TasteCamp Maryland 2017: The Beer

TasteCamp Maryland's agenda incorporated a couple breweries and why not as the Frederick area hosts over a dozen craft breweries. The first was actually an informal stop at the Old Line State's biggest craft brewer, Flying Dog Brewery.  This was my first visit to the tasting room since our MyJoogTV episode and since then they added an outdoor patio and food trucks. Even thought a majority of their beers are well distributed, the tasting room provides an expanded lineup such as the Raging Bitch on cask, suggestions for combining beers as in a Black & Tan, and limited release beers like their heat series.  See The Passionate Foodie's take on the "Heat Series" Shishito Rice Ale.

Smoketown Brewing Station is located about 10 miles southwest of Frederick in the historical railroad town on Brunswick -- once a major hub for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The town is much quieter these days, more a destination for those biking the C&O Canal or kayaking on the Potomac.  Smoketown now provides these visitors with local craft beer brewed from their premises in the former Volunteer Fire Department. Make sure you ask about Walter, the resident ghost and former fireman, who is the namesake for the delicious Walter's Spirit. This high ABV Porter is aged 4 months in A. Smith Bowman Distillery barrels. Another nice high alcohol offering is the Wicked Threesome Belgian Tripel. Their lighter beers were also excellent and would hit the spot during a bike ride so try the Light Rail Lager, German Crossing Hefe, or Ashcat Pale Ale.

The final brewery stop was to Attaboy Beer, a new operation located just off Carroll Creek in historic Frederick. Think casual at this spot as Carly and Brian Ogden provide a kid friendly environment, a legal change that they requested as the Frederick County Board of License Commissioners used to outlaw minors at breweries.  The horror of such a possibility. Minors still have to leave by 9PM, but not before their parents can sample an interesting portfolio of ales and saisons. Don't leave without trying a version of Creek Life Pale Ale - this is one solid beer. 

And as always, theCompass Craft Beverage Finder can guide you to all these destinations. Cheers.

TasteCamp Maryland 2017 - The Distilleries

One of the many benefits of attending TasteCamp is that the focus extends beyond wine and always includes beer, cider, and spirits. TasteCamp Maryland was able to leverage the spontaneous and organic craft distillery eruption in the town of Frederick; today the area supports three craft distillers when two years ago, none existed. During the weekend we were able to sample spirits from these distilleries as well as from Lyon Distilling, located in Maryland's Eastern Shore.

The main spirits tasting occurred at McClintock Distilling, located in a gutted shell of a 100-year-old mechanic’s garage and owned-operated by college friends Tyler Hegamyer & Braeden Bumpers.  Their facility is ingenious, following the footsteps of the distillery's namesake McClintock Young - a renowned local inventor in the 1800’s who patented over 100 inventions.  The facility houses many of these inventions and patents, but none compare to the engineering feat in the closed-loop cooling system and water management. This process allows the distillery to reuse tons of water during the cooling process; we are talking about 50 gallons per minute recycled and reused. Their German-made 264-gallon copper still is also ingenious in that it allows the distillers to change the focus of each batch from say vodka to gin quite easily and with a little more ingenuity allows for a dry hopping process where the botanicals seep into a gin through the vapers and not the mash.

Nevertheless none of this matters if the spirits don't shine, and in this respect, the three McClintock craft spirits do shine.  The Forager Gin is infused with "botanicals inspired by native herbs found in the Appalachian Wilderness" and is refreshing in the sense that the juniper is muted. And there appears to be equivalent citrus character. The Maryland Heritage White Whiskey is based on a "historically derived rye heavy mash bill from pre-prohibition Western Maryland distilleries". The whiskey is then aged for 24 hours in oak which along with the rye provides just a hint of pepper and other spices. But the sweet and mellow corn and wheat provide the strongest influence leading to a very smooth spirit. Finally, the Epiphany Vodka is distilled from Northern Italian organic wheat and double distilled and triple filtered, a process that once again provides a clean and smooth product. Nicely done.

The same evening the two other Frederick City based distilleries poured: Dragon Distillery and Tenth Ward Distilling Company. The former was the area's first distillery when Navy veteran and businessman Mark Lambert decided it was time for a career change. Although the distillery is named after the Dungeons & Dragons game (they readily acknowledge their geekiness), the underlying influence is Mark's great-grand father "Bad" Bill Tutt.  This rebel was apparently a doctor, gambler, and moonshiner and their moonshine is based on an old family recipe. The distillery produces traditional spirits like the Joust Gin as well as many flavored spirits such as Fannie Tutt's Lemon Meringue ​Moonshine (named after Bill's wife) and the Medieval Mint Flavored Vodka. In general I hesitate sampling anything flavored but I thought the Medieval Mint Flavored Vodka was very tasty with the chocolate finish that complimented the mint. The gin was clean and not juniper heavy - as I prefer.

