We got out of town this weekend at last, to a resort in New Paltz, NY (more on that later), and on our way, we took a slight detour to catch up with Derek Grout, a long-time best bud in the Hudson Valley. I know Derek from the inception of my interactive marketing career; he was the Ivy league educated cool Web designer dude who always had an energetic smile and a hell of a story to tell. One of the biggest stories I'd say was his decision to leave the quasi-monotonous 9-5 lifestyle and return to his roots – quite literally – in upstate New York. The Grout family has been operating a successful apple farm, Golden Harvest Farms, for decades, and Derek felt it was time to give a little back by turning his passion, creativity, and hard work away from the computer screen and daily grind and start investing in the most important thing possible: his family and their business.
Derek's return to Golden Harvest Farms pumped a new and immediate vitality into the family orchard: he painted colorful signs to help market the farm's fruit and local produce; ran orchard tractor rides for pick your own; and, simply brought life and a helping hand to the farm. But leave it to Derek and his entrepreneurial spirit to take his personal journey just one step further. He began talking about a new idea 2 years or so ago. Why not take those thousands of tons of cider apples that would otherwise be sent to Pennsylvania or elsewhere for cider production and instead ferment the cider, and create one of the finest spirits in the world, vodka.
After months of educating, perfecting, and distilling, Derek's intense labor, passion and commitment brings all of us vodka lovers alike a libation that simply is like no other: CORE Vodka, produced by Harvest Spirits, LLC. No, it's not an apple flavored vodka, but rather it is a smooth, clean spirit, best served over ice or straight up as a martini. From the website:
Harvest Spirits is one of the only distilleries in the country that makes alcohol from the products grown on-site. That means, the apples are grown, where they are pressed, fermented, distilled and bottled at the same location. The benefits are obvious. Not only do we conserve fossil fuels needed to transport the alcohol, we control the entire process, from field to bottle.
The official product launch is May 1, and CORE Vodka will be available in NY state only, for now. I encourage you to take the 2 hour trip from Boston or New York City to the farm to check out the distillery, sample some vodka, and get a tour from none other than Derek Grout himself. Oh, be sure to test out the cider donuts, pick up some fresh produce, and sink your chops into one of the many succulent apple varietals. I'm getting thirsty and hungry now :).
Congrats to my bud for making his dreams a reality and an amazing vodka for the rest of us to enjoy... I'll drink to that!
Harvest Spirits LLC
harvestspirits.com
Golden Harvest Farms
goldenharvestfarms.com
3074 US Route 9
Valatie, NY 12184
To set up a tour of the distillery and farm, call Golden Harvest Farms at 518-758-2920 or Derek Grout at 518-253-5917.
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