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Springbrook Hollow Farm Distillery

Thoughtful Gift-Giving During a Pandemic

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By Julia Howard

As challenging as 2020 has been so far, the holiday gifting season feels like a bright way to end a dark year. Perhaps more than ever, gift-giving is a means of reconnecting with friends and family, some of whom we haven’t seen in person for nearly a year. We also get that gift-giving can be a source of stress even in the best of times, so we have some strategic ideas to make gifting during a pandemic a little more seamless, meaningful, and even enjoyable.

● If you prefer shopping from the comfort of home, find our vendor directory and shop locally online. Find links to local businesses’ websites, Instagram, and Facebook pages. Use the DM functions or pick up the phone to ask for suggestions and place orders.
● This year, some of the most thoughtful gifts are things that make time at home more enjoyable for your friends and family. Think practical and useful.
● Get creative with whatever budget you have. A great gift does not have to cost a lot of money.

Now let’s get gifting with local businesses at the farmers’ market!

Home Decor
These days we work, exercise, relax, and even attend school at home. We recommend Feathered Antler’s original paintings and framed prints of animals and landscapes to define and decorate living spaces. Feathered Antler also has hand-painted wooden fence posts adorned with positive sayings and nature scenes that can function as leash hangers, key hooks, and jewelry organizers.

Pendants & jewelry from Big Breath Wellness, photo by Laura Kenny

Local Libations
Wine, hard cider, and spirits always make great gifts – and local vintners and distillers make the very best. Slyboro Cider House and Saratoga Apple makes hard ciders from apples grown in their orchards. For wine-lovers, Fossil Stone Winery makes memorable wines from grapes grown on their farm. And, spirits enthusiasts will love everything from Yankee Distillers and Springbrook Hollow Farm Distillery.

Gift Certificates & Subscriptions
Give the gift of something to look forward to, like Saratoga Farmers’ Market gift certificates. Elihu Farm offers a subscription for flavorful and nutritious eggs from their “hens on pasture.” Moon Cycle Seed Co. sells subscriptions for nutrient-dense seeds for hormonal balance. The 2021 CSA season will be here before we know it, so check with local farmers at the market to purchase a subscription for a friend or family member.

Jewelry
Is there a more classic holiday gift than a beautiful piece of jewelry? Kim Dolan Designed Jewelry makes unique, handcrafted silver and gemstone rings, necklaces, and earrings. If you’re looking to make someone feel special and promote wellness, Big Breath Wellness has various holistic healing jewelry. For nature lovers, Feathered Antler has
handmade jewelry with quartz, charms, and tassels.

Earth To Mind, photo by Laura Kenny

Self-care
Self-care means something different to everyone. Perhaps it’s cozying up to a cup of hot chocolate from Saratoga Chocolate Co. or making Earth to Mind’s CBD oil and rubs a part of the daily routine. There are many items at the farmers’ market to nourish and encourage self-care, like bee balm from Ballston Lake Apiaries and tinctures from Sweetbrier Farms.

 

Stocking Stuffer Ideas from Small Businesses
*Starred items are perishable and should be put into stockings just before gifting.

Saratoga Chocolate Co. photo provided
Cookie boxes from The Chocolate Spoon, photo by Laura Kenny

Shop Local at the Farmers’ Market this Holiday Season

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Supporting small businesses is always a must in our eyes, but this year it’s more important than ever. Not only does it give our local economy a boost, but you’re more likely to find unique gifts for your loved ones.

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market offers a spacious shopping environment featuring 50+ local businesses, with some attending exclusively for the holiday season. These holiday season vendors will rekindle your excitement for shopping and finding the perfect gift.

Sweetbrier Farms, photo provided

Sweetbrier Farms makes small-batch, plant-infused wellness and beauty products. They offer hand-made soaps, tinctures and glycerites, herb-infused raw honey, salves and balms, and teas. Sweetbrier’s products are made from “responsibly wildcrafted ingredients” – many from their farm in Salem.

With seasonal favorites like eggnog and hot cocoa, Grandma Apple’s Cheesecakes make great gifts for any “sweet tooth”. Grandma’s handcrafted, artisanal cheesecakes come in various flavors and sizes that make the perfect cake easy to find.