Monica Pearce and business partner & distiller Kyle Pfalzer opened the Tenth Ward Distillery in July 2016 and specialize in "offbeat spirits by experimenting with unconventional ingredients, recipes, and aging techniques".  The name “Tenth Ward” is a reference to the way Frederick City was divided during the late 19th century. They source locally with the grain and corn grown, malted, and\or smoked at the Rippon Lodge Farm in West Virginia. And the cider for their Applejack is sourced from McCutcheon’s, a 4th generation family owned apple manufacturing plant that has been in Frederick since 1938.  At McClintock, Pfalzer poured samples of four spirits: White Caraway Rye (80% malted rye & 20% malted barley mashed with caraway seed), Applejack (100% apple brandy aged in used bourbon barrels), Claude Counter Corn Whiskey (80% smoked corn & 20% malted barley), and the 120 proof Lindsay Stunkle Rye Whiskey (80% malted rye & 20% malted barley).  I was unsure about the Caraway Rye but dug the Applejack and Claude Counter. The apple-bourbon combo was very enticing and the smoked corn adds a peat character to the corn whiskey.  The Lindsay Stunkle was hot; next time I look forward to tasting with a little water to dampen down the alcohol.

As mentioned previously Ben Lyon, co-owner of  Lyon Distilling poured four rums at a tasting at Big Cork Vineyards. The distillery is located in the sailing village of St. Michael's and has been producing rum and whiskey since 2012.  Here we will focus on their rum where the molasses and sugar cane juice are sourced from Louisiana and fermented, distilled, and aged at Lyon. Moving from right to left we sampled the Sailors Reserve Rum, Bijoo Batch Rum, Curacao Orange Liqueur Rum, and their Coffee Rum. The first two were solid sipping neat, full of flavor and little burn.  I wasn't sure about the Curacao, but loved the Coffee. In fact went back for seconds and thirds. I need to schedule a visit this summer. Cheers.

TasteCamp: The Hudson River Region AVA

Benmarl Winery & Vineyard

Millbrook Vineyards

View from Glorie Farm Winery

Whitecliff Vineyard & Winery

Although my first posts concerning TasteCamp focused on cider and spirits, the Hudson Valley wine industry was the primary focal point of the trip. During the weekend, I probably tasted close to 75 New York wines, with about half  Hudson River Region (HRR) designated. Leading up to the weekend, I gained a better knowledge and appreciation of the Hudson Valley by participating in a #WineStudio series focusing on the region. For instance, the Hudson Valley is home to the oldest continually operating winery in the U.S. (Brotherhood America's Oldest Winery) as well as the oldest continually used vineyard, now part of  Benmarl Winery & Vineyard. Wine making did not return to the Hudson in a commercial sense, post prohibition, until the Farm Winery Bill was passed in 1976. The drivers of that project were John Dyson - the State Commissioner of Agriculture - and owner of Millbrook Vineyards & Winery and John Miller of Benmarl. By utilizing estate grown grapes (amended two years later to allow any NY grapes), New York wineries received lower taxes, the ability to sell directly to consumers, and to self-distribute. And as importantly, it encouraged the retention and growth of vineyards. Thus, the New York wine industry owes its current renaissance to two pioneers in the Hudson.

In most cold climate regions, French-Hybrids usually dominate and in the HRR, Seyval is a leading white grape. Before this weekend I think the only Seyval I tasted that left an impression was from Linden Vineyards. In most other cases they were just average nondescript wines. However, I tasted several tasty Hudson Valley Seyvals - starting with Clinton Vineyards - who not only, only produce wine from Seyval, but they also produce champagne methodoise versions. These were quite nice, citrus and effervescent. Hudson-Chatham Winery and Glorie Farm Winery both featured Seyval that were dry, light, fruit forward, with a lemon-citrus and acidic finish. And the Whitecliff Vineyard & Winery White Awosting is a very tasty blend of Vignoles and Seyval Blanc. Another benefit of these Seyval wines are their low price points, $15 on average.

