Written by Kris Bohm Photos provided by Birdseye Hollow Farm and Distillery
BIRDSEYE HOLLOW DISTILLING SPIRITS FROM THE TREE TO THE BOTTLE B
irdseye Hollow Farm and Distillery is a rustic facility tucked away in upstate New York near the scenic Birdseye Hollow State Park. The distillery opened in the spring of 2024, and from day one they have been utilizing a unique ingredient to produce worldclass spirits: the farm’s own maple syrup. Originally used for hunting grounds, the farm and distillery are located on a 75-acre tract of
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land now owned by Steve Ferris and used for the production of maple syrup before the distillery was added. When designing and building the distillery, Ferris wanted to emphasize the rugged and natural beauty of the wilderness that is the Birdseye Hollow Farm. To showcase this stunning piece of land, the building that houses the distillery was built with a timber frame structure utilizing lumber felled from the farm. All of the wood that was used to construct the building was harvested, sawn, and assembled at the farm’s saw mill to create the structure that houses the distillery. The interior of the distillery has a natural ambiance with large windows that bring lots of natural light into the space to highlight the timber frame structure. The natural light shines spectacularly on the copper still.
When he founded the distillery, Ferris’ goal was sharing the farm with his community by cultivating a space that was welcoming and created good times. When it came to production, his primary goal was to utilize the farm’s excess maple syrup to distill into a spirit with the terroir of the groves of trees surrounding the farm. Spirits from maple syrup are rather uncommon, but the flavor is remarkable. Acerum, the name given to the maple syrup spirit, has a bright and vibrant character that exemplifies the character of the freshly made maple syrup. Spirit made from maple syrup is similar in character to rum, with many bright fruity tropical notes and a noticeable subtle sweetness. The production of acerum was a challenging puzzle to solve for head distiller Taylor Trenchard. The syrup by-product — which
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