There is so many good things to say about Westford Hill Distillers.
I've been raving about them to friends and family for years since a field trip I went on with my UConn plant science 101 course. We could only smell the eau-de-vie that they make on premise at their farm/house in Ashford, but I knew even at 18 years old that something was seriously special about this place and the owners (Margaret and Louis Chatey).
They recently had an article written about their distillery in the Hartford Advocate (see here: http://www.ct.com/entertainment/leisure/nm-ht05cvrstory1distilleries-20130129,0,2546820.story, so people are catching on to what amazing work these two are doing in Ashford.
I became enthralled by their passion and dedication for creating quality, small-batch, refined clear brandy after the field trip in 2006. Louis and Margaret make their eau-de-vie brandies out of serious fruit: raspberries, cherries, pears, etc. They also make a pear brandy that has a pear inside of it (they get an orchard specialist to tie glass bottles around the growing plant to ensure that the pear grows inside the bottle). Margaret and Louis care deeply about their product and it's apparent in every way: for example, their bottling specifically (wax dipped tops matching the labels, serpentine labels twisting around tapered pillar shaped bottles) never ceases to amaze me.
That's not even getting to the liquor yet. I'll be completely honest here, I'd bought the liquor for friends and family as gifts for years and raved about the distillery, but had never actually tried the brandy myself. That is, until the Yelp Prohibition Party at the Russian Lady, where Margaret and Louis were handing out samples of their eau-de vie in the form of a "Rose" cocktail (a crisp and refreshing mixture of their kirsch, dry vermouth and grenadine) and vodka. The eau-de-vie definitely has some serious bite, but the fruit flavor and aroma provides some mellowing.
Check out Westford Hill Distillers on June 8, they are having an open house at the distillery from 10-4 pm (normally they only allow tours by appointment). This is a great chance to learn more about another local distillery (besides Onyx) and support the arduous (time consuming and expensive) work that goes into distilling. More information can also be found on their website!
I'm a huge fan and cheerleader of this company and I still have so much more to learn about what they do, so I will most likely try to attend this open house! read more