Vermont’s Independent Voice / Seven Days
By Ken Picard
Elm Brook Farm: Dogged Pursuits
Elm Brook Farm in East Fairfield isn’t a distillery that tourists discover by accident. It sits in the midst of a 550-acre family farm owned by David and Lisa Howe. To get there, visitors must drive to the end of a long, winding private dirt road, through woods and past rolling fields and vineyards. There’s no formal tour, tasting room or gift shop, but on a recent weekday afternoon, David Howe is eager to show off his operation.
Burlington Press
By Sally Pollak, Free Press Staff Writer
East Fairfield
David Howe was working in finance in London two decades ago, but his interest was elsewhere: maple trees in Vermont. He had his eye on a derelict farm in Franklin County, 532 acres, with a sugarbush….
Boston Globe
As told to Dale and Darcy Cahill
David Howe, owner of Vermont’s Elm Brook Farm, believes he’s the first ever to make a barrel-aged spirit from maple sap, called Rail Dog.
I am a chemical engineer by trade. We tap our own trees, spend lots of time checking our lines, collecting sap, and, of course, boiling it down into syrup. About five years ago, we were tinkering with the process of making grape wine. It was pretty mediocre, so we decided to go back to the drawing board. Because we are a maple producer, we started to explore using maple sap instead of grapes. We researched the chemistry of maple and decided it was the way to go.
Edible: Green Mountains
Story by Liz Conforti
Photography by Gene Conforti
“Local is good, but our local product should be superior,” proclaims David Howe, owner of Elm Brook Farm in East Fairfield and master distiller of the maple-sugar-based artisan spirits Literary Dog Premium Sipping Vodka and Rail Dog Barrel Aged Maple Spirit.Made entirely in the Green Mountain State, starting with homegrown maple sugar fermented and distilled locally, these products are everything Vermont—and gluten free.
VPR
By Ric Cengeri & Franny Bastian
Vermont is known for its maple: maple syrup, maple candy, maple sugar. And in recent years, there has been a growing number of Vermonters using maple sap and syrup to make spirits.
DrinkWire: Liquor.com
Contributed by Drinking In America
We’re all about the farm to table craze when it comes to our booze. We love the idea of fresh, unique ingredients making their way into our beer, spirits and cocktails. Elm Brook Farm in Vermont is the latest to catch our eye with their new distilled creation: Rail Dog.