10 Years of Branchwater
November 2024
We do things with intention here - even blogs! In fact, this first post falls on Branchwater’s 10-year anniversary. So much - too much - has happened in the past decade to squeeze into one edition. So, we’ll be sprinkling some of our story into future posts for all you history buffs out there.
Our hope is to share monthly musings, in which you can read about topics ranging from what we are currently distilling to what a bumblefoot infection is. We will share news from our fields as well as our farm store, and we’ll share our favorite cocktails and recipes with you here too. We will tell you what events to put on your calendars, maybe do a spotlight on people in our community. We may even ask you to roll up your sleeves and come help us on chicken processing day! We will definitely have lots of farm animal stories to share with you, and we may feel inspired to write a farm-inspired haiku for you on occasion as well. We want to hear from you too. Please send us your questions, suggestions and good vibes. This farming thing is hard! We will post our monthly newsletters here as a blog so you can return to past editions in one easy space.
Thank you for following along - for all, or even a part of this farm journey! We are excited to see what the next decade holds.
We bought the farm that would become Branchwater in January 2014 and said our vows under the Swamp Oak next to the big red barn on October 26th of the same year, solidifying our commitment to this land and to one another.
Our initial plan for the farm was to plant apple orchards for cider making. We also briefly considered making cheese, although neither of us had ever milked a lactating animal before. And, with both of our backgrounds firmly entrenched in the wine business, we toyed with the idea of planting vineyards and making a go at winemaking. We ultimately scrapped that idea as well.
Luckily, having invested most of the money we had in purchasing the farm, we did not have a lot left over to dive into any business endeavor. That ended up being a true blessing, as it forced us to just sit with the land, and to observe it for several seasons. That valuable time allowed us to formulate an idea and to plant seeds that would lead to us focusing our efforts on small grain cultivation and the age-old art of distillation. And, we had friends in the right places to help us get started. <insert cliffhanger here!> More on that in a future post!
What we’re mixing up these days
The distillery is chock full of projects at the moment and we’re balancing new undertakings with spirits that need a little more time to best express themselves. You can’t hurry love, and you can’t hurry good spirits.
If you’re not already familiar with what we do in the distillery, you can basically frame us as producers of eau-de-vie, the French word for brandy meaning “water of life.” Sometimes they’re made from fruit, sometimes they’re made from grain…and sometime in the (near) future they will be made from…<insert cliffhanger here!>… vegetable! In the European tradition, these are not sweet and they are meant to be enjoyed as a sipping spirit.
Here are a few of the things living in the barrels and tanks in the distillery at the moment:
Cranberries – in the fall of 2023 we processed 5,000 pounds of fruit from the only cranberry bog we know of in New York State, Deer River Cranberry in Brasher Falls. It has been aging for a year in tank and we’d hoped to have it bottled and ready for your Thanksgiving tables this year, but it’s not quite ready so you’ll just have to wait (see what I did there?!)
English Morello Cherries – we were so excited to get our hands on this fruit! 2023 was an extremely difficult year for Hudson Valley orchardists and when we got the call from our friend Bob Fix confirming he could get us the cherries we wanted this year, we jumped on it. We processed 5,000 pounds of this prized sour cherry in August and the spirit is already tasting great and we’re hoping for a Spring release. This is going to be a very small release, somewhere between 400-500 bottles so stay tuned!
Bartlett Pears – our 2023 bottling will be released very soon and it’s a crowd pleaser! 2024 is in the process of coming to life. We processed 6 tons of Bartletts from Fix Brothers a few weeks ago and the distillery has smelled like heaven ever since! We love pears. Speaking of which, have you tried our Bosc Pear Brandy yet?
Vermouth – the rumors are true, we’ve made both a dry and a sweet vermouth but no you can’t have any just yet! But rest assured you will have the opportunity to experience a full-fledged Branch-hattan and Branch-tini at some point in the very near future.
We have collaborated with our friends at Rose Hill Ferments on brandied cherries using Rose Hill Balaton sour cherries and brandy we fermented and distilled from Rose Hill apple juice. A very limited quantity will be available this holiday season!
This summer we launched a series called Fridays at the Farm. Each featured Friday highlighted one of the spirits we produce, with several cocktail variations on that spirit, as well as classic cocktails, wine, cider beer and specialty food boards.
As a farm distillery, we are only permitted to serve New York State spirits, so all of the cocktail ingredients had to come from NYS distilleries. Most of the cocktails were created for us by our very talented friend, Ryan Fitzgerald who is a partner in ABV in San Francisco. Ryan also had the fantastic idea to name the cocktails after our farm animals, so it makes for a truly Branchwater experience.
