Review: Upstate Vodka
Upstate Vodka was just released. This is not the same 90 proof version of Upstate Vodka previously released. Upstate is farm to bottle craft distilled at Sauvage Distillery in Charlotteville New York, from 100% New York State grown apples, by Head Distiller Ken Wortz. 70-80 apples are needed to produce 1 bottle of Upstate Vodka. Once the juice is extracted from the apples it is fermented with Kosher Champagne yeast and twice distilled in 16 and 18 plate two-column stills. Only one state produces more apples than the state of New York, and with over 700 orchards in New York it should come as no surprise Upstate Vodka is made from apples instead of grain. Upstate Vodka is currently available at select New York and Connecticut liquor stores and it is available to purchase online and ship to 30 states from Sauvage. Each bottle is numbered and dated. My bottle is from batch 1, bottle number 7768. Read more 
Review: Two Sisters Vodka
Two Sisters Vodka is crafted from organic wheat and pure unprocessed water drawn from a underground spring, 600 feet deep in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains at the Springbrook Hollow Farm Distillery located five miles from Lake George New York. They grind the grain themselves and small batch triple distill on a custom German built Copper Kothe still. Prior to bottling the spirit passes through a charcoal filter bed. The Springbrook Hollow Farm Distillery opened their doors December 2014 and they currently also craft bourbon, rye, gin, moonshine and several liqueurs. Read more
Review: 1911 Premium Vodka
1911 Premium Vodka is a true tree to bottle vodka. Founded in 1911 by Andrew Beak and George Skiff, Beak and Skiff Apple Orchards is located in Lafayette New York. In 2001 they introduced their first alcohol product, a hard cider. In 2010 they released 1911 Vodka and 1911 Gin both distilled from their own farm grown apples. They currently produce brandy, whiskey, canned cocktails and several flavored vodkas including Vanilla Chai, Cold Brew Coffee, Rose, Tropical, Blueberry, and Honeycrisp. Their orchard surrounds the 1911 distillery and boosts over 350,000 apple trees. The hand picked apples are pressed and fermented into a hard cider. The cider is small batch triple distilled on a 19 plate copper column still. Read more
Review: LIV Vodka
LIV Vodka is crafted in Baiting Hollow New York in a beautifully restored twin cupola barn by Founder and Master Distiller Rich Stabile. Prior to WWII Long Island had over 200,000 acres of potatoes. Today the distillery is surrounded by 5000 acres of potato farms. Long Island Spirits was founded January 5, 2007 and was the first craft distillery on Long Island since the 1800’s. They were the 100th distillery in the US when they were founded. There are now over 2000, with 145 in New York state alone. LIV Vodka was their first spirit. It is made from 100% locally grown Long Island potatoes. It takes 20 pounds of potatoes to make one bottle of LIV Vodka. The distillery practices sustainable production methods including composting it’s by-products, and smart hydro thermal reclamation. LIV Vodka is small batch triple distilled on 650 liter custom made copper pot stills equipped with 30 foot tall rectification distillation columns. The vodka is non chill filtered. Read more
Review: Ryze Vodka
Ryze Vodka is crafted in Phoenix New York at Locke 1 Distilling Company. The distillery sits across the street from Lock 1 of the Oswego Barge Canal. The same canal preferred by bootleggers as the main artery from Canada to NYC during Prohibition. The bottles graphic image of a Phoenix raising from the ashes pays tribute to the vodka’s name and hometown. The distillery was founded by brothers Stephen and Kevin Dates and their cousin Brenden Backus in 2015. The family also owns Phoenix Welding and Fabricating. They brought their skills, craftmanship, ability, time and finances together to build a farm distillery in a century old building that opened in 2017. The family also owns Phoenix Welding and Fabricating. This background gave them the skill to renovate the century old building into their distillery, and to design and hand build their distilling equipment including a 17 foot high column still. The distillery also crafts Drawbridge Gin, Locktenders Gin, Inferno Cinnamon Whiskey, FA Waldron Bourbon, and their Excuse line of liqueurs. Master Distiller Brenden made 11 different vodkas before selecting the best tasting one. Ryze Vodka is made from locally grown New York winter wheat, and rye. It is small batch distilled 3 times and triple filtered through volcanic rock and active carbon. Read more
