Mad River Distilling is fast becomng one of my favorite producers. Most recently I bought a bottle of their Bourbon, and it went faster than any other bottle I have bought. I bought it in the New Hampshire state liquor store that on 95 on my way to Maine, and shared it with some friends in Maine, and then brought the rest back to New York to share there. I was like the Johnny Appleseed of Vermont bourbon.
According to the website, "In 2011, Maura Connolly was contemplating planting a vineyard on the farm. Vermont is an unforgiving climate for grapes and her friends suggested that it would be better to produce something from more indigenous fruit. Maura’s husband John is a life-long fan of apple brandy and he was intrigued enough to start researching its production. The couple’s friend Brett Little shared John’s appreciation for brandy, and he immediately partnered with them and the idea of starting a distillery at Cold Spring Farm was born.
The Warren property dates from the mid-1800s and was converted into a horse farm in the mid-1900’s. Alex Hilton, a Warren native, renovated the dilapidated old horse barn into a state-of- the-art craft distillery in 2011. Along the way, he became interested enough in the project to sign on as the General Manager of Mad River Distillers"
They produced their first rum in 2013, and their flagship product Mad River Malvados, our flagship “Wicked Vermont Apple Brandy" a few years later. In 2015 Mimi Buttenheim was brought in as President of the company. In addition to taking a tour of the Warren distillery, they added a tasting room in Burlington. And now Mad River has taken off!
Congrats!