But, let's talk Hudson River Region vinifera. Starting with whites, I tasted several nice Rieslings over the weekend, with most produced from fruit sourced from the Finger Lakes. The exception was Tousey Winery, where we were provided a vertical tasting of their 2011 to 2013 Estate Grown Hudson River Rieslings. These wines were fantastic, each different, but showcasing the stone fruits and acidity inherent and American Riesling. Owners Kimberly and Ben Peacock have an interesting story as well, agreeing to take over operations while visiting from Europe. It also helps that Peter Bell, of Fox Run Vineyards, is a consultant. Millbrook Vineyards & Winery also produces a HRR Riesling in their Dry Riesling Proprietor's Special Reserve -- another solid wine. Millbrook also produces a very respectable chardonnay, as well as one of my favorites of the weekend - the 2013 Proprietor’s Special Reserve Tocai Friulano. Simply delicious. And talking about trendsetters; Millbrook has been growing Tocai Friulano since 1985.

Moving to red wines, the Hudson River Region appears to be a bright sport for Cabernet Franc and Baco Noir. Once again Millbrook Vineyards & Winery provided our party with a solid offering in their Proprietor’s Special Reserve Cabernet Franc. This was followed by the Glorie Farm Winery estate Cabernet Franc - which quickly became a TasteCamp favorite. And count Tousey Winery as another winery producing a solid cab franc. While driving around the Marlboro area the day after TasteCamp, I stumbled upon newly opened Brunel and Rafael Winery. Check out their Hudson River Region Cabernet Franc. My favorite goes to Benmarl's 2012 Ridge Road Estate Cabernet Franc. This is the bomb. One of the best wines of the weekend.

Our host for TasteCamp was the proprietor of Hudson-Chatham Winery, Carlo Devito. Carlo planned the entire weekend, which included a lunch tasting of area wines and ciders at his winery - all this in the middle of harvest. While his winemaker Stephen Casscles & crew crushed grapes, Carlo also opened his entire portfolio for us to sample. And this included several Baco Noirs, Carlo's most famous wines. There are not many producers of this hybrid anymore, but Hudson-Chatham specializes in Baco Noir as we sampled four vineyard designate wines. The estate vineyard at Hudson-Chatham,  North Creek Vineyard, has four year old vines growing in Block 3 - hence the Block 3 North Creek Vineyard Baco Noir. The also produce theCasscles Middle Hope Baco Noir  from a vineyard Casscles planted while in high school. What foresight. My favorite two were from Mason Place Vineyard, the  Field Stone Baco - Old Stones & Old Vines - Mason Place Vineyard and the Old Vines Mason Place Vineyard. This last wine is outstanding, the grapes harvested from 60 year old vines.

There were also several other reds to praise, in particular, the Hudson-Chatham Winery Chelois, Clearview Vineyard Noiret, and Whitecliff Vineyard & Winery Reserve Gamay Noir. First, who in the U.S. even produces a Chelois outside of Hudson-Chatham. Second, its a killer wine.  The Clearview Noiret was easily the best I've ever tasted from this Cornell bred grape. And the Whitecliff Gamay Noir was simply spectacular.

There are many other wines I know I am omitting, but I'm trying to be brief. Tastecamp was a great education and experience. Looking forward to returning soon, hopefully a tour of the southern Shawangunk Wine Trail. Cheers.

Discovering #HudsonValley Spirits During #TasteCamp: Part II

In Part I - Hillrock Estate Distillery of my TasteCamp series, I described the field to glass philosophy of Hillrock Estate Distillery and expressed surprise at the breadth of Hudson Valley distilleries. In historical terms, I shouldn't have been. In the early 1800's, New York, with major help from the Hudson Valley region, produced over half of this country's barley and rye. And with these grains, distilleries followed. In fact, approximately 1,200 farm distilleries were operating in the Empire state when Prohibition destroyed the industry.  In recent years, the distillation industry in New York has slowly materialized, thanks in large part by entrepreneurs in the Hudson Valley.

Ralph Erenzo is the face of the spirits industry in New York, both as co-owner of Tuthilltown Spirits and the driving force behind the four year effort to pass the Farm Distillery License Act. According to EdibleManhattan.com, Erenzo "was researching the possibility of booze-making and discovered a little-known 2000 law on the books that allowed locavore micro-distilling at a greatly reduced licensing rate. The state had slashed the $65,000 distilling permit to just $1,500 — so long as the producer was a little guy, making less than 35,000 gallons a year. "  When Tuthilltown was founded in 2003, it was the only farm distillery in the state; today, thanks to the Farm Distillery License Act, there are over 40. As long as distilleries use NY grain or fruit, they can self-distribute - ignoring wholesalers when suitable - and sell directly from the tasting room.  


