Stone Barn Brandyworks

The coffee liqueur is a blend of El Salvadoran coffee by the name of "Nombre de Dios", and a coffee from Yemen. The El Salvadoran is estate grown, the Yemeni will vary...

The apple brandy currently being served in our tasting room is a blend of several varieties: Gala, Criterion, Sonata, and Granny Smith. All were sustainably grown, the first three at Wells Orchard in...

This hard-when-raw but delightful-when-cooked fruit is well worth the effort of chopping. We had several quince sources (and are looking for more for next year!): a tree two blocks from our house, a...

Rye Whiskey

Grain spirits and whiskeys are a relatively new product and technique for us. Robert from Koval Distillery in Chicago shared his whiskey recipe with us when he came to help install the still. ...

Sonata Apples

This winter we tried several types of apples, to compare the flavor of the brandy and to see if one type produced more yield than the others. After Criterion, we tried Hanner, an apple...

Our Pear Brandy is from two different varietals: Bartlett and Comice, both from Wells Orchard in Hood River, Oregon. The Bartlett is the traditional pear used for brandies in Europe and is appropriately...

No Anti-Foam

We forgot to add three drops of anti-foam to this batch of whiskey! The rye mash boiled higher than the copper pot of the still and up into the plates of the distillation column. This...

Criterion

In honor of Herbert, sadly now deceased, our first run in the still was Criterion Apple Brandy. On the eve of Robert's departure, we were able to get the still up and running so that...

First Run in the Still…Background

On an excursion to pick up grape pommace from a vineyard near Salem, we saw a rough wooden sign advertising apples for sale. The owner of the small orchard, tooling around on a souped...