeting House located in the front of the distillery provides daily tastings, and Gorman used antique barn boards from near the original distillery to build the Meeting House bar and walls to maintain a link to their roots.

Inside the distillery, the dream team and other members of their staff regularly pitch in to hand-bottle each spirit when it is ready. The company also uses the specially designed glass column stills that were originally created by founder Duncan Holaday inside his sugar house in Barnet near St. Johnsbury

Mountain State distillery.

Gorman recalls that a fire destroyed the original distillery in 2004 and that he helped rebuild it. A short time later, the company nearly went national with its prized product when a group of investors paired it up with Anheuser Busch. Before that happened, however, Anheuser Busch was bought out by AB InBev, which was not interested in spirits, just beer.

A new group of investors surfaced and decided to move the company to its present location in Quechee Gorge Village in 2011. The distillery building and equipment was moved from Barnet via tractor-trailer. The company is now governed by a board of directors which reports to its shareholders.

Gorman describes a painstaking process at the original distillery of spending five weeks in the woods each year to tap the trees, collect the maple sap, clean the hundreds of feet of maple sap lines and equipment. The result was an average of 500 cases of Vermont Gold Vodka per year at a rate of 11 cases per day.

With their improved operations in Quechee Gorge Village, Carlson says they can produce up to 40,000 cases of Vermont Gold Vodka per year, 45,000 cases of No 14 Bourbon and 16,000 cases of Coppers Gin per year.

Their spirits are currently offered by several nearby Vermont restaurants in Quechee and Woodstock. They can also be purchased throughout the state as well as in New Hampshire,

The No 14 Old-Fashioned

1 or 2 Luxardo maraschino cherries

1 slice of orange

2 or 3 dashes of your favorite bitters

No 14 Bourbon to taste

In a rocks glass, add cherries, orange slice and 2-3 dashes of bitters. Muddle fruit and bitters. Fill glass with ice. Add No 14 Bourbon to taste. Garnish with orange twist.

Right next door, the company is renovating a vacant building to create a cocktail bar where patrons can enjoy the cocktail recipes they can only partake now at nearby restaurants like Simon Pearce, the Woodstock Inn & Resort and The Prince & the Pauper. They are also building a deck between their distillery and new cocktail bar for live music. Carlson says they plan to have them ready by Memorial Day Weekend 2023.

Don Kolp has a great deal of experience in restaurant management and mixology in Boston and Nantucket. He leads the effort to create a quintessential cocktail bar experience for patrons. “There is so much potential,” Kolp says.

Kolp has been with the company for two years and is training to be a master distiller.

When patrons enjoy their spirits, Carlson says he wants the handmade craftsmanship that goes into every bottle and organic quality to be top of mind.

“In every small batch we make, we are committed to the land, the community and to the artisan craft of distilling. Our goal is to produce spirits with true character and exceptional taste.”

Blueberry Basil American Gin Spritzer

2 ounces Coppers American Gin

1 bar spoon Blake Hill Basil-Blueberry Shrub

3 ounces lemonade

Soda water

In a highball glass full of ice, combine the first 3 ingredients, then fill the rest of the glass with soda water. Roll in a second glass until shrub is mixed throughout. Garnish with lemon.

BY ROBERT COOK

The general store continues to be a true community anchor of smalltown life in a changing world. When residents and visitors want a place to reconnect with a simpler time, Vermont general stores are a great place to start.

Many general stores offer great food, coffee, locally made gifts and friendly conversation. They are a place where you might go to buy a household item, a morning paper or just say hello. General store owners are usually knowledgeable about their community and surrounding areas.

Chances are that when anyone drives through the Green Mountain State, they will stop at one of these stores for gas, groceries, souvenirs or just to stretch their legs. Each time they do, they will form a connection with Vermont culture that will likely stay with them.

Here are a few general stores and some Vermont-inspired spring cocktails:

JJ Hapgood General Store & Eatery, Peru

Local residents and visitors, including Sir Paul McCartney, frequent this store after a day on the slopes at Bromley, Stratton Mountain or Magic Mountain. People stop in to grab a drink at the new bar, or, when weather permits, sit down for a meal outside at one of the many tables. Head to the indoor or outdoor bar for a cocktail made by KJ Heingartner from SILO Distillery. If you’re short on time, pop in for a fresh-pressed juice to go or the famous buttermilk fried chicken sandwich.

