Eat… Hearty, Flavorful, and Cured in Your Backyard…
Bacon by Kreature Butcher Shop (Tim Loomis, Keegan Kramer & Dave Trahey)
Keature Butcher Shop is self-described as “an outlet for the community to experience local meats and cheese.” Sourced from area farms, the shop features fresh sausages, ground meats, roasts, steak and pork cuts, charcuterie items and a crowd favorite, an unrivaled bacon that highlights a balance of sweet and spiced.
The Kreature bacon demand is high but Vermontville, NY based supplier, Atlas Hoofed It Farm can keep up, all while ensuring the pigs are raised in a caring environment on a hormone and antibiotic free diet. The cuts of meat are dry rubbed and cured with a salt, sugar, brown sugar, and local maple syrup blend for seven to ten days. Once the cure is rinsed off, the bacon is heavily coated and rubbed with crushed black pepper, and left to sit for a day to create tact. The tact helps the hickory and apple flavors stick to the meat during the smoking process, and the end result is a mouthwatering blend of smoke and salt.
The bacon is available at Kreature Butcher Shop, located at 6115 Sentinel Road in Lake Placid, and is typically incorporated into menu items at Liquids and Solids, especially during tomato season.
The Dutch Knuckle by Sugar House Creamery (Margot Brooks & Alex Eaton)
Located in Upper Jay, NY, Sugar House Creamery produces an alpine inspired cheese named Dutch Knuckle. Dutch Knuckle is created in 25 pound wheels made from raw milk from the farm’s Brown Swiss cows. The wheels are aged for 10 to 12 months on spruce boards milled in the Adirondacks. The flavor is delicious and the cheese is incredibly versatile, appealing to almost all as it melts easily, works wonderfully on top of eggs, pairs well with apples, and is perfect for grilled cheese.
Aside from a delectable rich and buttery taste, the cheese is hearty, rugged, and holds up in temperature fluctuations which makes it a true “reflection of the Sugar House farm and the area.” Raw milk cheese reflects the taste influences of the milk itself, from grazing pastures to the water source, and the end result is extremely particular to the environment. The Dutch Knuckle exemplifies a true connection to the area as moving production even 30 minutes away would alter it entirely. Creator Margot Brooks calls it a mountain cheese and says “their goal is for people to associate Dutch Knuckle with the Adirondacks.”
Find the must-try Dutch Knuckle at the Creamery’s farm store, Green Goddess, Keature, Nori’s Village Market, Cedar Run Market and on the menu at Taste Bistro, Lake Placid Lodge, The Interlaken, Lake Placid Pub & Brewery, Big Slide Brewery, Liquids and Solids at the Handlebar, Fiddlehead Bistro, and Top of the Park. Sugar House also attends the Keene, Lake Placid, and Saranac Lake Farmers Markets in the summer season and hosts the Snowy Grocery, a small off-season farmer’s market, on Sundays in October through May.
Drink…Inventive, Colorful, and Created Close to Home
Blue Line Hin by Lake Placid Spirits (Mike McGlynn & Ann Stillman O’Leary)
Featuring the Northern White Pine, Blue Line Gin embodies the Adirondacks in a glass. With aromas of pine, juniper, and citrus, it’s fitting as the “blue line” refers to the blue ink pen that was used to outline an initial map of the Adirondack Park drafted in the 1970s. The white pine is sustainably harvested out of respect for the protected forests and Forever Wild areas of the park. The ingredients, taste profile, and even the graphic on the label all “demonstrate the connection to the region.”
In August 2016, Blue Line landed a double gold medal at the New York State Wine and Grape Foundation Classic due to a unanimous rating of “excellent” among the entire panel of judges. Comparably softer than most gins, the pine, in combination with select botanicals and pristine, Lake Placid water, create a unique spirit that pairs perfectly with Q or Fever Tree Tonic for a simple yet clean and refreshing libation.
The gin is available at all local wine and spirits shops and is incorporated into many cocktail lists at restaurants, pubs, bars, and hotels in Northern NY.
Handcrafted Soda & Cocktail Mix by Forever Wild Beverage Co. (Jenn Jubin)
Creator Jennifer Jubin describes her Forever Wild Beverages as “botanic brews for untamed spirits.” She is passionate about the Adirondack Park, its people, and the local economy, and her product “captures the true spirit of the Adirondack wilderness.” Jenn incorporates fresh, raw, and local ingredients including organic fruit, shrubs, bitters, and herbs which are then preserved via traditional methods with vinegar, an approach inspired by the healing power of shrubs and herbs to remedy colds and illness used in Colonial times.
The end result is a concentrated craft soda or mixer that can be enjoyed straight or combined with water, seltzer, or alcohol for a craft cocktail. The unique and tasty flavor combinations are ever-evolving but favorites include Blueberry Mint, Pear Ginger, and Cherry Lime.
Products can be purchased seasonally at Adirondack retailers, online at www.drinkforeverwild.com, or at the makerspace, marketplace, and tasting bar coming summer 2017 to downtown Lake Placid.
And for a perfect summer cocktail, try 1 oz. of Forever Wild Beverage Co. Blueberry Mint Shrub mixed with 1 oz. of Lake Placid Spirits Blue Line Gin. Serve up or on the rocks. Add seltzer water and garnish with fresh blueberries and mint.