Category: Distilling & Cocktails

Last weekend the some members of the Portland food blogger crew got together to for the 5th annual Obscure Holiday Cocktail Party. As in past years, each of the 6 entries were custom paired with cheeses selected by Shannon Tallman, CPP.

My entry this year was the (mostly) locally sourced Want Knot:

1 oz. Maine Craft Distilling Alchemy Gin
1 1/3 oz. Cochi Americano Blanco
1 oz. White Grapefruit Juice
1 oz. Honey Syrup (1 part Japanese Knotwood Honey from The Honey Exchange, 2 parts water)
1/2 tsp. Beast Feast Maine Ghost Pepper Infused Maple Syrup (available at Vena’s Fizz House)
4 drops Coastal Root Cocktail Bitters
1 Orange Twist

Check out these articles from The Blueberry Files, Vrai-lean-uh, and Map & Menu for more recipes and details on the party.

Nathaniel Meiklejohn aka Nan’l aka The Bearded Lady will be running a pop-up bar at SPACE Gallery this Friday, 5:30-9. The pop-up bar is the first of an ongoing monthly series.

Meiklejohn was part of the team that produced the Pocket Brunch series in 2012 and 2013.

The Morning News has published an article about Maine’s top-selling spirit, Allen’s Coffee Brandy.

Portland (and the state beyond it) may have bars full of local taps; its brewers guild may be growing so fast that it actually needed to hire an executive director. And the state may even be moving past the micro-brew renaissance toward craft liquors made of nothing but Maine potatoes, but if there’s any drink that holds Maine’s heart, it’s Allen’s, a liquor made in Massachusetts.

Peter Peter Portland Eater has posted a report on his recent experience touring New England Distilling.

I enjoyed learning about the grains, molasses, and yeast that contribute to the culmination of great spirits, but after staring at the beautiful barrels of unbottled booze, I was definitely ready to try the products. New England Distilling has two products currently – Ingenium Dry Gin and Eight Bells Rum – with an as-of-yet-unnamed rye whiskey on the way this month. We proceeded to the front counter ready to try a couple sips of the rum and gin but were told we could also try the new rye before it came out in stores.

Mainely Spirits magazine has published an article about Andrew Volk and the Portland Hunt & Alpine Club (website, facebook, twitter).

Mainely Spirits is a publication of the Maine Beverage Company. The current issue isn’t online. To read the article click on the photo above for a large scale image.

Mainebiz has published an article about Maine’s small but growing spirits industry.

Luke Davidson sounds like a man whose head is spinning, a product of learning a lot about business in a little time. When Davidson opened the doors to Maine Craft Distilling in Portland this July, he didn’t expect the large crowds that flocked to his East Bayside business to taste the distillery’s craft batches of rum and vodka. The crowd surge created a number of logistical challenges, and it was all he could do to keep a supply of clean glasses and purchase bags handy.