Arkville, in Delaware County, now boasts an official “master distiller” as co-owner of Union Grove Distillery Brian Mulder has won the Discovery Channel competition show. During an episode of “Moonshiners: Master Distillers,” Mulder beat out two other spirit-making pros in a series of distilling challenges.
The distillery, which he owns with his wife Penny, caught the attention of the show as they were casting a ginseng episode, and one of Union Grove’s spirits, their FirGin, features wild ginseng.
Having never used moonshining equipment until the cameras were rolling, he said it was helpful to have the more experienced competition around. Inspired by the distillery’s Catskill Mountain Maple spirit, he used a maple base for his moonshine. He then put the spirit on wood chips for a barrel-aged effect, sweetened it with more maple syrup and flavored it with ginseng.
The show-winning concoction, called maple ginseng moonshine, will soon be available for purchase at Union Grove Distillery. uniongrovedistillery.com
From Grain to Glass
• Strickland Hollow Farm & Distillery, Strickland Hollow is a working cider apple farm, artisan distillery and event space built in the 1800s. stricklandhollowfarm.com
• Do Good Spirits, 10 Union Street, Roscoe. The tasting room is open year round where you can sample and buy the latest spirits in their collection. Spring through fall, there is live music, food, and cocktails on the weekends. dogoodspirits.com
• Kerr’s Creek Distillery. Kerr’s Creek Distillery began almost 100 years ago in a tiny hamlet of the Catskills, where bootleg alcohol was distilled and shipped to the “Big City” under the guise of a piano moving business. Packed in pianos the bottles were moved, undetected, delivered to countless speakeasies. kerrscreekdistillery.com
• Muddy River Farm Brewery offers farm-fresh craft beers brewed at the headwaters of the Susquehanna River. The Unadilla taproom offers a brewery experience like no other from May to October. Enjoy the laid-back vibe, a rotating menu of farm fresh craft beers, guest NYS wines and cider, a variety of delicious food trucks, and more. muddyriverfarmbrewery.com
