Caledonia Spirits.

One of the great joys of opening a bar like this is being able to meet all of the personalities behind some of our local spirits, and the folks at Caledonia Spirits in Hardwick, Vermont are no exception.

Todd Hardie has been around bees his whole life, managing hives and making value-added products from their honey, ranging from chewing gum to prostate oil, but he seems to have found his home at Caledonia. He will wax poetic about the names of his products, the farmers and all of the talented people that work there, but the true gem is their gin.

As you would expect from a distillery in Hardwick, an extremely localvore town, Todd and his team source nearly every thing, down to the flanges on the still, from nearby. The gin is made from neutral grain spirits, infused with juniper and other botanicals, and then spiked with a small amount of honey to add a hint of sweetness and body–nothing too over the top, but enough to make it a delight to drink on its own and plenty of body to stand out in a cocktail.

Though not yet carried in Maine, we hope to work with Todd and Caledonia in the near future to get them here and carry them at the Club.

Sweetgrass Distillery.

We had the great pleasure of visiting Keith and Constance Bodine at Sweetgrass Winery & Distillery. They were kind enough to take time away from their farm (and escaped sheep) to talk to us about the vast line of wines and spirits.

The couple settled in Union, Maine (the "wine capital of Maine," they say, with two total wineries) after Keith spent a career building stills and distilling programs for other people. They bought a working farm and support the farmers around them, producing on a small scale multiple products.

The stand out to us was the Cold River Gin, a clean, American-style gin and one of the better microdistilled gins we've tasted. Look for it at the Club and elsewhere in Maine.

Bastille Day.

We're not Fracophiles by any stretch. We love Maine and all things New England, but there are enough French around us (to the north), that we indulged this year to celebrate Bastille Day and took the chance to eat and drink the way we hope to facilitate at the Club: small, delicious plates, paired with some wine or a cocktail.

Take a look.