Flower Shop in Progress. Book in for Mother’s Day Brunch.
Our friends at Six Dutchess Farm will also be popping up with a fresh-cut flower shop from 11am - 2pm. Arrange your own in the tavern to surprise Mom at the table, or pre-order bouquets here to pick up on Sunday, May 14th during Brunch or Dinner.
Memorial Day Brunch. We’re kicking off Summertime with waffles, burgers and shandies for brunch all weekend long- even Monday, May 29th. Reservations for the holiday weekend have opened for Brunch and Dinner. Walk-in on a whim at the bar, or book a table here.
Cake Feast with Natasha Pickowictz is getting nearer. Tickets here.
We’ll be celebrating the publication of Natasha’s first book, More Than Cake, with a cake feast on Saturday, May 6. If you’re tickled by black sesame and strawberry jam sheet cake with candied lemon verbena, or into the idea of a chamomile choux crown or swirled milk buns with sorrel butter and sliced cucumbers, join the party. Expect drinks, her signature bakes, and a signing with Natasha.
All is well in our world when Ardith Mae is nuzzled by young artichokes and favas, and salad goes full-Spring with slivered asparagus, peas and gems.
See our Spring menu here.
Just in time for the Derby this weekend, our neighbors and Stissing House regulars, Cathy and Jeffrey, are sharing their favorite Mint Julep recipe–and we’re sharing their incredible story. Husband and wife Jeffrey Baker and Cathy Franklin are the founders of Hillrock Estate Distillery, the first US distillery to floor malt and hand craft whiskey on site from estate grown grain. As one of the world’s few Field-to-Glass® distilleries, they are singular in their purpose of producing world class whiskies - Single Malt, Rye and Bourbon - while also preserving and enhancing the farmland they use to grow their estate grains.
Jeffrey and Cathy had successful careers in NYC in investment banking and real estate, respectively, and Cathy still balances her real estate and Hillrock roles. Both avid wine lovers, they bought a 100 acre farm in Ancram, NY, and wanted it to feel like the greatest vineyard they had ever visited. Jeffrey grew up working on farms in western New York, so this was familiar territory for him. They quickly realized the land was best suited for crops (barley, rye and corn) that had been grown there for generations–thus whiskey, and not wine. In fact, the main 1806 Georgian house was built by a successful grain merchant. Hillrock is now farming over 1,000 acres, all within a 20 minute radius, using organic methods.
Cathy considers Hillrock a wine drinker’s whiskey and she gets very involved in the finishes that come after the initial aging process. Secondary finishes (i.e. aged in casks that once contained the following) like Napa Cabernet, Pinot Noir, Cognac, Barbados Rum and Sauternes create incredible flavor profiles that are also very smooth.
As for their meticulous process, if you’re not familiar with floor malting or what it means to hand craft whiskey in a copper pot still, we strongly encourage you to visit them, like we did, for a tour and tasting (thank you, Omar!). Highlights for us (because we could never do the full process justice in this format): The malt house was modeled after a 17th century malt house with plaster walls and period lighting. It’s the first purpose-built malt house in the US since Prohibition. Hillrock is the first distillery in the US to use the Solera aging technique for their Bourbon–moving it through four tiers of storage, starting in new charred American Oak barrels and finishing in 20 year Oloroso Sherry casks before bottling. Their copper pot still is a custom design and beautiful to behold. And while most spirits are bottled using computer-detected flavor profiles, Hillrock has distillers on site working two shifts, seven days a week, to continuously taste and determine what makes it into your bottle.
Jeffrey and Cathy are creating something they deeply love. You taste it in the whiskey and you see it when you visit the estate. They are a self-described incredibly strong, type-A family that works seven days a week–including their sons who have their own careers but still show up for whiskey tastings and events. They’re passionate about high quality, evident in the countless awards they’ve won, and they hold back any whiskey that doesn’t meet their standards. We love them for all of it.
Hillrock Tours & Tastings: Hillrock is open seven days a week from 11am-4pm (closed some holidays). They do tours every hour, on the hour.
Cathy’s Favorite Mint Julep
2 oz Hillrock Solera Bourbon
1/2 oz simple syrup
3 - 4 fresh mint leaves
In a rocks glass, gently muddle the mint leaves to release their oils. Fill the glass with crushed ice and pour the bourbon and simple syrup over the ice. Stir just long enough to blend ingredients and garnish with fresh mint