Annual Apple Ritual

Yesterday I made my annual pilgrimage to Swanson's Mountain View Orchard, a trip only made the sweeter by the knowledge that Lukas' had recently bottled his apple brandy. For those few that know, Lukas' distillery, which is mere miles from my house, was one of those featured in the inaugural issue of MicroShiner magazine.

We have come along way from that first issue, and so has Lukas' brandy. Barrel aged for 3 years, it is superb apple brandy that will serve as a wonderful centerpiece to our New Year's Eve cocktail celebration. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter @MicroShiner for more on that later.

Along with the brandy, I also picked up some of Swanson's brandy and cider blend, and some of the soft stuff for the boys. The blend is a perfect treat right out of the bottle, coming in at 20% abv and with just the right amount of sweetness.

Brandy Mule

1 oz Swanson's Mountain View Distillery Apple Brandy
1/2 oz lime juice
1 tsp sugar
splash of Glacier Ginger Brew
garnish with a peeling of ginger

Shake all but ginger beer in cocktail shaker and strain over ice. Top with splash of beer and add ginger.

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Charbay Winery and Distillery

Charbay Winery and Distillery by Brian Cary.

Learn more about Charbay's line of spirits in the upcoming Autumn issue of MicroShiner magazine.

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Holiday Releases from Catoctin Creek

Autumn is harvest time, when the summer's bounty is gathered and shared amongst family and friends. Catoctin Creek is doing their part this season by releasing not one but two limited edition fruit brandies, with release dates perfectly coordinated to fill an empty spot at the Thanksgiving table.

Here is their press release:

Just in time for the holidays, Catoctin Creek is thrilled to announce the seasonal releases of is Short Hill Mountain Peach Brandy and 1757 Virginia Brandy. Last year, both of these brandies sold out in a very short period of time. This year, we have increased our production and will have more bottles to offer.

On November 2 at noon, Catoctin Creek will release the Short Hill Mountain Peach Brandy from their tasting room on Main Street in Purcellville. The peach brandy is made entirely from Bluemont peaches, fermented and distilled and then aged in white oak barrels, bottled at 40% ABV. The peach brandy is not a sweet liqueur, but rather a dry brandy done in the style of something one would find in Germany or France. There are less than 1000 total bottles of the peach brandy this year, and will be sold exclusively at the distillery tasting room.

On November 16 at noon, Catoctin Creek will release its 1757 Virginia Brandy from the tasting room. This brandy is made from Seyval blanc and Chambourcin wine grapes from Tarara and Fabbioli Cellars, aged in Bordeaux red wine casks for a minimum of two years, and bottled at 40% ABV. 1757 is the first commercial grape brandy ever produced in the Commonwealth, and around 1100 bottles will be available this year.

"We are always excited to put out our hyper-local fruit brandies," said Becky Harris, owner and chief distiller at Catoctin Creek. "These brandies are collaborations with some of Loudoun's great wineries, like Bluemont, Tarara and Fabbioli, and the results are always wonderful."

Catoctin Creek Short Hill Mountain Peach Brandy - 40% ABV, 375ml, SRP $42.30. Star-K certified.

Catoctin Creek 1757 Virginia Brandy - 40% ABV, 750ml, SRP $49.80.

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Crafting Cocktails Across the Country

In a recent post, Grub Street NYC shared their list of 50 outstanding cocktail recipes, one each from every state in the Union. Not surprisingly, craft spirits featured heavily in that inventory, playing a role in over a quarter of these concoctions.  That’s a rather high percentage relative to the share of the total spirits market that craft currently captures, and indicative of a trend that, we feel, speaks loudly about the future.

While we highly encourage that anyone with an interest explore the entire country, trying each and every one of these amazing recipes, our personal interest is with those highlighting craft spirits, so here’s a whirlwind tour.

In Alaska, as evidenced in the words of our own Will Lascelles, the fisherman’s drink of choice is a Bloody Mary made with Alaska Distillery’s salmon flavored vodka. Delaware steps Into the Wild using Bulleit bourbon. The Denver speakeasy Williams & Graham offers up its Mixology featuring Old Tom Gin while Dry Fly provides the foundation for The Spring Whiskey Sling from Red Feather Lounge in Boise, Idaho. The key to Indianapolis watering hole Tavern on South’s contribution, the North Shore Flower, is the namesake’s own Distiller’s Gin No. 6.

