Vodkas take on local flavor in ski country

By Matt Boxler

“Live free or die,” wrote General John Stark, the Revolutionary War hero whose personal philosophy is now latched onto every vehicle registered in New Hampshire as the state’s official motto. “And long after I’m gone, put my name on a high-quality bottle of vodka for all to enjoy.”

Okay, so I made that last part up. You won’t find those words in any historical document, or license plate for that matter. Nonetheless, General Stark’s name and likeness do, in fact, appear on the label of a high-quality vodka distilled right here in New England at Flag Hill Winery & Distillery in Lee, N.H.

A dozen years ago there weren’t any. Today, Flag Hill is one of a half dozen distillers of vodka that are successfully infusing a whole new spirit to the “taste of New England” concept. When did all this happen?

“I would tell you that the interest, although seemingly sudden, has been there for quite some time and is actually part of a larger interest by the consumer in seeking out quality local products,” said Frank Reinhold Jr., Flag Hill’s owner. “In my opinion, the distilleries throughout New England as a whole have done a great job at taking products that really represent their state (potatoes from Maine, maple sap from Vermont, apples from New Hampshire) and creating vodkas that truly have a unique New England sense about them.”

Now is a good time for a quick refresher course on vodka. Did you know vodka is the most consumed spirit (by volume) in the U.S.? It can be distilled from virtually everything but the kitchen sink, as long as it contains starch and sugar. Unlike other spirits, there is no “aging” process, which means that once distilled and filtered, vodka can be immediately bottled and sold.

General John Stark Vodka begins as apple cider, pressed from local apples (New Hampshire orchards produce a million bushels of apples annually). After fermentation, the cider/mash is triple-distilled in the farm’s hand-crafted copper still and, voila, “live free ... but don’t drink and drive.” Nashoba Valley Winery in Bolton, Mass., just 30 miles from Boston, also distills vodka from apples picked on its 52-acre farm.

Forget the Putinka and the Stoli. That’s what Russian President Vladmir Putin did when he visited Kennebunkport, Maine a few months ago and was presented with bottles of Cold River Vodka from the guys at Maine Distilleries. The Russians are known worldwide for their wheat-distilled vodkas, but Cold River’s manipulation of homegrown potatoes is garnering quite a bit of international attention within vodka drinking circles.

Cold River’s potatoes are grown at Green Thumb Farms in Fryeburg, the Saco River Valley Aquifer provides the water source and the spirit is triple-distilled in a copper potstill at Maine Distilleries’ home in Freeport. The result? In its September 2007 issue, Spirit Journal awarded Cold River Vodka with five stars, its highest recommendation.

Budem zdorovy!

“We thought that the president of a country that loves vodka as much as the Russians do should taste what we call ‘The Spirit of Maine,’” said Bob Harkins, former Sunday River ski executive who is now CEO of Maine Distilleries.

Did you know maple is the “official flavor” of Vermont? No surprise, since Vermont is the largest producer of pure maple syrup in the U.S. So, it also shouldn’t be a surprise that Duncan Holaday, owner of Vermont Spirits in Passumpsic (that’s in the state’s Northeast Kingdom), produces his Vermont Spirits Gold Vodka by boiling maple sap collected from trees on his 200-acre property.

Holaday also distills vodka from milk sugars trucked in from Vermont’s Cabot Creamery. Personally, I’m waiting for Ben & Jerry’s to get in the game, which would surely spike my own personal vodka consumption. And what’s a ski column without mention of Stowe? Rest easy, because Sunshine Vodka (made from corn) is being quadruple-distilled as we speak at Green Mountain Distillers, just south of Stowe village.

It must not be practical to distill giant bowls of clam chowder or surely Nantucket-based Triple 8 would be doing so. Triple 8 distills imported organic corn and then blends it with water from Nantucket’s artesian well #888 (hence – Triple 8) to produce its popular vodkas.

After a long day on the slopes, what would be better than “The Man from Nantucket” (Triple 8 martini with garlic-stuffed black olives) as it appears on the menu at the Biltmore Room in New York; or the “Nantucket Express” (Triple 8 Vodka, Tia Maria, and espresso) from The Mews in Providence, R.I.? Or, tempt yourself with the “Spiced Apple Cranberry Martini” (Triple 8 Cranberry Vodka, Stirrings spiced apple mix and a dash of cranberry juice) from the Inn at Danbury in New Hampshire.

Next time you belly up to the bar in ski country, remember to think locally and buy locally. You may be pleasantly surprised to discover an ever-growing selection of local spirits from which to choose.

(As a part-time ski writer and part-time bartender, Matt Boxler considered himself the perfect choice for writing about New England vodka.)