• 1. Where to Stay
• 2. Where to Eat
• 3. What to Do
• 4. Insider’s Tip
• 5. An Oddball Day

The third-generation apple farmer and founder of Harvest Spirits created apple vodka to keep his business afloat.   (Photo: Courtesy of Harvest Spirits)

See the beginning of Tuthilltown Spirits' Hudson Baby Bourbon — from the grinding to bottling operations — before it ends up behind the bar at places like the Brandy Library and Char No. 4. Tour the distillery, and sample the unaged corn whiskey, a throwback to "white lightning" of yore ($15). Stock your liquor cabinet with bottles of the Heart of the Hudson Vodka and New York State whiskey.

Take a free tour of Harvest Spirits, third-generation apple-farmer Derek Grout's award-winning distillery. Try the aptly named Core Vodka, found on the drink menu at the Farm on Adderley, or the newly released, quad-distilled Cornelius Murray Apple Jack, aged one year. Sober up with a bag of apples and some cider doughnuts from the farm stand on your way out.

Sign up for one of master distiller Jason Grizzanti’s three-and-a-half-hour winter-weekend classes ($50–$75) at the Warwick Valley Winery and Distillery. Beginners load fermented mash into a 210-liter copper still during a fruit-brandy series, while more advanced classes focus on whiskey-making and include a technical talk by Grizzanti. Enjoy the complimentary lunch of homemade pizzas and sandwiches in Warwick’s converted barn café.

Published on Dec 17, 2009 as a web exclusive.