The signature drink at the Devotay uses Templeton Rye. Amazing Grace in Maine is Dust to Dust, a ginger based cocktail made with Cold River vodka, and you’ll find Copper Fox at the core of the Manhattan-esque Lancaster from Rye in Baltimore, Maryland.  On the lighter side, Jackson’s Parlor Market creates its Maridel from Mississippi’s own Cathead honeysuckle vodka and Montana distillery Montgomery serves up the Black Diamond in its tasting room. New Hampshire’s Bad Apple, found at Portsmouth eatery Moxy, makes use of Flag Hill brandy.

Further south, Redemption hits the spot in the Rye Malvado from Mateo Tapas in Durham, North Carolina. OYO represents Ohio in the Crème Spritz at Mouton. Oklahoma’s version of the Manhattan, the St. Thomas Porter served at the Valkyrie, uses Low Gap whiskey. Great Lakes Distillery does the honors in Milwaukee bistro Distil’s Wisco whiskey sour, and Vermont’s own Dunc’s Mill provides the spiced maple rum for Crop Bistro’s Lost Sailor.

Last but not least, bridging the gap across the Mason-Dixon line, Bluecoat gin from Philadelphia Distilling finds its way into Richmond, Virginia café Heritage’s Brooklyn Stunner, while their neighbors to the West at the Bluegrass Kitchen offer a gin & tonic variation using a barrel aged gin from Smooth Ambler.

Clearly, artisan spirits are already well entrenched in the burgeoning craft cocktail and mixology scene. But given the exponential rate at which micro-distilleries and small batch producers are surfacing in every corner of the land, it won’t be long before every drink on this list finds its basis in a craft spirit.

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Swanson's Distillery

On Saturday I loaded the boy in the bike trailer and pedaled a few miles up the road to Swanson's Mountain View Orchards. We had planned to purchase some of their fresh picked apples and cider during the Apple Days festival at the Hamilton farmer's market a couple weekends ago but got caught up with la familia at Andean Trading Company's booth and ran out of time. Their orchard isn't far from the house, so the wife suggested I bike up there and pick some up.  It seemed like a great idea, particularly when I realized that in addition to apples and cider, Swanson's had a distillery.

I don't know how I failed to note this, as I pass by their clearly labeled sign every day. I'm pretty sure I knew it was there but just hadn't fully grasped the implications. Seems I've been so focused on micro-distilleries that I somehow missed the one an easy bike ride from my house.

The Bitterroot Valley has a long history with apples and Swanson's orchard has been producing for over 100 years. Saturday is cider pressing day and when we arrived, things were in full swing. There were several cars in the parking lot belonging to customers there for fresh picked apples and delicious cider and, of course, spirits.

Swanson's is a family owned and operated business and Lukas is the distiller. I wrangled him away from the cider press for a few moments to talk spirits and tell him about MicroShiner. We scheduled a time for me to come back for a feature and then moved over to the corner where his spirits are showcased. I sampled the aged Honey Spirits and listened while Lukas described what he was up to.

Swanson's Legendary Gold Honey Spirits are in a league all their own, literally. Lukas explained that he wanted to call it Honey Whiskey as that is the aging process that it most closely resembles, but the liquor board wasn't down. It wasn't whiskey, they said, and it wasn't brandy. In fact they didn't know what it was. No one in Montana had made spirits out of honey before.

Beside the Honey Spirits, Lukas also distills an unaged honey spirit that is great for cocktails and a popular  dessert cider called Harvest Legacy, which is a blend of unaged apple brandy and cider. He is currently aging a traditional barrel aged apple brandy he's calling Bitterroot Heritage in honor of the valley's rich apple history, and it is scheduled to be available in early 2015.

The cider press was calling, so I took a 5 pound bag of apples, a half gallon of cider and a bottle of Honey Spirits off their hands and loaded the boy and our haul into the trailer for the ride home. Needless to say I am stoked to know there is a local distiller with several barrels of brandy aging just up the road from me. Now that's a comforting thought!

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Greetings and Salutations

Welcome to MicroShiner, the definitive guide to the world of craft spirits and micro-distilleries. Our goal is to promote and advance the micro-distillation and craft spirit market by engaging connoisseurs and casual enthusiasts alike with a top-shelf interactive media experience that mirrors the high degree of craftsmanship found in the distilleries and spirits that are our focus.

With each new edition, MicroShiner will showcase the very best micro-distilleries, boutique spirits, and purveyors of fine liqueur that the world has to offer. Features will include articles on individual micro-distillers and liqueurs, as well as stories and essays on the lifestyle, culture, and industry surrounding craft distillation and boutique spirits.

We hope you will join us as we explore the best of what the world of spirits has to offer, and hopefully lead you to enjoy the efforts of a micro-distiller located right in your own backyard.

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