For the spirits connoisseur on your list, Springbrook Hollow Farm Distillery, nestled in the foothills of the Adirondacks, produces hand-crafted, high-quality spirits in a natural and innovative process. They make award-winning vodka, gin, rye whiskey, moonshine, Limoncello, Orangecello, and Cowboy Coffee.

Scotch Ridge Berry & Tree Farm, photo by Emily Meagher

Scotch Ridge Berry & Tree Farm has handmade wreaths, kissing balls, holiday swag, and tabletop Christmas trees all this month. Gorgeous greenery makes a memorable and personal gift, and even more so when it’s locally made.

Saratoga Suds ‘n’ Stuff makes soap the “old fashioned” way – “by hand, in small batches, using fat and lye and some essential oils to scent it.” For the holidays, find soaps in the shape of gingerbread men, Christmas trees, and other fun seasonal shapes alongside their traditional soaps.

Goodway Bakery has been baking cookies, cakes, pies, and brownies in Troy for over 40 years. Their rum cakes, in particular, have an excellent shelf life for 2-3 weeks at room temperature, making them perfect gifts.

Owl Wood Farm, photo by Pattie Garrett

For the farmers’ market enthusiast in your life, Owl Wood Farm has freshly-harvested, Certified Naturally Grown produce every Saturday in December. Assemble a gift basket of produce, purchase a gift certificate, or buy a 2021 CSA subscription for a friend or family member.

Amazing authentic Indian food for Christmas? Why not! Daily Fresh Food makes to-go curries, vegan samosas, soups, and other specialty dishes that make a great gift and offer a break from cooking.

Many holiday season vendors offer pre-order for easy pickup as well as online ordering. Find their website or like them on social media to stay up to day on their products and specials.

This week’s recipe: Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad

Getting into the Spirit

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By Himanee Gupta-Carlson

Lake George Distilling, photo by Pattie Garrett

It’s been quite a summer, with COVID-19, nationwide protests and calls for police reforms, presidential politics, school reopenings, and the fate of the U.S. postal service dominating the news.

Still, we’re surviving, thanks to the best local foods and drinks that our vendors bring each week to the Saratoga Farmers’ Market.

In that spirit, we suggest a brief celebration. Visit the market and fill your basket with what you need for your upcoming meals. Top it off with a bottle of a handcrafted artisanal liquor and the ingredients for a cocktail or two.

The market’s three spirits vendors are Lake George Distilling Company, Springbrook Hollow Farm Distillery, and Yankee Distillers. Collectively, they bring gin, vodka, and whiskey to the market each Saturday, not to mention fruit- and spice-infused spirits, such as Lake George’s Apple Pie Moonshine and its Lake George Lemonade. A simple quarter-cup pour from one of their bottles over two or three cubes of ice makes a hearty but not too boozy cocktail in and of itself.

If you want something a little more fancy, try these suggestions:

Lavender lemonade cocktail, AdobeStock

● Lavender lemonade cocktail. Yankee’s Steve Hamilton recommends either vodka or bourbon for this beverage made with Slate Valley Farm’s lavender lemonade and freshly chopped cucumber from one of the market’s produce vendors. Stripe off some of the outer cucumber skin with a vegetable peeler and chop the cucumber. Place it in a cup with ice cubes, and add one part spirit and three parts lavender lemonade. The lemonade lightens the intensity of the liquor, while the lavender and cucumber impart a floral freshness. I tried this concoction with bourbon and found it delicious.

Gin & Tonic, photo by Pattie Garrett

● Gin-and-tonic with celery. Springbrook Hollow’s Tara Solomon suggests muddling a bit of chopped celery in the classic gin and tonic beverage consisting approximately of one part gin, two parts tonic, and ice. She also suggests allowing the celery to remain in the glass until the beverage has been consumed for snacking. Cucumber makes an excellent alternative.

Iced Mocha, AdobeStock

● Mocha and mint whiskey. Hamilton suggests a malt whiskey for this cocktail, which is made with coffee and chocolate milk from the market’s new Bunker Hill Dairy vendor. It can be made with a take-home version of the mocha drink that Something’s Brewing offers. A little bit of crushed mint adds a flavorful boost.

Just remember, no drinking at the market.