The store serves as a gathering place and also offers live music performed by local bands such as The Butties Beatles Cover Band. The menu includes everything from pizza cooked on a woodfired stove to farm-fresh salads to vegetable ragout to the daily special cooked up by the house chef.

If you happen to visit this general store on a mild, sunny day, you may want to wet your whistle with the Hapgood’s Lavender Lemonade.

< Hapgood’s Lavender Lemonade

SILO Distillery Lavender Vodka

Fresh lemonade

Simple syrup made with Vermont maple syrup

Garnished with sugar-in-the-raw and lavender

F.H. Gillingham and Sons General Store, Woodstock

Gillingham’s is one of the most established general stores in the state, counting President Coolidge among its loyal shoppers. The store was started in 1886 by Franklin Gillingham, the great-grandfather of current owners, Jireh and Frank Billings.

A stop at F.H. Gillingham and Sons General Store is a must for Woodstock visitors to find items that range from locally made winter clothing, board games, Vermont craft brews, Vermont cheese and maple syrup.

The Sap Bucket served at nearby Windsor Station Restaurant and Barroom is a great follow-on.

Sap Bucket

SILO Distillery Gin

St. Johnsbury Distillery Dunc's Maple Rum

Maple syrup from the Ambros' in Hartland

Fresh lemon juice

The Vermont Manhattan

½ ounce Antica Formula Vermouth

3 dashes orange bitters

1 dash Dorset Maple Reserve Bourbon

Barrel-aged Syrup

2½ ounces Smugglers

Notch Maple-Infused Bourbon

Ripton Country Store, Ripton

This country store, famous for the ice machine which reads “IEC,” looks and feels exactly like what you’d expect a general store in a tiny mountain town to look like. Set in the heart of Ripton — a town with an inn, school, town hall and just 600 residents — it’s just 10 minutes west down Route 125 from the Middlebury College Snow Bowl and the Rikert Nordic Center.

Open from 7a.m. to 7p.m. year-round, the Ripton Country Store is still the place where parents taking their kids up to the Snow Bowl’s Magic Carpet stop to pick up candy, milk or local eggs.

As a way to pay homage to the “IEC” ice machine, The Vermont Manhattan served at The Barrows House in Dorset seems like the thing to do. This drink is meant to be enjoyed year-round! In the spring, it's per fect to sip outside at one of The Barrows House's many fire pits as the sun goes down.

Shaw’s General Store, Stowe

For the past 125 years, Shaw’s General Store has stayed in the family — a family that counts several generations of NCAA, World Cup and Olympic ski racers, including Tiger Shaw, the current president of U.S. Skiing. Once home to Stowe’s first ski shop, Shaw’s shifted gears in 1936 after the first chair lift went in on Mt. Mansfield and ski shops proliferated up and down Mountain Road.

Stowe’s full-time population is 5,000 and two-thirds of the residents are second homeowners, relatively large by Vermont standards. While Shaw’s doesn’t sell foodstuffs or most essential goods, it does have everything from warm winter boots, flannel and fleece to toys for kids and maple syrup. It's a cornerstone of Stowe Village.

At the Three Penny Taproom in Montpelier, Laughter in the Dark is a great cocktail to round out your day of exploring Vermont general stores.

Laughter in the Dark

1 ounce Islay Scotch

¾ ounce Cynar

½ ounce Sherry

1 twist lemon peel (expressed and discarded)

1 Luxardo cherry

Warren Store, Warren

Located across from The Pitcher Inn in the tiny hamlet of Warren, the Warren Store inhabits an 1839 building that was previously home to an inn, a library, a post office and a hardware store. Today, the store continues to be a gathering place for Sugarbush and Mad River Glen skiers, artists and an assortment of the Mad River Valley’s eclectic locals.

Here, you’ll find clothing and accessories by brands like Woolrich, Toad & Co., Smartwool, Kuhl and Pistil. Additionally, there are housewares and gifts made by Vermont companies like Green Village Soap and greeting cards by local artists.

The Gold Rush served at Mad River Distillers in Warren and Burlington is a great way to keep that small-town vibe going.

The Gold Rush

2 ounces Mad River

Distillers Bourbon

¾ ounce lemon juice

¾ ounce Northwoods

Apiaries honey

Combine all ingredients in an ice-filled shaker. Shake until well chilled. Strain into an ice-filled glass.

Recipe Sources: vtskiandride.com and diginvt.com