Review: General John Stark Vodka
General John Stark Vodka is distilled from apples, primarily Macintosh grown on Apple Hill Farm in Concord New Hampshire. The fresh apple juice arrives in 2200 gallon quantities. The juice is fermented for 7-10 days using two separate strains of yeast. The spirit is triple distilled on a 15 tray custom Christian Carl column still over the coarse of 24 hours. It then rests for a few weeks before it is cut to proof and bottled. General John Stark Vodka is named for the Revolutionary War soldier who during a speech uttered the phrase “Live Free or Die.” This phrase is still the New Hampshire state motto. The distillery sits on a former dairy farm that was switched to a vineyard in 1987 with the planting of the first grapes. By 1990 they were bottling wine. In 2004 the Flag Hill Distillery opened. Today they also produce whiskey, gin, rum, liqueurs, and brandy. The aroma leads with apple, and butterscotch. The sweet apple entry is joined by caramel building to a banana apple peak. It fades with caramel and bright apple and finishes dry, bittersweet, and peppery with apple skin, banana peel, mineral, and anise.
Made in Lee New Hampshire
40% Alcohol
Flavor: 92
Finish: 86
Score: 89
Award: Silver Medal