We're distilling years of preparation and a successful first summer into one spirited weekend celebration, and you don't want to miss a thing. We're throwing the barn doors open for tastings and tours, bottling brand-new batches of our most popular spirits and serving up great food, music and incredible Split Rock swag. (One lucky visitor will even go home with a Split Rock SeaBag® filled with goodies!)
Friday, October 7Tastings Start at Noon
Tours at 2pm and 4pm
Heat up these crisp, cool autumn days with a nip of Split Rock Organic Horseradish Vodka. This popular pour has been hard to find in stores, so here's your chance to stock up! Starting at noon, you can taste our latest batch in the best way possible—paired with delicious Damariscotta River oysters. Get in before they're gone!
Saturday, October 8Tastings Start at Noon
Tours at 2pm and 4pm
It's the Maine summer in a bottle and it has sold out absolutely everywhere ... but this Saturday, Organic Wild Maine Blueberry Vodka is back. A new batch of bottles, blueberry popsicles and fruit-forward cocktails are just some of the ways we'll share—and show off—the vodka everyone's talking about.
Sunday, October 9Tastings Start at Noon
Tours at 2pm and 4pm
The leaves and the light have gone russet, gold and amber, and there's a hint of woodsmoke in the air. This is bourbon weather, and we're bottling the latest batch of Split Rock Organic Bourbon straight from our oak barrels. Settle into Sunday afternoon (and the season) with classic coastal cocktails, appetizers and straight sips of our signature spirit.
After a lot of late nights, Split Rock has found a lot of early success. That's because of you—our friends, family and fans. So this celebration is for you. We'll be behind the bar or leading tours all weekend long, and we can't wait to say thank you ... and top up your glass. See you this weekend!
-Matt and Topher
GRAND OPENING RECAP
It’s Friday, the tasting room is completely stocked for the upcoming holidays! And we’re all looking forward to the weekend, right?
At Split Rock, we’re also looking back at the great time we had at our Grand Opening Celebration in October. That was our first taste of what a weekend at the distillery can turn into—and what every weekend going forward has to live up to. If you were a part of it, thank you.
If you weren’t, come by this weekend to help us recreate it! Like any classic cocktail, our Grand Opening had a few key ingredients mixed to perfection:
INSANE TURNOUT
From Friday at noon on October 7 to lights out on Monday, October 10, the barn was bursting with guests and good vibes. We were completely unprepared for—and overwhelmed by—the warmth of the welcome we received. It was all hands on deck and our friends and family really delivered.
My dad stepped up and spent his 70th birthday leading tastings behind the bar (and loved it!) while my college buddy Tino, volunteered to cut ginger and make ice balls for hours. Forrest, our newest employee, asked his girlfriend Steph to help serve up the Mook Sea Farm oysters and talk up MOFGA’s mission. We couldn’t have done it without them!
FUN INDOORS AND OUT
We opened our brand-new outdoor seating area that weekend and loved seeing so many people kicking back in the Adirondack chairs and cozying up. Sunday’s rain didn’t stop the fun—we brought everyone back inside and found ourselves having our first-ever barn dance. (Matt and I may have done some dancing back when the still was first turned on, but we’re not telling …)
This weekend’s weather looks spectacular, so come by, grab your favorite spirit and sit a while.
SOLD OUT SPIRITS
Our crew worked around the clock to stock the shelves with new batches of Organic Bourbon, Horseradish Vodka and Blueberry Vodka before the party. It felt so great to see rows of gleaming bottles lining the shelves … and that feeling lasted for oh, about a day. Organic Blueberry Vodka sold out completely, as did Batch 2 of our Organic Bourbon. (Batch 3 of both to be released today, Friday November 18th, at noon!)
A GOOD CAUSE
We offered Mook Sea Farm’s succulent Mookie Blues oysters alongside our spirits for a suggested donation to the Maine Organic Farmers and Growers Association (MOFGA). Our pure organic spirits depend upon the farmers and makers MOFGA supports, and our friends from Elderflower Farm were also on hand to help us make the case. The party ended with us paying it forward—our generous customers helped us donate to MOFGA in a big way.
Lucky customers Juliana and Joe walked out with the weekend’s big giveaways—our custom branded Sea Bag and one of our branded barrels. We ended up with a few gifts ourselves! Our families gave the distillery its own cornhole set. It’s set up out front—come play a few rounds! (Thank you Nancy, Ray, Cathy and Bob!)
In the midst of all the craziness, each time Matt and I caught each other’s eye we’d shake our heads and laugh. Can you believe this? We did it! All the hard work to handcraft true grain-to-glass spirits was worth it and everyone we loved was there to share it. We want every weekend afterward to have that same spirit—including this one. So we hope we see you all when the tasting room opens at noon today!