![]() ![]() “And I figured if we had enough apples, sooner or later we’d make a good-tasting product.”įive years later, Harvest is selling about 12,000 bottles a year of its Core Vodka, Cornelius Applejack and pear brandy to buyers all over New York State. “And I’m sure a lot of people rolled their eyes.” But if there was one thing Grout had in overflowing abundance, it was apples. ![]() And he was looking at a total startup cost of around a quarter of a million dollars. “That was all he needed to say,” says Grout.Īt the time, Grout knew nothing about fermenting, nothing about distilling and nothing about the liquor industry. Grout, who is one of five sons in the family, had pursued a career in graphic design but one day, as he was pondering a return to the farm, a friend casually mentioned that he’d come across a place in New Hampshire that was making vodka from apples. Over the years, the family has added a few annual crops, put in more buildings and quadrupled the acreage (from 40 to around 200), but it’s still basically an orchard. Harvest Spirits is the brainchild of 38-year-old Derek Grout, whose family has owned Golden Harvest Farms and its attendant farm stand since his city-slicker grandparents moved up to Valatie from Queens more than 50 years ago and became apple growers. Welcome to one of New York State’s newest-and most innovative-distilleries. ![]() Read the labels-wormwood, bacon, cilantro, dill pickle, frozen beer-and you might wonder if you really want to buy anything at all here. Behind the sales counter, which is crowded with bottles of spirits to sample, stands a row of shelves filled with jars of poisonous-looking mixtures. One wall is lined with oak barrels, each decorated with a different, and often mysterious, symbol. At one end of the room sits a tank big enough to swim in, surrounded by a maze of pipes and smaller tanks. ![]() Walking into the shop at Harvest Spirits up in the Hudson Valley feels like stepping into a mad scientist’s laboratory. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |