Berkshire Mountain Distillers Cultural Cocktails
Toasting the Arts This Summer
By: BMD - May 04, 2022
SHEFFIELD, Mass. (May 4, 2022) – Berkshire Mountain Distillers (BMD) Cultural Cocktails program will kick off the distillery’s 15th anniversary celebration on Memorial Day weekend. Engineered to unite and honor local partners, at a time when many have suffered due to the pandemic, this tribute to the arts centers around classic craft cocktail recipes created by local bartenders, and inspired by world-class Berkshire cultural institutions.
From late May through October 10, BMD will bolster connectivity among the entertainment, culinary and hospitality industries while generating regional excitement across local bars, venues, restaurants and arts organizations. Pioneering a craft cocktail movement as another way to experience the Berkshires, BMD is working with several dozen hospitality businesses to launch this campaign, developed to raise awareness of the Berkshires as an exceptional region for art, culture and cocktails.
Featuring favorite BMD spirits and named in partnership with Berkshire arts organizations, BMD worked alongside their marketing teams to connect this year’s featured cocktails to performances, exhibitions, special projects, works of art, a visiting dance company and a famed artistic director. The BMD spirit-forward cocktail names include Boydian Sip, Nectar of the Garden, BIFF Red Carpet, Colonial Cosmo, CATA Ta-Da, Sweet Francine, Shakered Not Stirred, Limon Technique, Mahaiwe Marquee, Bricks + Bourbon, The Edith Wharton, Downhill Daring, Red Lady, Berkshire Sunset and WTF-tini.
“The Red Lady was inspired by the words of Lady Macbeth: 'Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under't.’ We’re thrilled (and a little scared) to see The Red Lady become a signature Shakespearean cocktail!” said Jaclyn Stevenson, director of marketing and communications at Shakespeare & Company. “Relentless, blood-thirsty and ambitious, Lady Macbeth is not to be trifled with. However, Berkshire Mountain Distillers has taken the edge off of her biting personality with equally Elizabethan edible flowers and citrus flavors Will would call ‘Civil as an orange.’ Plus, they’re creating new partnerships in the Berkshires that are as important to our future as they are celebratory of the present. Cheers!”
Participating cultural organizations include Barrington Stage Company, Berkshire Botanical Garden, Berkshire International Film Festival, Berkshire Theatre Group, Community Access to the Arts, The Clark, Hancock Shaker Village, Jacob’s Pillow, Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, MASS MoCA, The Mount, Norman Rockwell Museum, Shakespeare & Company, The Trustees and Williamstown Theatre Festival.
“We can’t think of a place that has been more uniquely blessed with greater beauty, cultural treasures, creativity and indomitable people than the Berkshires. Francine Clark and her husband, Sterling, fell in love with Williamstown at first sight and busily created the Clark Art Institute as a place where everyone could enjoy the exceptional gift of experiencing great art in a setting of profound natural beauty,” said Vicki Saltzman, The Clark’s director of communications. “More than 60 years later, her legacy is gilded by the honor of inspiring those crafty connoisseurs at Berkshire Mountain Distillers to create The Sweet Francine. Tinged with golden honey in honor of the busy bees who live on the museum’s rooftop and touched by a splash of tea worthy of any of the more than 300 teacups in our collection, we raise our glass to our very own savvy, stylish and sweet Francine Clark!”
"Honors and toasts all around as Barrington Stage Company lovingly presents the Boydian Sip, named for our Founding Artistic Director Julianne Boyd. It's perfect timing for us, as we celebrate Julie's 28th and final season before she retires!” said Maggie LaMee, general manager of Barrington Stage. “Please join us in raising a glass to celebrate Julie's artistry and leadership – we're thrilled the glass will be full of Greylock Gin. As a pillar of our Berkshire cultural community, our Julie is known for speaking her mind, as you will after one of her namesake cocktails. Cheers!"
BMD will support this collaborative program with a collection of branded materials and a wide-ranging marketing and social media campaign with arts organizations and hospitality partners. Photographer Martin Albert and Billy Jack Paul, owner of Mooncloud in Great Barrington, were key contributors to helping craft, style and photograph the beautiful cocktails for this program.
BMD’s Cultural Cocktails will be featured at bars, restaurants, hotels and cultural institutions across the region and will be the signature drink at special events and fundraising galas this summer starting with the CATA Ta-Da at CATA’s sold-out gala and annual performance on May 7. In addition, BMD will serve Cultural Cocktails from their outdoor cocktail bar highlighting participating arts organizations every week, Memorial Day through Labor Day.
