The Spirits of Watercure Farm

Daniel and Aubrie Nagy have roots sunk deep in northeastern Connecticut. Dan grew up in the oldest house in Scotland on scenic Route 97. Aubrie is a descendent of Esther Grosvenor, an original settler of Pomfret in the 1600s. Today these thirty-somethings reside with their three young children on Route 97--but in Pomfret. “I guess I didn’t want to get lost,” says Dan dryly. Five years ago they founded Watercure Farm, specializing in produce, fruit and mushrooms grown the old fashioned way, using absolutely no chemicals, organic or otherwise. This October, they opened the state’s first farm distillery just 2 miles away on property that was part of the historic Gwyn Careg Estate.

For years we talked about it,” says Dan. He has long enjoyed making beer and wine but was inspired to dive into distilling when he received a flier from local State Representative Pat Boyd. Boyd had co-sponsored a “Farm to Flask” bill, which became law in October 2017. This legislation, enacted in about a dozen states, eases the cost and red tape of liquor production in hopes of nurturing a craft distilling movement in Connecticut. It allows farmers to distill and sell spirits and offer tastings if they use local ingredients. Connecticut’s “Farm to Flask” law requires 25% local farm-grown ingredients. Watercure Farm Distillery uses 100% Pomfret-grown ingredients in their brandies and vodkas.

According to Dan, Westford Hill Distillers in Ashford--founded in 1997--is the oldest distillery in the state and also one of the founders of the craft distilling movement. “We’re taking what they helped create and running with it,” he says. Watercure Farm Distillery takes the process a step further—by using locally grown produce and by being very select. They produce fruit brandies by the variety and plan to do the same with potato vodkas. “We are making Honeycrisp, Macoun, and McIntosh distilled brandies, each with subtly different flavors.” They also make infused spirits and will produce gin as well as whisky made from Connecticut corn.

Top: the welcoming bar; middle: the 16 foot high heart of the distillery; bottom: the exterior of the Tasting Room.

A former paramedic, Dan always enjoyed learning the medicine behind the life saving techniques. “I like distilling because there’s a true science to it. The chemistry is fascinating. There’s some parameters to making beer and wine but capturing the spirit off of that is much more in depth. We are making something that will never go bad and trying to preserve as much flavor as possible.”

You can taste recent products (their small batches sell out fast!) in a cozy tasting room in Pomfret. It took nearly two years to complete permits and paperwork for the distillery, but the tasting room was done in just a few months. “This winter we built almost everything in here.” Dan gestures to the stone bar tops, which came from his grandfather’s basement, to the live-edge wood bar, crafted from trees cut on his in-laws’ property. The space features natural wood, stamped concrete floors, decorative farm antiques, and a huge glass wall where people can watch the distillation process.

Crafted from stainless steel, copper and glass, the still is a work of art. Dan had some of the seventeen sections or “plates” made with glass instead of copper. As the alcohol reaches its boiling point, it bubbles and condenses. “Watching it is very pleasing,” Dan says. The still’s column is made of 17 plates, rising almost 16 feet to the roof. “We can customize the whole thing…make it really Willy-Wonka looking, adding pipes across the ceiling and such.” The height is a key to the quality of their spirits. “With the number of plates and height, we are able to refine the product to make a very smooth and clean flavor,” says Dan. “It’s similar to performing 17 distillations in one run.”

Watercure Farm Distillery produces very small batches of highly crafted spirits. Dan explains the basics. “To distill, we make a fermented product first.” They wash everything and triple grind it into a slurry. The grinder looks like a giant stainless steel applesauce maker. He lets me sniff the mash in the stainless steel fermenter— ripe Macoun apples and alcohol fumes. “Right now it’s hard cider,” he says. The fermented product goes into the still and heated until it begins to condense and separate water from alcohol. Dan decides when it is ready to bottle by smell, taste and feel. Fifty gallons of apple slurry is distilled to about a gallon and a half of apple brandy. After distillation, the fruit slurry is added to their compost and eventually put back on their fields in a self-sustaining process. “It gives us more nutrients to add to our farm.”

“We are capturing the flavor of the field—that’s the essence of craft farm distilling.”

All the fruit brandies currently produced by Watercure Farm Distillery are made with fruit from nearby Lapsley Orchard. Dan will incorporate their own fruit as their orchards mature. He showed off their root cellar (built DIY from a new concrete septic tank courtesy of a Mother Earth News design) stuffed with over two tons of potatoes.

They also saved the cedar tree just outside the tasting room during construction in order to harvest the juniper berries for gin. Shiitake Mushroom Infused Vodka, which I loved, is made from mushrooms grown on Watercure Farm. Subtle, sweet, earthy, with just a hint of mushroom at the finish. Dan says people who like scotch have fallen in love with this unique product.

“We’ll forever be building our own crop assets but at the rate we are going, we’ll use neighboring farms for a decent period,” Dan says. They can also use their own untreated produce, which is not conventionally pretty but always tasty. “You can always use the ‘ugly’ fruit for distilling perfect brandy.”

The response to the distillery has been very positive, with brisk weekend business in the tasting room that’s had them running the still almost daily. The local support has surprised Dan. “Everyone in town has been in love with the idea. I know we’re not Mayberry but we’re the first and we’re making hard liquor. When we opened the doors and neighbors came and thanked us for bringing it to our town, it shocked me. There’s been no negativity…something I’m tickled about.”

“Today is the release of our Russet Potato Vodka,” says Dan. After 6 months growing, then harvest, root cellar, wash, grind, 24-hour mash cycle, a week and a half fermenting, and two days of distilling, the result awaits in sixty-five 200ml glass bottles on the bar. I agree with his assessment on tasting: “Smooth, buttery, earthy, clean….” I expect it will sell out immediately. “We want it to retain flavor from the original source,” Dan says. “We are capturing the flavor of the field—that’s the essence of craft farm distilling.”

• Watercure Farm Distillery is located at 426 Mashamoquet Road in Pomfret Center.
• Open Friday - Sunday from 10am to 6pm for retail bottle sales. 860-315-5566 / watercurefarm.com / @watercurefarm on IG

The still's column is made of 17 plates, rising almost 16 feet to the roof. It's similar to performing 17 distillations in one run.