July 31st, 2026: Choose Gin for the Win!
These summer months, we like to reach for something that's ideally light, easy-drinking, and thirst-quenching. That’s why I reach for Cathedral Ledge Distillery’s Organic Gin.
Gin is a fun offering from Cathedral Ledge Distillery. As the choice spirit of our founders, Christopher and Tracy Burk, it is extremely important to us. It is because of this love and passion that we’ve seen much success with awards, but, more importantly, die-hard fans.
Both gins are Double Gold award winners. Both gins? Yes, there are two! Our Organic Gin is an American style dry gin designed for G&T drinkers, and our Organic Barrel-Rested Gin, which has a unique blend of botanicals and was put into a Rye Whiskey barrel for a wee rest, is our sipping gin.
Gin first made its appearance in the United States in the late-1700s, back when people were more reliant on distilled spirits to guarantee a safe drinking alternative to less-pure water. Genever (or jenever), the malted-grain cousin to gin, was originally created as a medicinal spirit to help with kidney problems, gout, and stomach aches in the Netherlands in the 1600s. Fun fact: Cathedral Ledge Distillery made this expression back when we first opened. Though Dutch in origin, the English, who frequently waged war against the Dutch, fell in love with the spirit and made it their own. The British gave jenever the moniker “Dutch Courage” after noting their adversaries’ tendency to take a nip before charging into battle. The English shortened the name to “gin” and shifted away from the malt wine base preferred by the Dutch to a neutral spirit.
So, what makes gin, gin?
To be considered gin, the product must be made from distilled or re-distilled neutral spirit and feature predominantly juniper berries. Though there are many variations of the botanicals (fancy word for plant bits) and proportions, a traditional London Dry Gin has a backbone of Juniper, Coriander, and Citrus Peel. In the 2000s American style gin began to gain popularity. These gins vary widely, but tend to keep the Juniper more in balance, and feature a much broader range of botanicals.
At Cathedral Ledge Distillery, we fall into the American style camp. Being a grain to glass distillery, we start by milling our grains and distill them into a neutral spirit. We then hand grind the botanicals and let them steep overnight in the neutral spirit. The next day, we re-distill the mixture, extracting the essential oils of the botanicals. As a bonus, this makes the distillery smell even better than it already does!
Author note: You can also put botanicals in a gin basket attached to a still and let the vapors occurring during distillation move through the basket and collect the flavor that way, but we find distilling the botanicals directly gives us more essential oils and a better way to truly craft the spirit.
Our Organic Gin features Green Cardamom Pods, which are very aromatic, making this gin an excellent companion to tonic water, which can be a bit of a bully. Tonic water was initially developed by the colonial British in the 1800s to stave off malaria in India, where it was invented. You can make your own tonic like they did from cinchona tree bark, or, if you’re like me and want to keep it simple, there are several tonics on the market that will do you right. Our Organic Barrel-Rested Gin features Hawthorn Berry, and spent time resting in a recently emptied Rye Whiskey barrel. This gin picks up spice from the rye, and caramel and vanilla from the barrel. The many elements of our Organic Barrel-Rested Gin reveal themselves slowly, making this an ideal sipping gin for those that favor a martini, gin on ice, or even gin neat.
Swap either of our gins in your favorite cocktail and prepare to be amazed! Folks often ask which one is my favorite of the two; I always lean toward the Organic Gin because, well, I made it. But if you want to taste something truly special and unique, say, a spirit that was named one in its class in the United States at the 2025 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, and second in the world… go with the Organic Barrel-Rested Gin. Either choice is a good choice.
June 23rd, 2026: Hot Days Are Coming Our Way
Yes, we’re getting there—it’s only a matter of time before we start complaining about how hot it is outside, and so will your favorite NH organic spirit if you leave it in the car too long. Dare I say, it might even blow its cork right off, showing how much it hates the heat!
Just like the flocking we talked about in an earlier blog when spirits are exposed to extreme cold, this, too, is natural and not unique to our products. Unlike the cold, however, we strongly advise against leaving your handcrafted spirit in the car all day during the summer. There’s no reversing the effects of a bottle of bourbon/rye/vodka/gin exploding all over your backseat.
So, what can you do?
If you know you’re driving a long distance—likely to share a bottle of the best organic spirits made in New Hampshire with friends near and far—keep the bottle upright and stored away from direct sunlight. A cool, dark spot is best. The darker you make it, the better. This will help from corks popping off like it’s the new year. But if there’s no way of getting you some of that cool shade, you can store your bottle upright. It’s not going to spew out like champagne, the cork will just pop off. Go find the cork, put it on, and you’ll be back in business.
I was recently on a trip to Arizona, and yes, it was already hot. I made sure to crack windows, parked under a shady tree, and, if I knew it was going to be a long day, I placed my insulated cooler bag next to the bottle in the trunk to keep from any adverse effects of chemistry. I’m happy to say the bottle survived without popping a cork!
So, how does this all happen?
