Given the suggestions of spirituality and liveliness, we might overlook that distilling spirits is serious business in Vermont; according to the Distilled Spirits Council, it supports 1,700 jobs and creates $326 million in state economic activity.
Split Spirits President and Chief Woodsplitter Will Drucker explains that a 100-year-old oak yields only two barrels, which can be used just once to age bourbon and reused only sparingly for other spirits. An acre of grain is needed for two vats of about 1,600 gallons of water to produce just one 53-gallon barrel of spirits, which yields
50 cases or 300 bottles of liquor. The distilling process calls for heating to a boil and then cooling.
Despite these demands, Split Spirits was certified climate neutral in 2021, the first American distillery to leave no carbon footprint. A solar array of five huge panels at the distillery’s Middlebury location generates enough electricity to power the operation. Local byproducts from farms, breweries, and Split Spirits create enough renewable natural gas to heat the boilers. Building design and insulation ensure optimum efficiency. Spent grains go to a biodigester that creates clean electricity, and Split Spirits proudly maintains that the distillery puts out less waste than an average residential home.
Single Origin spirits are named for the state Will was born in (Illinois) and the states he has lived in (New York and Vermont).
The wood used to make Split Spirits’ Single Origin Series comes from already-felled wood that is unusable for furniture. In short, the distillery is obsessed with sustainability, perhaps best demonstrated in its three Single Origin spirits, named for the state Will was born in (Illinois) and the states he lived in (New York and Vermont). These three spirits can’t be called rye whiskey (for example) because rye must be aged in a wooden barrel. So he named these “split spirits” because a split of wood, instead of a cask, flavors the distilled alcohol. Wood in what looks like an oversized tea bag gently flavors the alcohol over the course of months in a stainless steel tank. Once the shortened aging process finishes, the tank—unlike the wooden cask—can be cleaned and reused. Clearly, this is a more environmentally-conscious approach. But does it produce a drinkable spirit?
Yes!
I especially liked New York, flavored by cherry wood. Will gave me a sample straight from the steel tank—still aging and well over 100 proof. (Bottled New York is 44 percent alcohol, 88 proof.) Even the higher proof New York is—ah!— smooth and warming, with a surprising soft cherry aftertaste. It would make a mean Manhattan or sazerac. Also from the vats, I tasted high-octane Illinois (flavored by oak) and Vermont (maple, of course), both clean and smooth.
Later at home with a friend, I sampled other Split Spirits drinks, which include the Appalachian Gap line, the distillery’s original spirits. These are made the traditional way, aging in casks. My friend thought the Ridgeline Vermont Whiskey hinted of apples. I liked the floral notes of the Essential Vermont Malt Whiskey, which had a grassy finish.
Appalachian Gap also offers an Espresso Liqueur that summoned up the pleasingly musty notes of Tia Maria to me, instantly vaulting it in my memory to the pantheon of best tasting coffee liqueurs. Appalachian Gap makes its Espresso Liqueur from a cold brew of Vermont Coffee Company’s espresso bean and the distillery’s vodka. It adds Belgian candi sugar to bring a pleasing sweetness—making it delicious (and dangerous) to sip after dinner, by itself, or over ice cream.
