Saratoga Farmers' Market

Yankee Distillers

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.

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

Apple Crisp Cocktail

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courtesy of Yankee Distillers

Ingredients:

* denotes ingredients currently available at the farmers’ market

  • cinnamon & sugar mixture
  • ice
  • 1/4 oz. caramel syrup
  • 2 oz fresh apple cider*
  • 2 oz Yankee Distillers bourbon whiskey*
  • dehydrated apple slice*
  • cinnamon stick

Instructions:

1. Rim a rocks glass with cinnamon & sugar and fill 2/3 with ice

2. In a cocktail shaker, combine 1/4oz caramel syrup, 2oz fresh apple cider, and 2oz Yankee Distillers bourbon whiskey with ice

3. Shake to combine, and strain into rocks glass, right up to the cinnamon & sugar rim

4. Garnish with a dehydrated apple slice and a cinnamon stick

Distiller Brings ‘Spirit Of The Grain’ to Saratoga Farmers’ Market

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By Himanee Gupta-Carlson

It’s 9 a.m. at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market. Not exactly “happy hour.” But for Matt Jager and the crew who bring vodka, straight bourbon, rye, wheat, and single malt whiskeys from Yankee Distillers to the market, that’s the point. These drinks are not meant to be downed in a hurry but instead sipped slowly.

Such beverages, known as spirits, begin from grains. As such, says Jager, who co-owns Yankee Distillers with Scott Luning, they are “the spirit of the grain.”

A distilled spirit is an alcoholic beverage produced by allowing a fermented liquid to turn to vapor and then back to liquid. Grains are cooked down to a mash. During this process, carbohydrates are broken down to simple sugars. Sugars turn to alcohol as yeast eats away at them, creating fermentation. The resulting liquid is then distilled and aged.

Yankee Distillers’ whiskeys, photo by Pattie Garrett

Jager began learning to distill spirits after completing a master’s in business administration. Yankee Distillers opened three years ago in Clifton Park. Its whiskies have been in barrels aging for most of that time. As a result, last year marked their first significant rollout. The process, says Jager, has taught him patience: “I learn new things every day.”

Distilling has historic roots. New York farmers fermented and aged grains in small batch processes through the late 18th and 19th centuries, creating a vibrant craft industry. Prohibition laws of the 1920s wiped that industry out. In 2005, however, new state laws were passed that are helping distilleries make a comeback. 

For Jager, distillation allows one to experience “the grain in its purest essence.”

For him, that essence involves learning more about the grains and their origins, how they were grown, harvested, stored, and ultimately converted to the spirits that one enjoys now.

State laws require 75 percent of farm distillers’ raw ingredients to be of New York origin. Yankee Distillers uses 100 percent New York grown corn, rye, wheat, and malted grains in its products, and Jager dreams of operating a farm that would grow these crops itself.

Sip a sample at Yankee Distillers table at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market. Or visit their tasting room in Clifton Park.

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market is 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays at the Lincoln Baths Building in the Saratoga Spa State Park. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and the FreshFoodNY app. 

Saratoga Farmers’ Market Brims with Gifts to Suit Everyone

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By Himanee Gupta-Carlson

The final few days before Christmas can be frantic. Gifts must be found, holiday meals must be cooked, and then there’s the issue of trying to get packages shipped to loved ones who live elsewhere.

We at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market invite you to relax. Come to our market on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., grab a warm drink and a pastry or breakfast sandwich, and stroll through the wide variety of specialty foods products, locally made jewelry and artwork, and delicious farm fresh foods, all under one roof at the Lincoln Baths Building. They are filled with an array of artworks, foods, and other gift items homegrown or homemade to fill a variety of needs.

The following guide gives you a glimpse of some of what we offer:

Treats from Mugzy’s Barkery

Artisanal treats. Head upstairs to the second floor for cured meats, hand-cut pastas, handcrafted jewelry, and journals. If there’s a dog in the family, consider a gift box from Mugzy’s Barkery which features a sampler of their dog treats. Terra Sage Gourmet also offers a healthy vegetarian dog food.

  Also on the second floor are first-year agricultural vendors offering such produce as mushrooms, chicken, dried beans, and nutrient dense microgreens.

A spirited sample. Walk to the end of the second floor, and head downstairs. Stop and sample bourbon-infused eggnog, made with Battenkill Valley Creamery’s award winning eggnog and Yankee Distillers’ bourbon. Both items are available from their respective makers at the far end of the market’s first floor.

Sweets to ship. In the main market, you’ll find produce, meats, jams, chocolates, cheeses, peanut butter, and hummus. Many of these items are suitable for shipping, and Slate Valley Farms makes the job easy. They offer a gift box of honey, maple syrup and maple treats in a Priority Mail package that Slate Valley’s Gina Imbimbo will send for you.

Other gift boxes. Head the front end. You’ll find cheese samplers, peanut butters, and mushroom teas from Argyle Cheese Farmer, Saratoga Peanut Butter, and Mariaville Mushroom Men respectively. And, if you like creating your own gift packages, stop by Kokinda Farms and pick up a wicker basket from Laurie Kokinda. Choose a jar of jam and walk through the market again, filling the basket with your favorites.

The Saratoga Farmers Market is 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays at the Lincoln Baths Building in the Saratoga Spa State Park. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and on the FreshFoodNY app.