By Christopher Kazarian
When it comes to the region’s burgeoning craft beverage scene, Cape Cod’s breweries are the big kid on the block. The new kid? It’s distilleries.
While relatively small—only Cape & Islands Distillers in Mashpee, and South Hollow Spirits in Truro, are open to tastings and tours—the industry is beginning to establish a foothold here. “I think the distilleries are in its infancy in this particular area,” said Sunshine Stuart, manager of Cape & Islands Distillers, which Jonathan Fryer and Vinny O’Brien opened in May of last year. “I feel it is the next big thing on the Cape, and I feel like there’s more to come just like it was with the craft breweries when they started here.”
With clever packaging—artwork featuring a great white shark, a white heron, and a bull sperm whale adorn its bottles—and names like Cape Cod Great White Rum, Sippewissett Cape Cod Gin, and Crook Jaw’s Cape Cod Amber Rum, the distillery has a distinct localized feel.
That extends to the products used in the making of its spirits. Adjacent to Cape Cod Coffee, the distillery has incorporated its neighbor’s non-alcoholic product in its vodka. And Harvest Moon Farms on Route 6A in West Barnstable will be supplying potatoes for its gin and vodka. “It’s unique that we’re using local farmers and making our product onsite,” said Stuart, noting that recent renovations have allowed production of their alcohol to move from Medfield to Mashpee.
It is here where patrons can not only sample locally-made alcohol—their offerings include gin, amber rum, white rum, and vodka along with ready-to-drink canned cocktails—but also learn about the history of the distillery and the production process.
“We recommend people come in for a tasting. It is so fun,” Stuart said. “People can choose to sample four spirits and four canned cocktails. It’s a really nice tasting room where you can taste our beverages while we tell you the back story and you get to see where our stuff gets made and learn how it is made.”
One of the best (and most responsible) ways to visit Cape & Islands Distillers is by taking a tour with TapTastings Craft Brew Excursions. Launched in 2019 by Leslie and Karen Cozza, the company offers door-to-door service; they will make reservations for you at the distilleries, breweries, wineries, cocktail bars, and coffeehouses of your choice. You can even mix in golf, mini-golf, bowling, the arcade, and axe-throwing.
“While riding in our very comfortable van, Barley, we provide information about the stops and what to expect at each for beverages and food,” Leslie Cozza said. Throw in quizzes and prizes, and TapTastings makes for an ideal group outing to celebrate birthdays and anniversaries, for bachelor and bachelorette parties, family gatherings, corporate events, or just for the fun of it.
She recommended the late spring or early fall as the best time to book a trip for multiple reasons—decent weather, crowds are manageable, and venues are still operating longer hours of the day.
As far as the Cape’s two distilleries, Leslie said, “both offer tastings for visitors, which is key to finding out if you’d like to purchase a full bottle of a certain spirit.”
At South Hollow Spirits, they have tasting flights available for purchase. Located on the same property as Truro Vineyards—both are owned and operated by the Roberts family—a trip to the distillery allows patrons to also sample locally-made wines. Because it’s in proximity to Provincetown Brewing, patrons can get a full taste of the Cape’s craft beverage scene.
“Cape & Islands Distillers is a popular stop since it’s more centrally located on the Cape and they provide guided tastings of their spirits,” Leslie said.
Along with South Hollow Spirits and Cape & Islands Distillers is Oysterville Vodka. While distilled in Florida, it has a Cape connection. The spirit is an ode to Osterville’s original name; the town also happens to be where its owner Charlotte Canzano lives.
Canzano came up with the concept in 2015 after her fiancé, Greg Hoffman, was diagnosed with cancer. The couple started eating healthier foods, including homemade smoothies and her own flavor-infused vodka.
When he recovered, Canzano said, “he couldn’t tolerate a lot of the stuff he used to drink and eat.” That included beer and wine.
It was during that time that Canzano began to dive deeper into the vodka-making process. It started at home, she said, “as I was using vodka to make cocktails and infusing it with juice, and it just grew from there. I know vodka is a neutral spirit, but if you taste five side-by-side, all will taste different depending on how they were filtered, where they were made, and how they were made.”
As her research expanded, Canzano realized she not only wanted to make the perfect product for her home, but one she could sell in package stores and restaurants throughout the country.
Seven years and one pandemic later, growth has been steady, which has made Canzano proud, particularly in a saturated market. “Being a stay-at-home mom and putting my kids through school, it was a struggle,” Canzano said. “Doing this has shown my kids that you’ve got to keep going and you’ve got to work hard to be successful. I love what I do, and I hope this continues to grow for all the right reasons.”