November 25, 2014December 12, 2019newsletters, Thornhill Farm

November Newsletter 2014

Building a sustainable Caledonia Cooperage

We have gathered white oak in the Champlain Valley of Vermont to make barrels. Each log is over 100 years old and grows very slowly in this cool climate, the northern limit of the white oak. Because of the national barrel shortage, we started this project to make barrels, and this required a forester to find white oak, a sawyer to quarter saw the wood, and a cooper to make the barrels. This will allow us to support our farm partners and use more organic rye and corn.

The harvest of these logs in the woods is very carefully mapped out. The consulting forester, my brother-in-law Joe Nelson, has a long term relationship with this land and family.

Below is a healthy forest after logging: hemlock on the left, pines in the background, and hardwoods — mostly white oak, along with maple and beech. Vermont has a Land Use program in which forests and fields are taxed at their forest and agricultural value, not the value of the land on the open market, which would make much of the land too expensive for landowners to hold on to and continue to use in agriculture and forestry. With this careful, sustainable management, the forests are actually healthier after this light, selective harvesting.

The white oak used for whiskey barrels must be of the highest quality available, and is cut and handled in a very precise manner. The sawyer must perfectly quarter saw the wood in order to properly orient the open pores and grain so that the barrel will not leak. The oak will then be carefully stacked and allowed to air dry, preserving the natural resins, sugars and other organic compounds which flavor and color the finest whiskeys.

Below: Bob Hockert, our cooper (on the left), helps to pile the wood after it comes off of the saw mill, where Toby is sending more logs through to be quarter sawn.

“This oak is a cooper’s dream, with perfectly straight, tight grain and a sweet, highly fragrant nose. Being here during sawing you can just smell the whiskey in the air – this is a wonderful stand of timber. How long it’ll take to dry is anyone’s guess, but a good estimate would be in the 9 – 12 month range. Allowing the wood to age naturally in the open air will enable it to develop its own localized and unique flavor profile. This, along with the minerals and soil conditions these trees grew in, will impart a distinct flavor which will differentiate this whiskey from any produced elsewhere. Over the next year, Ryan will develop a relationship with this wood and these barrels and use this terroir to create a superb spirit”. –Bob Hockert, Cooper

The forester, the sawyer, the cooper, and the distillery all working together are going to make remarkable barrels for our spirits. Meanwhile, Phoebe just wants me to keep throwing wood for her to fetch and bring back.

thank you for your interest in and support of our work with organic honey, grains, and elderberry,

Todd D. Hardie

November 9, 2014January 10, 2020Live from the Hive

Live From the Hive: November 2014

Honey in jars — Honey Harvest, Thistle Hill Apiary

“Honey, the Magical Food” by Annie Watson, Thistle Hill Studio

Imagine a food which has an incomparable rich sweet flavor, never spoils, and contains proteins, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. That’s honey.

Honey is truly a magical substance. For thousands of years it was the only sweetener known to man. It’s mentioned in many ancient texts, from the Bible, to the Quran, to Hindu scriptures. It’s deeply embedded in the folklore of many cultures. Zeus, king of the Greek gods, was raised on honey. It stays fresh, too: thousands-of-years-old honey was found in Egyptian tombs, ready to eat.

Raw honey offers us amino acids, enzymes, vitamins B and C, a bouquet of nourishing minerals, and antioxidants. Its simple sugars, glucose and fructose, are more easily digested, and its glycemic index lower, than cane sugar. Honey has amazing healing properties. In the case of burns, honey heals faster and more completely than silver sulfadiazine, the standard treatment. And did you know that bacteria cannot live in honey?

The best thing about honey is that it tastes good. Depending on what flowers the bees have foraged on, different honeys treat us to subtle yet distinctive changes in flavor; but all are sweet and delicious! Raw honey has better flavor and a higher nutritional value than honey that’s been heated to keep it liquid. Heating honey causes the loss of hundreds of beneficial components.

The honey that goes into Caledonia Spirits Barr Hill gin is 100% raw. Fresh honey direct from the hive is truly “food for the gods”, and we are blessed to be able to partake.

September 30, 2014January 10, 2020Live from the Hive

Live From the Hive: October 2014

honey bee on aster — A honey bee on an aster flower.

“Asters” by Annie Watson, Thistle Hill Studio

On a recent sunny afternoon walk, I spotted fall-blooming aster flowers alive with pollinators such as wasps, solitary bees, butterflies, and honey bees, all loading up on pollen and nectar.

Aster flowers come in many colors and sizes, from the rich violet-colored New England Aster to the not-so-showy Bushy Aster, a 1 to 3-foot tall leafy plant that can be covered with small white flowers with yellow centers. While not spectacular to look at, this plant provides food and cover for many creatures. Wild turkeys, goldfinches, chipmunks, and white-footed mice, to name a few, eat the seeds, while the leaves are eaten by deer and rabbits. The flower depends on insects for pollination and in turn provides them with food. The plant’s leafy foliage also provides shelter for butterflies, spiders, voles and mice, frogs and toads, birds, and many insects. Amazing plants!