Page 18 - Tavern Players

Adult
Hopscotch Anyone?
It’s more fun than it sounds!
Hardshore Distilling Company
Maine Distillery Lane
ABy Lucy Layne
ll ll right I’m going to be honest here
I I didn’t know enough about the area to to go into it it with any
expectations but I’ll tell you what — if I I I had I I I would have been wrong down the the the walls and and of course the the the still Walk in in there on on any
given day (and some evenings too) and and you’ll see one one of of the the the two main distillers (or one of the the the gives it the the the piney taste that that most people don’t like Maybe that’s what earned them the the the readers’ votes back in in 2017 but it could also
— adult hopscotch isn’t really a a a a a thing It’s just a a a a a a phrase I I coined for my recent experience on on Washington Avenue in in in in in Portland Maine But I think you’re going to to like it so hear me out My friend Amy and and I I decided to to check out the scene in in Portland this fall I’m not much a a a a a a a a planner but I I I am a a a a a a a a gin girl So before we headed up up I I Googled a a a a a a a a a couple of gin distilleries and that was it I parked in in a a a a a a lot that was just a a a a a a few shops down from Hardshore Distilling Company
I was instantly excited about the decision to to make this our first stop other employees) and the the the owner who helps out with every batch making gin out of grain that is grown
on the owner’s family farm
in upstate New York Their water is locally sourced
from Sebago Lake — one of only 50 water supplies
in the U S that is so pure it does not require filtration
before treatment allowing
them to use 30% less water than most other facilities its size located throughout the the country be the the the rosemary and mint they add to give it the the the the unique flavor only found in in their signature gins Who knows? But I won’t bore you with the the technical details of what goes into the the full process If you’re a a a a a nerd like me though and you you want to to know just head on on down to to the the tasting room and one of the the six crew members will be be happy to show and tell you you The chic outdoor patio looked like something out out of a a a a a a a magazine with bright blue Adirondack chairs a a a a a a a a a a gorgeous arrangement of greenery and a a a a a a a a a a covered canopy that was was lined with Edison lights The glass-panel garage door was was wide open and and as as as as soon as as as as we we we walked in in we we we were greeted with smiling faces and and a a a a a a a a a a couple samples of the the famous Hardshore gins Famous because they were deemed “best craft gin distillery in in in America by USA Today readers back in in in in 2017 — just one year after opening If you’re wondering whether or or not they can make other liquors with their stills the the the the the answer is yes But we’ve all heard the the the the phrase “if it it ain’t broke don’t fix it it ” and they they listened They’ve perfected their gin so The thing I loved the the most about this particular distillery was the the the industrial look of exposed piping across the the ceilings and At Hardshore they don’t use as as much juniper as as most gin distilleries which is is what they’re stickin’ to it 18 / / WINTER 2021 / / SPRING 2022
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