Vodka Made in Hudson Valley Receives National Award

Vodka produced locally in the Hudson Valley recently received a national award.

On Tuesday, New York Agriculture Commissioner Richard Ball visited the Hudson Valley Distillers, at the Spirit Grove Farm in Clermont, to congratulate the owners on their high honor.

The Columbia County distillery won the Best of Class Vodka Award at the American Distilling Institute's 2016 conference in San Diego last month for their Spirits Grove Vodka.

At the conference the vodka also won awards for Best in Category and Gold for Grain-To-Glass Apple Vodka.

According to the company’s website, Hudson Valley Distillers makes their Spirits Grove Vodka from one of the Hudson Valley’s famous resources, apples. The award-winning vodka is said to have a sweet nose, silky mouth feel, and subtle tones of apple on the smooth finish.

The distillery also produces applejack, gin, and whisky.  The applejack is made from local apples. The gin comes from New York grapes. The distillery features two whiskeys, one made from a locally produced beer, the other from local rye

Commissioner Ball’s tour of the distillery was also to showcase the growth of the craft beverage industry in New York. Since 2011 the number of distilleries in New York State has grown from 10 to 84.