I visited Tuthilltown and learned that their award winning bourbons were not the first products Brian Lee (Erenz's founding partner, distiller, and principle investor) produced. It was actually the Indigenous Empire State Wheat Vodka (80 proof / 40% abv, $27) and Indigenous Fresh Pressed Apple Vodka (80 proof / 40% abv, $37). Both very smooth and also used as the base for the Half Moon Orchard Gin (92 proof / 41% abv, $37). In addition, the distillery produces a Hudson Valley favorite, cassis, with their Cassis Liqueur (44 proof / 22% abv, $24) -"created by hand-harvesting organically grown local fruit and macerating it with raw cane sugar in a neutral spirit for 4 months in Tuthilltown Whiskey-cured barrels." The result is a tart and tannic port styled liqueur. Quite tasty. And then there's the world class whiskeys: from the Hudson New York Corn Whiskey (92 proof / 41% abv, $41) to the Hudson Single Malt Whiskey (92 proof / 41% abv, $41 375ml), Hudson Manhattan Rye (92 proof / 41% abv, $41 375ml), and Hudson Four Grain bourbon whiskey (92 proof / 41% abv, $41 375ml). The Hudson Maple Rye Whiskey (92 proof / 41% abv, $41 375ml) is an interesting twist - aging the base of the Manhattan Rye in used maple syrup barrels. The whiskey retains a fair bit of rye character with subtle maple notes.  Like Hillrock Estate, this whiskey does not come cheap; but boy are they oh so good. 

The growth in the Hudson Valley distillery industry due to the Farm Distillery License Act led our TasteCamp party to Hillrock Estate and the Saturday morning spirits tasting.  A dozen distillers participated in this event - which organizer Carlo Devito billed as the largest single tasting of Hudson Valley spirits in modern times. And appropriately, Tuthilltown participating pouring their Indigenous brand, the Half Moon Orchard Gin, and Cassis Liqueur.  I started the tasting with Millbrook Distillery, founded by Paul Coughlin and Gerald Valenti in Dutchess County. Their Dutchess Private Reserve Straight Bourbon Whiskey (90 proof / 45% abv, $37) is made from local corn and rye (25%) with natural spring water from Rolling Hills Farm.  Plenty of caramel to finish off this very drinkable bourbon. 

Warwick Valley Winery & Distillery table was vacant, so I parked in front in order to sample their Black Dirt Distillery series - named after the fertile soil in Orange County. The Black Dirt Bourbon (90 proof / 45% abv, $45) produced from 80% corn, 12% barley, and 8% rye and aged a minimum of three years in new American Oak. The result is a clean, slightly honey sweet whiskey with the rye coming through in the tail. I'm a lover of apple jack and was excited with the Black Dirt Apple Jack (100 proof / 50% abv, $45) made from Jonagold apples and aged in charred new American oak. This starts with honey and vanilla which then yields to the apple profile, finishing with pie spices. Nicely done. The final offering was the Warwick Gin (80 proof / 40% abv, $27) and uses classic botanicals such as juniper, coriander, angelica root, and anise. It also includes lemon and lime peels which gives it a citrusy profile.

Nearby, Dutch's Spirits had the most interesting spirit, Sugar Wash Moonshine (80 proof / 40% abv, $28), a 100% cane neutral spirit produced in small batches from pure Demerara sugar. Very clean with hopscotch notes. Sugar Wash is a traditional moonshine recipe when corn is scarce and is a perfect fit for this distillery's past. There's too much to convey for the full story, but click here to read it's connections to mobster Dutch Schultz and his clandestine underground distillery. Co-founder Ariel Schlein was also pouring the distillery's Peach Brandy (80 proof / 40% abv, $42) - subtle peach and very smooth. They also concocted a cocktail of the Moonshine, hard cider, and house made bitters - delicious.


The newest player in the Hudson Valley spirits is Denning's Point Distillery, who just celebrated their Grand Opening September 20th. They were pouring two products, the VisKill Vodka and Beacon Whiskey. The vodka is distilled from a mash of Finger Lakes winter wheat and is quite smooth. The Beacan Whiskey is light, smooth, with hints of caramel.

I wish I had more time to spend with Angus MacDonald, Master Distiller of Coppersea Distilling.Like Hillrock Estate Distillery, Coppersea floor malts and mills their grain - for the later sourced from various Hudson Valley farms. However, I was given the two minute warning to hurry up so savored their Pear and Peach Eau De Vie as well as the Coppersea Green Malt Rye (90 proof / 45% abv) - a 100% malted rye whisky made from unkilned malt (unroasted malt). Very limited quantities for this herbal treat.

