The first years of the organization were the hardest, according to those who remember the struggle to get people to understand that Roxbury’s wooded knolls, undulating farmlands and historic sites could be lost forever if not protected. Few could have predicted what this group’s foresight would launch when they signed incorporation papers and began inviting others to join the conservation effort.
Birchall was a local dairy farmer and the town’s First Selectman from 1968-1981, Pratt, a nationally known photographer whose family started the Pratt Institute, and Gratwick, a doctor and the retired headmaster of the Horace Mann School in New York.īut the three men had one thing in common: an abiding love of Roxbury’s rural landscape and a deep conviction that something had to be done to preserve the land and the quality of the water in its rivers and brooks. The distillery is open daily for tastings, cocktails, and bottle sales.When Charles Pratt, Mitchell Gratwick and Harold Birchall sat around the kitchen table in Pratt’s Roxbury home in 1970, they may have seemed an unlikely trio to found the Roxbury Land Trust. One hundred percent family-owned and operated and independently distributed. One hundred percent gluten-free, excepting the whiskey, of course. No artificial ingredients, colors, or sugars added. Their products are homegrown and meticulously handcrafted on the farm. Harvest Spirits never compromises on quality. Either way, a visit to this unique place where it all began should be top on your list. Sample their award-winning spirits, enjoy a cocktail or a draft of local hard cider or beer out on their deck under the wisteria blooms. Step into the distillery and you will get a sense of the homegrown and eclectic mix that has created this iconic place and space, where history, innovation, creativity, and the pioneering spirit have built incredible experiences and truly exceptional products. Their award-winning spirits truly express the terroir of the Hudson River Valley and pay tribute to the abundant variety of the local fruit. Having helped to forge the way in New York craft distilling, Harvest Spirits received New York State’s first Farm Distillery license in 2007 and shortly after produced New York’s first Applejack since the prohibition era.