Review: Vly Creek Vodka
Vly Creek Vodka was named for one of the many mountain creeks in Arkville New York. Friends and construction workers Brian Mulder and Todd Pascarella built Union Grove Distillery in a former roller rink that was constructed in 1920. Union Grove also crafts FirGin, Catskill Mountain Maple Spirit, and Drie Brook Rye Whiskey. Vly Creek Vodka was the first spirit they produced when they opened the distillery February 2016. They started with apples sourced from Hubbell Family Farms, only 6 miles away from the distillery. The apples were pressed on an antique apple press that has been in service since the 1880’s. The cider ferments over several weeks and is then distilled with a wheat GNS spirit the equivalent of 30 times in a high tech Genio still, custom made in Poland. The spirit is charcoal filtered and proofed with pure Catskill Mountain Water before hand bottling onsite. Read more
Review: Indigenous Fresh Pressed Apple Vodka
Indigenous Fresh Pressed Apple Vodka is made from 100% Hudson Valley apples grown on orchards less than five miles away from the distillery. About 80 apples are needed to produce 1, 750ml bottle of vodka. The apples are juiced into fresh apple cider, fermented, and triple distilled in a hybrid pot column still with 22 plates. The vodka is hand bottled, unfiltered. Initially called Heart of the Hudson Vodka when it was first released in 2005, it was the first vodka distilled from apples in the US and possibly the worlds first. The distillery was built by owners Ralph Erenzo and Brian Lee in 2003 in one of the granaries of the Tuthilltown Gristmill which was built by Selah Tuthill in 1788 and operated for over 200 years. The Tuthilltown Distillery also produces Hudson Whiskey, the first legal whiskey in the state of New York since Prohibition. They also craft Indigenous Empire State Wheat Vodka and more recently Indigenous Corn Vodka. Read more
Review: Silver Moon Vodka
Silver Moon Vodka was introduced May 2016. It was the first spirit produced at Kerr Creek Distillery in Walton New York. They have since added an Apple Flavored Vodka, Easy Speaker Bourbon, and Ishka Triple Malt Whiskey. Kerr Creek Distillery is a New York State Farm Distillery owned and operated by Matthew and Jessica White and her parents Bob and Loretta Beckman. Silver Moon Vodka is made from a proprietary blend of locally grown potatoes, cane sugar, and fresh mountain spring water. It took several years to find the right blend of potatoes used to craft this vodka. One of the potatoes included is Katahdin, an heirloom variety developed on Presque Isle Maine in 1932. Cane sugar makes the potatoes easier to work with and avoids the need for chemical clearing agents. Read more
Review: Indigenous Empire State Wheat Vodka
Indigenous Empire State Wheat Vodka was released in 2010. It is crafted at Tuthilltown Spirits Distillery in Gardiner New York. For 220 years Tuthilltown Gristmill used water power to render local grains to flour. In 2001 Ralph Erenzo purchased the 36 acre parcel of land that was its home. He planed to open Bunks in the Gunks an affordable minimalistic housing opportunity for visiting climbers. After years of legal battles with neighbors who weren’t fond of the idea, Ralph and Brian Lee founded Tuthilltown Spirits LLC. in 2003. They converted one of the mill granaries to a micro-distillery. Their first product was a vodka make from scraps of apple they collected at a local apple slicing plant. Today the distillery produces 6 whiskies, 2 vodkas, 3 liqueurs, gin, and Basement Bitters. Indigenous Empire State Wheat Vodka is made from winter white wheat sourced from local farmers throughout the Hudson Valley. It is triple distilled in a 22 plate hybrid copper pot/column still and bottled unfiltered. Read more