This week’s recipe: Bourbon Peach Smash

Need hand sanitizer? Find it at the market

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By Himanee Gupta-Carlson

Springbrook Hollow Farm Distillery, photo by Pattie Garrett

Makers of locally crafted whiskey, gin, and vodka have been a part of the Saratoga Farmers’ Market for several years. Local distilleries such as Springbrook Hollow Farm and Yankee Distillers have shared with their customers spirits made from New York grown grains that have been slowly cooked down, fermented, distilled, and aged. The process was all about care.

Care took on a different meaning when the COVID-19 pandemic erupted two months ago. Hand sanitizer and other cleaning supplies essential to protecting one’s self suddenly became hard to find. Many worried about coming into contact with the virus and not being able to get clean. The distilleries had a solution. Now, bottles of hand sanitizer share space on their farmers’ market tables with the spirits for which they are known.

Yankee Distillers, photo by Pattie Garrett

“We realized that as cleaning supplies started to come into short supply some of the raw alcohol we had on-site could be used to clean things around the distillery,” says Steve Hamilton of Yankee Distillers. “And then when the New York Liquor Authority and the World Health Organization started to publish guidelines for distilleries to transition their production over to hand sanitizer, we realized that we were positioned to provide a product that our community needs right now.”

“We had all the equipment, everything we needed,” adds Tara Amazon of Springbrook Hollow. “We knew we needed to help keep our community safe in whatever way that we could.”

Yankee Distillers makes its sanitizer with alcohol, a bittering agent that denatures it, glycerin to soften it, peroxide, and water. They follow a World Health Organization formula. It is being sold in half-gallon containers for $32 and 4-ounce spray-top bottles for $5. The company also is offering face masks imprinted with its logo.

Springbrook Hollow Farm Distillery, photo provided

Springbrook’s product is made from grain alcohol, glycerin, and peroxide. It is being sold for $45 a gallon, or $35 a gallon for four or more gallons. Two-ounce spray-top bottles cost $3. Springbrook just donated 5,000 bottles to health care workers in Saratoga, Glens Falls, and Queensbury north to the Canadian border.

Market staff and some vendors also are keeping bottles of their sanitizer on their tables and at cleaning points throughout the market as part of their effort to keep the environment safe.

Local Businesses Expand Roots in the Community

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By Julia Howard

At the farmers’ market, Saturdays are an opportunity to stock up with local products for the week to come. But what if you didn’t have to wait for Saturday to stock up on your favorite farmers’ market foods? Mangiamo, Saratoga Chocolate Co., Nettle Meadow, and Springbrook Hollow Farm Distillery have big news to share as they work to ease access to their products by opening new locations and expanding their offerings locally.

Mangiamo

Mangiamo, photo provided

Mangiamo, a business offering a variety of homemade pasta, has recently opened shop in Grant Plaza at 75 Woodlawn Avenue in Saratoga Springs. “The only reason I was able to open a retail shop was because my market customers were looking to buy pasta during the week,” explained Rose Contadino, owner of Mangiamo.

Contadino began Mangiamo in May 2018 and sold her fresh pasta exclusively on Saturdays at the farmers’ market.“My customers have been very supportive of me opening the shop, and I am extremely grateful for all their wishes to see me succeed,” said Rose.

Mangiamo’s new location is open Tuesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The store enables Rose to make pasta on the premises and also to expand her offerings as the business grows. “At the shop, I offer a variety of weekly flavored pastas like roasted garlic and herbs and I always have cheese raviolis and a special ravioli for Friday and Saturday,” she explained.

Saratoga Chocolate Co.

Saratoga Chocolate Co., photo provided

Saratoga Chocolate Co. will bring sweetness to downtown Saratoga Springs when their new shop opens on the lower level of the Saratoga Marketplace this spring. “We’re excited to create a space where people can experience and enjoy chocolate,” said Allison Rose.

Chocolatiers Allison and Hank Rose started Saratoga Chocolate Co. in 2016 and have worked to grow the business while balancing an active work and family life. At the farmers’ market, Saratoga Chocolate Co. quickly earned its reputation for hand-crafted truffles and decadent chocolate bark and bars.

This spring, the store location will offer a variety of their chocolates, and shoppers may also watch the sweet confections being made. “The farmers’ market community has really supported us and helped us to develop our business,” Allison explained. In addition to chocolates and truffles, the Roses are planning to offer a variety of cocoa infused food and drinks at the new location.

