Creating Craft Whiskey for the Ages
By Jamie Marshall
Photographs courtesy of Hillrock Estate Distillery

From their home on a bucolic piece of land high above the village of Ancram, Jeff Baker and Cathy Franklin helm one of the country’s foremost craft distilleries. 

The couple didn’t set out to run a whiskey business, their journey into the world of spirits unfolded naturally. Franklin is a high-end real estate broker in New York City, and Baker was a successful investment banker. 

But something about the land spoke to them—especially Baker, who had a background in farming. He wanted to grow something, and realized the answer was staring him in the face: grain. 

“There’s a reason the Hudson Valley was known as the nation’s breadbasket,” he said. “I knew we could do a lot of things with grain, but the more interesting ones seemed to be whiskey.”

In 2010, Baker called Dave Pickerell, who had been the master distiller at Maker’s Mark for 14 years. Pickerell was experimenting with groundbreaking finishing techniques such as aging bourbon in sherry, port, cabernet, and other finishing casks. “I told him we’d do all his recommended casks, and hired him on the spot.” Two weeks later, the three were sitting in the family kitchen sketching out plans for what would become Hillrock Estate Distillery.

The tidy complex of buildings edges a white gravel courtyard, and consists of a tasting room and distillery, a malthouse, a barrel house, and a bottling facility. “The concept is like an estate winery,” he says. “The distillery is in the center of our farm. You’re looking out during your tasting and those,” he says, pointing, “happen to be the rye fields where your whiskey may have come from.”

The couple’s mission is simple: To craft world-class whiskeys that express the unique terroir of the farm and the rich history of the Hudson Valley. They are one of the few field-to-glass whiskey distilleries in the world (and yes, he trademarked that phrase early on) and the first U.S. distillery since Prohibition to traditionally floor malt and hand craft its spirits on site from estate-grown grain. (They lease 850 acres from local landowners within a ten-mile radius of their 100-acre farm.) 

A beautiful whiskey deserves a beautiful bottle, and Hillrock’s are a sensory delight. Made of hand-blown glass, they have hand-lettered labels and curved sides. They are designed to stand with their labels facing out, like the spines of a book, so that the whiskey’s provenance is easy to read and they can be collected on bookshelves. 

From the start, Baker knew he wanted to create a world-class distillery. But even he is surprised by what they’ve achieved. In just a little more than ten years, Hillrock’s whiskeys have won more than 80 gold medals at competitions worldwide. “What started as a hobby has turned into a real business with more than 20 employees,” he said. “I wound down my finance business about two years ago and am just focusing on building an international brand.”—hillrockdistillery.com