Flag Hill, the first distillery in the state of New Hampshire, has been producing General John Stark vodka from a base described by even the president of Flag Hill himself, Frank Reinhold, as "off the wall": apples.

Flag Hill's General John Stark vodka has been gaining plaudits from vodka aficionados since its inception in 2004.  Rated in the March 2006 issue of Wine Enthusiast as "Very Good (85-89)/Recommended" and featured in Yankee Magazine, this small batch distillery out of Lee, New Hampshire is producing a vodka that's "beating out the elite triple distilled vodkas like Skyy and Smirnoff", says Reinhold.

Heather Houle, Marketing and Events Coordinator for Flag Hill since 2004, boasts that General John Stark "is rated as one of the top two favorites in blind taste tests with all others. There's no outright flavor, taste, or color, but there's a sweet nose or smell and a clean finish to our vodka. It's smooth and nice to drink straight."  Flag Hill isn't interested in producing flavored vodka at the moment, as Houle explains: "There are lots of flavored vodkas out there. When you're making a craft vodka on a smaller basis, it isn't too appealing to make flavored vodka. The cost is high and typically flavored vodkas are on a low to midlevel premium." Instead, using their trademark vodka as a base, Flag Hill offers a sugar maple liqueur using Grade A New Hampshire maple syrup, as well as a cranberry liqueur using Massachusetts cranberries. Once a small family operated vineyard in 1990, Flag Hill has extended its winery to include the Ferguson-Davis dining room, where four-course dinners are offered to the public, while the production of General John Stark is earning Flag Hill eminent standing in the sphere of super-premium vodkas.

"The Spirit of Maine" exists not only in its miles of coastline, scenic back roads, and hiking trails, but also in Cold River Vodka. This "authentic, complex, but not complicated" vodka is made from potatoes grown on the family-owned Green Thumb Farm in Fryeburg and the Cold River water that flows through Evans Notch, a town bordering both Maine and New Hampshire. Maine Distilleries, which produces the brand, is located in Freeport, Maine. It is the only "ground-to-glass" potato vodka distillery in the entire United States, meaning the harvested potatoes are processed to the final bottled spirit all in one location.

As owner and head distiller Chris Dowe, who has been with Maine Distilleries for three years, says, "Cold River Vodka is more than a drink - it's about an experience. It's a lot different than other vodkas. It isn't your Western palette vodka with absolutely no taste, vodka made for being covered up. Ours has a hint of flavor. It's a more traditional Old World Russian vodka."

Produced from potatoes, water, distiller's yeast, and little else, Cold River vodka is, consequently, totally gluten-free. Most potato vodkas "typically use wheat and barley with the potatoes in the distilling process" and grain-based vodkas are in greater quantity on liquor store shelves, leaving few options for vodka enthusiasts allergic to grain.

Dowe, who possesses both a degree in philosophy and an extensive background in brewing, proudly remarks, "We're finding that most people drinking Cold River are drinking it straight, drinking it warm. It makes me feel good. We're up against anyone out there in terms of smoothness. We've done blind tastings and we're being chosen eight out of ten times as the smoothest vodka."  The enthusiasm of Maine Distilleries' owners (all Maine-based friends and siblings from varying past vocations) and their exceptional attention to details, such as numbering each Cold River bottle by hand to reflect its specific batch, are exemplified in the end result: a handcrafted vodka embodying "The Spirit of Maine" since 2005.  Curious viewers are given a chance to witness the Cold River distillation process firsthand through free tours at the Freeport location six days a week.

Vodka's nuanced character is seemingly without limit, with super-premium versions becoming more predominant in their worldwide popularity. Donald Trump himself has designs to cash in on its allure with his Trump Super Premium vodka, hoping to overhear hipsters in metropolitan bars nationwide ordering a "T&T" (Trump and Tonic).  Flag Hill's owner Frank Reinhold discloses this bit of vital knowledge: "the vodka trade is a type in which scale does not produce quality." When reaching for the familiar vodka bottle on the liquor store shelf, consider New England's boutique distilleries: producers of vodka contending with a massive market and still making a dent in the system through innovation, creativity, and unfettered enthusiasm for what they do. Invite some friends over and conduct your own blind taste test, making a toast to the venerable victor.