Nettle Meadow

Nettle Meadow, photo by Pattie Garrett

Nettle Meadow began the year with exciting news of their new cheese plant, aging space, and retail space at the historic Hitching Post restaurant on 9N in Lake Luzern. “We will have a much larger retail space for customers to come and try our cheese and buy cheeses and other local products at a more convenient location,” said Sheila Flanagan, one of the farm owners.

Nettle Meadow started selling goat cheeses on a small scale around 1992. Sheila Flanagan and Lorrain Lambiase bought the business and expanded production in 2005. “Farmers’ markets are one of the most important aspects of our business because it gives us direct interaction with our customers,” said Flanagan. “We look forward to reaching more people through tastings and direct sales at the new location in Lake Luzerne.”

Nettle Meadow’s new location plans to open on Memorial Day weekend with a Grand Opening celebration. The retail location will be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily and the tasting room will be open Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Springbrook Hollow Farm Distillery

Springbrook Hollow Farm Distillery, photo provided

Springbrook Hollow Farm Distillery has completed plans for a new taproom and production facility directly off of Rt. 149 in Queensbury. The expansion is planned to be completed by the end of 2020 and will feature a 100-person taproom where patrons may enjoy local cider, wine, craft beer, and a variety of Springbrook Hollow’s hand-crafted, artisanal spirits including vodka, gin, moonshine, and award-winning limoncello.

Springbrook Hollow Distillery opened in 2014 and has expanded its reach throughout New York, Vermont, New Jersey, and Connecticut. “We love the hands-on experience of sharing our products and our story with customers and want to enhance this experience on-site,” said Matt Colucci, one of the distillery owners. For Springbrook Hollow, this new facility means more production, upgraded equipment, and a place for people to gather and enjoy local beverages.

While these businesses work to offer customers new shopping experiences and a wide variety of products, you can continue to find them together in one place every Saturday at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market.

Saratoga Farmers Market Gift Guide, Part 2: Gifts for Foodies

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By Emily Meagher

Last week we showed you farmers’ market items that make great gifts for the holidays. This week, our guide to help you find great local gifts continues with what the farmers’ market does best: food!

 

Saratoga Chocolate Co, photo by Pattie Garrett

The time leading up to Christmas can be stressful, with gifting opportunities left and right. First, there are stocking stuffers. These items are usually small, not too expensive, and should be shelf-stable. For a sweet item, try Slate Valley Farms’ miniature maple syrup containers, available in seasonal shapes like gingerbread men and log cabins. Or consider Saratoga Chocolate Co.’s chocolate Santas, peppermint bark, or truffles, for some indulgence. What about treating your pet a little too? Mugzy’s Barkery has seasonally decorated, bone-shaped peanut butter biscuits for your dog to enjoy.

 

Argyle Cheese Farmer, photo by Pattie Garrett

Then comes Christmas morning, which always seems to arrive in the blink of an eye. Prepare by stocking up on local gifts from the farmers’ market any Saturday before Christmas. Several of our farms offer gift packages, such as Argyle Cheese Farmer’s cheese variety baskets, yogurt combos, and a set dubbed “The Argyle Mile” which is full of goodies made within one mile of their cheese house. Or give a gift that will last through the year with Argyle’s “Cheese of the Month Club” where the recipient will receive a locally made cheese every month.

 

 

High Peaks Distilling, photo by Pattie Garrett

Then comes Christmas dinner, and if someone else is hosting you it might be nice to contribute a local food item to the feast. The farmers’ market has many great farms that sell meats such as fresh lamb, poultry, beef, and even more specialty meats like goat. Christmas time also brings even more selection to the market – how good does a local beef rib roast sound?! For after dinner, a bottle of local liquor will be welcomed by all. High Peaks Distilling, Yankee Distillers, and Springbrook Hollow Farm Distillery all offer a unique set of products ranging from whiskeys to gins to cordials.

 

A local product always feels that much more special as a holiday gift. Our 50+ vendors offer an abundance of fantastic items, sure to please no matter what your loved one’s taste. In addition, several of our vendors (as well as the farmers’ market as a whole) offer gift certificates.

 

This week’s recipe: Mulled Apple Cider