Throw on your lab coats, this one gets interesting:
When exposing whiskey to high temperatures, both the air and spirit inside the bottle expands, known as thermal expansion; the reaction of which is called hydraulic pressure. This pressure pushes the cork up and, depending on the proof of the spirit, can shoot off like a rocket or just flop off, either way, if your bottle is lying on its side, you’re losing what’s inside of it.
By following the above instructions, you will likely be the hero when you arrive at your destination with a full bottle to share, don’t forget the fancy cape!
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Cheers!
-TF
April 22nd, 2026: Barrel 225
In the last year, we’ve introduced a few offerings. We had our four-year bottled-in-bond products introduced to the market, and then, thinking that wasn’t enough flavor-packed goodness, we introduced a new, rotating offering that has provided a wonderful glimpse into the world of craft whiskey.
The Barrel Strength.​
Let's get into the technicalities of the name "barrel strength" itself.​
To be barrel strength, the whiskey or bourbon MUST be barrel strength. That’s it. We don’t filter or dilute the product at all, no added water, just pure goodness.
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If barrel strength has you concerned about the high-proof attributes of these products, feel free to splash it with water or add an ice cube. This helps you experience the product as the molecules break down and open up a new flavor experience with every sip you take.
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We started things off with a Barrel Strength Organic Wheated Bourbon (69% Corn, 19% Wheat, 12% Malted Barley). This was an exciting release, one I had the personal honor of emptying the barrel and hand-filling and labeling each one of those 220 bottles. That was a moment of pride that I will never forget, including the great hornet incident that occurred during the bottling.
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If you don’t know, ask on a tour, I got pictures.
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Yes, the wheated bourbon was nice, but it was only a matter of time before we introduced a rye whiskey and, of course, organic bourbon (69% Corn, 19% Rye, 12% Malted Barley).
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Now, with our supply of barrel 138 nearly out at the distillery, it’s time we introduce you to the newest release of our Barrel Strength Organic Bourbon.
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Barrel 225 was filled with “white dog” aka, new make, in October of 2022 in a char #4 barrel, going into the barrel at 120 proof. It spent its 42 months in the loft of our barn, where the forty-degree temperature fluxes daily help guide the liquid in the barrel in and out of the wood, collecting unique character and flavors from the barrel itself. This is bottled at 116.4 proof (58.2 ABV) and, as mentioned previously, unfiltered, raw bourbon.
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The notes on this release introduce a whole other flavor-packed experience, that is familiar, but adds new flavor notes to be discovered. I got a chance to A and B this new release with the first release, though you can tell they’re handcrafted by the same distillery, the flavors presented in this release are unique. If you don’t believe me, jump online and order a bottle of 138 if it’s still around on our website to try the two together for yourself, and let me know which one you like most!
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Let’s get into the tasting notes:
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At first, it packs a punch, reminding you that this bourbon came straight from a barrel, but if you let it sit out for a bit, you’ll be splashing headfirst into flavors reminiscent of a hard-to-find, allocated bourbon.
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Nose: Ripe red plums, grape juice, caramel swirl taffy, raisin
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Palate: Hawaiian bread, snickerdoodle cookie dough, dark honey, and candied pecan.
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Finish: A simmer of cinnamon with a hint of agave and a whisper of Sumatra coffee.
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-TF
March 21st, 2026: Flock, Flock, Flocking In My Bottle of Bourbon?
So, you grab a bottle of your favorite Cathedral Ledge Distillery bourbon and leave it in your car on a chilly day. Or maybe you picked up a tasty expression from one of those sub-zero farmers’ markets we’re vending at. Then you notice the bourbon is cloudy—really cloudy, like Cathedral Ledge during a winter storm.
Has it gone bad?
No.
Is this normal?
Yes.
Will it go back to that fine amber spirit you know and love?
Absolutely.
Flocking is a mini science experiment in a bottle, and it's perfectly natural. While some brands choose to chill-filter their product to avoid this hazy, New England IPA-like appearance when exposed to extreme cold, we do not.
Why?
Chill filtering removes fatty acids and esters that are essential to mouthfeel. By choosing not to chill-filter, you get a creamier mouthfeel that coats the tongue and delivers a fuller, more flavorful experience—the way it was intended to be. We want you to experience the organic grains that go into every bottle, and without chill filtering, it’s like shining a spotlight on layers of flavor that keep beckoning you back for another sip.
The same effect occurs when adding ice or cold water to a non-chill-filtered spirit. Whenever a spirit between roughly 80 and 92 proof is exposed to 30°F or lower, you’ll get that cloudiness. You’re less likely to see the same effect in our bottled-in-bond or barrel-strength offerings (higher proof helps keep those compounds in solution).
But be forewarned: storing a bottle of non-chill-filtered bourbon in a freezer for long periods could result in irreversible, lava-lamp-like spirits. Though not harmful in any way, it’s a bit funky. So, as your designated spirit enthusiast, I recommend keeping these handcrafted bottles at room temperature and away from direct sunlight.
Look forward to a future blog where I’ll dive into why you shouldn’t leave any bottles of spirits in a hot car. Soon, my New England friends, summer will arrive, and this hot-car scenario will be upon us all.
-TF
