Flag Hill Distillery: GENERAL JOHN STARK VODKA
Apples First: Flag Hill chose vodka as the first spirit to create in part due to the abundant supply of high quality local produce. Vodka is traditionally made from potatoes or grains, but can be made from anything that can produce starch and sugar. New Hampshire orchards produce about one million bushels of apples annually that are sold throughout the Eastern US and Europe--more than an $8 million industry. Plentiful is important here: it takes three bushels of apples to make three gallons of cider to distill into one 750ml bottle of vodka. There are approximately 100 apples in a bushel and 300 apples in each bottle of our vodka!
Cider Next: Local apples from Apple Hill Farm in Concord, NH are pressed into fresh, unpasteurized cider that is fermented here at the distillery with the addition of yeast and warmth in 500 to 1,000 gallon steel tanks. To make any type of spirit, a high-starch or high-sugar source is needed. Liquids, such as cider can be the base, or a "mash" of crushed fruit. Vodka can be made from any fruit, vegetable or grain. Once the cider or mash has reached approximately 8% alcohol (which takes a week or so depending on the air temperature) it is ready to be distilled. The cider or mash is then transferred into our handcrafted copper pot still.
Heads or Tails? The "mash" is brought to a boil at approximately 172° F in the pot still. As the fermented mash heats up, the alcohol vapors travel up the helmet into one of the columns. When the alcohol vapor reaches the top of the column, it moves to the condenser where it changes from a vapor to a liquid. The distilled spirit comes out as a clear liquid. Initial runs off the still are called the "heads" and are volatile alcohols that are discarded. The "heart" of the run is the best spirit. The "tails" of the run are saved and returned to the pot for redistilling. Our vodka is distilled three times to produce the highest quality spirit. It is then blended with artesian spring water and cold filtered with charcoal to remove any impurities and finally bottled by hand.
The Man Behind the Vodka: General John Stark
Live Free or Die: The name of the vodka honors a New Hampshire legend. "Live Free or Die" was written by General John Stark on July 31, 1809 and it became the state motto in 1945. The words were gleaned from a toast which General Stark sent to his Revolutionary War fellow veterans after turning down an invitation, because of illness, to the 32nd anniversary reunion of the 1777 Battle of Bennington in Vermont. The toast in full was: "Live free or die; death is not the worst of evils." Most of New Hampshire's citizens are familiar with "Live free or die" but not with its historic context as a drinking toast.
Revolutionary War Legacy: In 1758 John Stark married Molly (Elizabeth) Page and they built a farm and house in Derryfield (Manchester) near Molly's father. Together they had five boys and six girls (one of whom died in infancy). Molly ran the farm in John's military absence. Stark was made colonel of the First NH Regiment where he led forces to Massachusetts in 1775 and fought at Bunker Hill on June 17. After Bunker Hill, Stark's regiment and other troops were ordered to march to New York, under the command of General Washington. Stark and his men crossed the Delaware with Washington and fought at the Battles of Trenton and Princeton.
Long Life: Stark resigned after losing a promotion and returned to Londonderry. But with the attack on Fort Ticonderoga, Stark returned to active duty and was appointed Brigadier General of the NH militia. On August 16th, 1777, Stark marched his militia across Vermont from Brattleboro to Bennington to keep the British from raiding supplies. He led NH forces to victory at the Battle of Bennington, Vermont. In 1783 Stark resigned his commission as Major General in the US Army and returned to farming in New Hampshire. He died in Derryfield at age 94 in 1822.