This one has become a fall favorite of ours
Buster – drinks a little bit like a Negroni
1 oz Branchwater Apple Brandy
1 oz Method Dry Vermouth
1 oz Faccia Brutto Aperitivo
Build over a big rock, stir a bit and garnish with a quartered apple slice. Savor and enjoy!
What’s up…duck?
As many of you know, we raise ducks on our farm – both for eggs and for meat. We have 2 groups of ducks here. One group, our domesticated “mallard-derived” ducks are here for eggs and entertainment. We also raise Muscovy ducks because they are utterly amazing and anyone remotely interested in ducks should learn more about them.
Just a few fun facts about Muscovies:
They are “silent” birds. They bob their heads and wag their tails to communicate. Females make small, sweet peeps and trills, especially when they are broody, and males will make a hissing sound when excited but otherwise, no quackers here. When we put the ducks to bed at night one coop sounds like a 10-year-old slumber party inside and the other sounds like no one is home.
Muscovies can breed with domesticated ducks but their offspring, known as “mullards,” will be sterile, much like mules as a result of horses and donkeys breeding. Biology is super cool, isn’t it?
They are excellent mothers! When a female goes broody, she will form a clutch of 8-16 eggs and then incubate them for 35 days, leaving the nest only for brief moments to eat, drink and poop. We allow our Muscovy mothers to fulfill their natural instincts and as a result the Muscovy ducks we raise for meat are a completely on-farm product.
We harvested a small batch of ducks on Oct 14th with help from friends. We have only a few frozen whole roasters left. We also have several packs of duck breasts, something new we’re offering this year.
And if you’re into humanely raised birds, we still have some frozen chickens from our summer harvest. Many of our friends swear by our chickens, so if you haven’t tried one yet, pick one up next time you’re here. All of our birds are raised on pasture and their naturally foraged diets are supplemented with certified organic feed from Stone House Grain, just up the road from us in Hudson
Kevin’s Spice Roasted Muscovy Duck:
~In a saute pan, add a tablespoon each of whole corriandor, whole cumin, whole mustard seed, fennel seed, and a teaspoon of red pepper flakes. Heat over low heat until aromas come out, about 5-10 minutes. Put in mortar and pestle or coffee grinder and coarsely grind.
~Pat the duck dry. (if using a Pekin or fatter duck, you need to prick the skin all over, without penetrating the meat. For Muscovy, which is leaner, do not prick the skin.)
~Salt the cavity of the duck.
~Rub the skin all over with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and dried spice blend.
~Put duck on a rack in roasting pan. Place in preheated oven at 400˚ for 30 minutes, then, depending on weight, roast for 45min-1hr 15min at 350˚ until skin is crispy and internal temperature is to your liking.
~Let duck rest 10 minutes.
We like to carve the breasts off to eat with a crunchy salad and roasted veggies and we keep the leg meat as leftovers for salads, rice dishes, etc.
Please use that carcass to make a rich, warming duck stock which is great this time of year. We especially love it as the base for beans.
Quick Branchwater Provisions plug here…
You all know we have a tasting room and farm store in the distillery, right?
We are open to the public Thursday-Sunday 12-5pm and by appointment.
We offer flights of our spirits for those of you interested in tasting what we produce here, like these gorgeous superhumans, Ryan and Hayley. (Ryan created most of the cocktails for our Fridays at the Farm series and Hayley handles our branding and design.)
We also have a well-curated farm store. In addition to our products, we offer a selection of local dairy, meat, canned goods, and pantry items as well as New York State beers, ciders, wines, and spirits.
AND… we now carry Sparrowbush breads! We offer it on Friday afternoons until sold out. If you want to reserve anything in advance, please let us know before noon on Tuesday.
And, while we’re talking provisions and orders, if you want to reserve a Yundwell pasture raised turkey for Thanksgiving and pick it up at Branchwater, you can do so by clicking here
We are also working on being a pick-up point for The Little Rye Bakehouse holiday pies so check our Instagram stories for information on that.
Looking ahead
Important dates to add to your calendar:
Saturday, November 2nd – Branchwater will be sampling our spirits at the natural wine festival Karakterre at Rockefeller Center (11:30am-6pm)
Saturday, November 9th - Branchwater will be selling our spirits and farm products at the North Salem Farmers Market in Croton Falls (9am-1pm)
Saturday, December 7th - Branchwater will host our 3rd annual Holiday Craft Fair at the farm. Support local artisans and give hand-made, thoughtfully-crafted gifts for the holidays. (12-3pm)
Saturday, December 14th – Branchwater will participate in Churchtown Dairy’s Holiday Market, held in their Farm Store (1-4pm)