More than 20 participating bars and restaurants include Mezze Bistro + Bar and The Barn Kitchen & Bar at the Williams Inn in Williamstown; The Break Room, Freight Yard Pub and Trail House Kitchen & Bar in North Adams; Methuselah Bar & Lounge, Mazzeo’s Ristorante, Mission Gastropub and 101 Restaurant & Bar in Pittsfield; Alta Restaurant & Wine Bar, Brava, Gateways Dine + Drink and Olde Heritage Tavern in Lenox; Cafe Triskele in Lee; Baba Louie’s, Mooncloud, The Miller, Prairie Whale and The Well in Great Barrington; John Andrews Farmhouse Restaurant in South Egremont; and, Berkshire Mountain Distillers’ outdoor bar and Race Brook Lodge in Sheffield, with more to come.
“Mezze is excited to feature The Clark’s Sweet Francine, MASS MoCA’s Bricks + Bourbon and the WTF-tini in honor of Williamstown Theatre Festival – these organizations are so vital to our community,” said Maddy Markland, restaurant manager of Mezze Bistro. “We’re big fans of Berkshire Mountain Distillers spirits and look forward to serving our guests these delicious cocktails this summer!”
Since BMD was established 15 years ago, they have been supporting non-profit organizations with annual sponsorships and in-kind donations. As a community-based advocate with a commitment to supporting the local economy, they continue to create opportunities and programs to lift the entire region’s profile.
“We are thrilled to launch this year’s Cultural Cocktails program as a tribute to the remarkable cultural institutions we celebrate here in the Berkshires,” said Chris Weld, founder of BMD. “We are so fortunate to live and work in a region of creative and inspiring businesses and Berkshire Mountain Distillers is honored to be a part of a supportive community that cherishes art, culture and the crafting of a great cocktail.”
Visit BMD’s Cultural Cocktails site for a listing of arts organizations and hospitality partners celebrating and serving BMD Cultural Cocktails this season.
Live Music Saturdays with Berkshire Busk! Roadside
In addition to their Cultural Cocktails initiative, BMD will sponsor and host Berkshire Busk! Roadside on a satellite stage next to its outdoor pavilion in Sheffield from Memorial Day through Labor Day. A festival harnessing artistic talent to create a vibrant summer-long immersive arts experience, Berkshire Busk! will present “Live Music Saturdays' at the distillery from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., rain or shine. For more information and the full performance lineup at the distillery, visit the Berkshire Busk! Roadside website.
In addition to their Cultural Cocktails initiative, BMD will sponsor and host Berkshire Busk! Roadside on a satellite stage next to its outdoor pavilion in Sheffield from Memorial Day through Labor Day. A festival harnessing artistic talent to create a vibrant summer-long immersive arts experience, Berkshire Busk! will present “Live Music Saturdays' at the distillery from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., rain or shine. For more information and the full performance lineup at the distillery, visit the Berkshire Busk! Roadside website.
About Berkshire Mountain Distillers
One of the founding members of the craft distiller movement, Berkshire Mountain Distillers is an authentic, regionally focused maker of small-batch, award-winning craft spirits. A grain-to-glass operation, BMD supports local agriculture, using local ingredients in many of its handcrafted spirits. Firmly established, the craft distillery is leading the industry in both quality of production and sustainability. Their products are currently available in many states across the U.S.
As a James Beard Award Semi-finalist for Outstanding Spirits Professional, BMD has received numerous accolades including Gold Medal Awards from the Beverage Tasting Institute and San Francisco Spirits Competition as well as national praise from publications such as GQ, Details, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Cool Hunting, Wine Enthusiast and Jim Murray’s Whiskey Bible.
Visitors are encouraged to stop by BMD’s tasting room and sample a full selection of artisanal spirits including Greylock Gin, Ethereal Gins, Ragged Mountain Rum, Race Brook Rye, Ice Glen Vodka, Berkshire Bourbon and New England Corn Whiskey, plus a few cask-finished bourbons not otherwise available in Massachusetts and their full line of American whiskeys from the Craft Brewers Whiskey Project.
Located at 356 South Main Street in Sheffield, the distillery’s production facility, tasting room and retail store are open daily from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. with complimentary tastings for visitors 21 and over. BMD’s tasting room, retail shop and outdoor bar will remain open on Fridays and Saturdays until 6 p.m. through Labor Day weekend.
To learn more about BMD, visit berkshiremountaindistillers.com. Follow BMD on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
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