While walking out I noticed that Hudson Valley Distillers, LLC had arrived and were sampling more Apple Jack. The bus could wait a little longer, right? This veteran owned distillery is owned and operated by Thomas Yozzo and Chris Moyer, who utilize the fruit from Moyer's Spirits Grove Farm orchard. They also built greenhouses to grow botanicals for their future Tom’s Old Tom gin. I quickly sampled the Adirondack Applejack ($25 350ml) and the Hardscrapple Applejack ($25 350ml). The former was aged in white oak barrels like an whiskey while the later is produced to align more with Scotch. The latter also honors Chancellor Robert Livingston, entrepreneur,  contributor to the  Declaration of Independence, and former owner of the land that now includes Spirits Grove Farm. That's the beauty of the burgeoning Hudson Valley distilling industry. Young, but loads of history in every bottle. And the Hardscrapple is more like a whiskey than applejack - toasted nuts, vanilla, and caramel. Very nice.

Unfortunately the bus spirited us off to our next destination and I failed to sample from Harvest Spirits Farm Distillery and Catskill Distilling Company . Next trip for sure. Cheers to Hudson Valley Distillers.

Discovering #HudsonValley Spirits During #TasteCamp: Part I - Hillrock Estate Distillery

Before my TasteCamp trip to the Hudson Valley, I was vaguely familiar with a few area distilleries: Tuthilltown bourbon,  Demarest Hill Winery grappa, and Warwick Valley Winery & Distillery. But that was the extent of my experience  - until the TasteCamp spirits tasting at Hillrock Estate Distillery - which, in the words of Through the Bunghole, was EPIC. Not only did we learn about the premiere "field-to-glass" distillery that hosted the event, but a dozen other Hudson valley distilleries sent representatives to showcase their products - exhibiting a fascinating range of spirits made from locally grown grain or fruit.

Hillrock Estate is the first of its kind in the United States (post-prohibition, that is): a field-to-glass distillery. In other words, the estate grows rye and barley, malts the grain on site (using imported peat), and distills the fermenting mash into whiskey. Thus total control over all aspects of production.  Our tour started in the courtyard framed partially by two restored buildings, one a 1806 Georgian house built by a successful grain merchant and Revolutionary War Captain.

In the background were fields of organically grown heirloom rye. Once harvested, the grain from each plot is floor malted - a labor intensive process that requires the grain to be raked every 6-8 hours over the thee day germination process. The raking releases heat and carbon dioxide while spreading moisture - promoting consistent germination. When the required amount of starch has been produced, the grain is air dried, and de-culmed to remove the rootlets. At Hillrock Estate, the grain is most likely roasted using imported Scottish peat to add a degree of smokiness to the finished product.


Proprietor Jeff Baker was able to acquire the services of Master Distiller Dave Pickerell  (of Maker's Mark fame) to manage the estate's operations. Distiller Tim Welly, former cellar master at Millbrook Winery,  lead our group through the distillation process as we sampled several bins of sour mash - noticing the changing sweetness-sourness ratio of the fermenting mash. We also tasting a recently distilled heart - straight from the 250-gallon custom copper-pot still - very smooth and sweet.

Pickerell then lead us through a tasting of three Hillrock Estate whiskeys, starting with the world's first Solera Aged Bourbon. The process takes six years so the initial bourbon is mature "seed" bourbon sourced by Pickerell. Like any bourbon, this whiskey was aged in new oak barrels and then a percentage is transferred to small oak barrels containing Hillrock Estate whiskey. The final step is finishing a percentage of the small oak whiskey in 20 year old Olorosa Sherry casks.  No barrel is fully emptied in the Solera process so the whiskey matures with increased complexity. Over time, the estate bourbon will eventually replace the seed bourbon.  The Solera Aged Bourbon (46.3% ABV / 92.6 Proof, $80-$90) showcases some spicy rye flavors, mingling with caramel and cinnamon, and finishes with figs and nuts.

The next two whiskeys were pure estate spirits, starting with the Hillrock Estate Single Malt Whiskey (48.2% ABV / 96.4 Proof, $105-$120), produced in the lighter Speyside style. The barley was harvested from the estate with very little peat used during roasting. The spirit was then aged two years, resulting in a smooth, lighter whiskey but full of sweet spices - cinnamon and clove particularly. The final whiskey was the Hillrock Estate Double Cask Rye (45% ABV / 90 Proof, $80-$95) - 100% rye straight from the estate's 250 acre rye plantings. The spirit is first aged in new oak with a #3 charcoal and then finished in new oak with a #4 charcoal - hence the Double Cask. This is a bold and spicy whiskey, full of caramel and sweet raisins to balance the rye. I believe I found a favorite. Public tastings are also available at the distillery - check theCompass Winery Brewery Distiller Locator app for directions. Cheers to Jeff Baker and his team at Hillrock Estate.  Next up, the best of Hudson Valley spirits.