Raspberry Bramble
This refreshing, richly-hued sipper brings the sweet flavors and color of summer to cocktail hour.
DISTINCTIVELY DISTILLED
Appalachian Gap Distillery: Producing Sustainably Made Spirits
“Seeing the smile on someone’s face as they sample one of our spirits here in the tasting room makes all the effort worthwhile.” –Lars Hubbard
Creating and running a business with a friend can put those bonds to the test. Lars Hubbard and Chuck Burkins embraced that challenge, having started not one but two enterprises together over the course of 20 years.
“We run an architectural consulting company called The Friday Group,” Lars says. “And then, because we both love spirits, we decided to start a distillery in 2011.” “In our spare time,” Chuck chimes in.
The men bought a derelict commercial building off Exchange Street in Middlebury. They set it up so they could run their consulting business on one side and operate a distillery on the other side of the wall. “A lot of the distillation process is just sitting and waiting,” Chuck explains. “So yeah, we’re trapped in this building with each other for 70 hours a week,” Lars adds with a laugh.
“We both craved the energy of making something with our hands and getting direct consumer feedback,” Lars continues. “Seeing the smile on someone’s face as they sample one of our spirits here in the tasting room makes all the effort worthwhile.”
Part of that effort included making sure every aspect of Appalachian Gap Distillery was outfitted sustainably, from super-insulated walls and multipaned windows to recycled water systems. “I’m a ‘greenie’ from way back,” Lars says. “I grew up in Hancock, Vermont in a log cabin on the side of a mountain with no electricity and no flush toilet. My parents were nuts, but they marked me.”
That environmental sensibility ultimately led App Gap to pursue a Climate Neutral Certification in 2020, the first distillery in the United States to achieve this honor. “We did it because it’s the right thing to do,” Chuck says. Will Drucker, “head of hustle” for the distillery and founder of Split Spirits, shares Lars’ and Chuck’s passion for sustainability. “I was drawn to Appalachian Gap’s commitment to the environment when looking for partners to produce Split Spirits. Collaborating to achieve this milestone together aligned with the brand ethos, my values, and was a lot of fun!”
Achieving climate neutrality required the App Gap team to assess every aspect of their process: energy and grain, bottles and packaging, transportation and shipping. Lars and Chuck rattle off a list of sustainable practices that distinguish their business. “We have six dual-access solar panels on site that generate 98 percent of our energy. Our grains hail from the Champlain Valley and Northeast Kingdom. Our 100 percent recycled glass bottles’ aqua cast comes from not being chemically bleached. We changed from synthetic stoppers to cork, and we use molded, recycled cardboard when we ship bottles. All our spent grain and distillery waste product goes to the methane digester at Purpose Energy in South Burlington and creates more green energy for the grid. The average house puts more waste down the drain than we do here at the distillery.”
And on top of all that?
They make spirits, 13 in all.
App Gap distilled its first batch of whiskey in 2011. Flagship products now include Ridgeline, a port barrel–finished whiskey made with local barley, corn, and rye; two gins: Mythic, infused with 11 botanicals, and Peregrine, a dry gin with hints of orange and cumin; and Papilio, a Vermonter’s take on tequila, made with 80 percent blue agave and 20 percent pure Vermont maple syrup. Drumlin, a top-shelf whiskey, is made with 100 percent Champlain Valley rye. Barrels of aging whiskey wait patiently on their racks in the extensive storage area. “We’ll let the spirit tell us when it’s ready,” Chuck says.
“We developed each spirit because we love the flavors,” Chuck continues. “It’s pretty crazy. Lars has a chef background and can imagine a taste in his head and tinker with a recipe until he achieves it.” The men are autodidacts with a passion for spirits, science, and solving problems. “We dove in, figured out the science, and fine-tuned the technique.”
This fall, App Gap rolls out Vermont Creemee Liqueur, in three flavors: maple, vanilla, and chocolate. “Pour it over ice, and it tastes like you’re sipping a creemee,” Lars says. This all-natural liqueur uses pure Madagascar vanilla, cocoa nibs, and Vermont maple syrup. “We make it from scratch because we like to make things as difficult as possible,” Chuck says ruefully.
Chuck and Lars say they’re proud of how far they’ve come since 2014. “We’re a full-scale, climate-neutral facility that produces some great spirits,” Lars points out. “And it’s gratifying that our customers like what we produce,” Chuck concludes.
Not bad for a pair of part-time distillers and full-time friends.
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