Like Their T-Shirt Says, Think Globally, Drink Locally


Those folks determined to "buy locally" will be pleased to know of some new products within easy reach.

They would be gin, vodka and rum.

Yep, locally made booze has come to the Berkshires, and I’m not talking about a little still hidden deep in the woods that churns out white lightning at midnight.

Quite the opposite.

Christopher Weld, a native New Englander, spent 14 years on the West Coast. But Yankee roots run deep and he couldn’t resist the opportunity to move his family back East when an opportunity presented itself. That came in the purchase of Soda Springs Farm, a 73-acre spread in Sheffield, MA, and the site of two natural springs.

At one time, these springs were exploited for their supposed medicinal value and they precipitated a resort, a health spa and a manufacturer of remedies for gout and other miseries.

In time, the land was turned over to growing apples.

Now the springs still provide pure water, sans hype, for this new operation.

And what an operation it is. Weld has put together a super-efficient, modern-day, distillery, the first legal one in the Berkshires since Prohibition.

Under one barn roof, Berkshire Mountain Distillers turns out by hand small batches of Greylock Gin, Ice Glen Vodka, and Ragged Mountain Rum.

You may well ask how this could happen at this microdot on the map, far from the hubs of industry and promotional clamor.

Well, it happened primarily because Weld (yes, they are related. The distiller is former Massachusetts Governor William Weld’s nephew)has worked in biochemistry. Plus, he not only understands how distilling works, he is sensitive to the nuances.

Distilling is one thing, creating a singular product is another.

In the case of Berkshire Mountain Distillers, each of the spirits is produced by hand and in small batches. And, even though my visit took place at 10 a.m., I tasted — barely sipped a small sample — a few of these products.

All gin would taste pretty much the same if it weren’t for the "botanicals" added for flavor. In the Greylock Gin, those botanicals hint of herbs and perhaps a touch of citrus.

In the case of the Ragged Mountain Rum, aging in oak barrels adds something special. One sip told me this was a rum for, well, sipping, almost like a cognac. Sorry, I didn’t get to sample the Ice Glen Vodka — by my choice. Given that vodka is colorless and odorless, to me it’s only a half-step away from tasteless. I was told, however, that Ice Glen towers over many a premium vodka, those that have made their marks primarily through clever promotion and advertising.

I suggest that the curious make that journey of discovery on their own.

Berkshire Mountain products, available already in Berkshire County, will be available within weeks, in Connecticut, as well.

I should also point out that Weld employs every possible eco-friendly method both in his distillation process and the disposal of what is hard to call waste. Almost everything is reused, recycled, and returned to the land.

And the old apple orchard still thrives, as well it should.

Alas, Berkshire Mountain Distillers is not equipped to handle visitors and tours.

If you would like more information, the best way to make contact is through their Web site: www.berkshiremountaindistiller.com. That’s how you can obtain their T-shirts, too, the one that says Think Globally, Drink Locally.

 

 

 

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