Tag Archives: DikinDurt Distillery

Another Taste, Please!

Posted on May 15, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

I wasn’t going to go to the tasting at Valley Wine and Spirits in Herkimer, NY yesterday, because when I get a free taste I like to make a purchase and I have enough wine and booze on hand for my next party which is not yet scheduled (I think that is a run-on sentence, but it is so seldom that I have one, I shall not apologize).  Where was I?  Oh yes, showing up to say hello to my friends of DikinDurt Distillery at Valley Wine and Liquor.

Nice lady, nice booze!

I seem to have mislaid the adventure book where I took my tasting notes, but I remember what I tasted and think I remember what I thought about it.  I actually think I left the book at the liquor store, because now that I think about it, I seem to remember putting it on some boxes of canned drinks under the tasting counter when I went to take the picture.  I can only hope it is still there, or that one of the workers saw it and said, “This has to be Cindy’s.”  I am known for going to tastings and taking tasting notes.

The bottle Kayla is holding is the Bourbon, which I liked.  It is funny how one’s tastes change, because I used to not care for bourbon.  Now I like the really good ones.  Next I tasted the clear Moonshine, which I purchased the last time I tasted DikinDurt.  I thought it might be good to serve at a party or perhaps to donate to a Basket of Cheer.  It was pretty strong all by itself.  90 proof, I think she said.

“That’ll clear your sinuses!” I said.  I liked it, but these things can be dangerous if taken to excess.

Next I tried the Raspberry, just to try a sweet one, which I rarely do.  It was quite tasty, very fruity and sweet. I am not big on the sweet stuff, but I can see where others might like this, mixed with pink lemonade or ginger ale, or even over ice.

I greatly enjoyed my tastes and my conversation.  DikinDurt Distillery has a tasting room at 7447 Main St., Newport, NY, which is open Fridays by reservation, 315-868-1563.  Their products are available at Valley Wine and Wine and Liquor as well as many local bars and restaurants. You can follow them on Facebook.

 

Leave a comment

Posted in humor, local business, personal and tagged , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Lame is the Answer

Posted on January 31, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

Oh dear, I wanted to make my Lame Post Friday blog post before going out adventuring today, but I sit here at my Chromebook feeling headachey and dull.  Where’s that sparkling personality I thought I had?  And here we come to the ugly truth about me.  Never mind.  I want to make a blog post and I will.   Quick, throw in a picture to lighten  up the mood.

Who could be uncheered by a snowman?

I have not seen any snowmen recently.  It has not been warm enough for the snow to pack, unfortunately.  The caption, by the way, is an homage to Winnie the Pooh.

You KNOW I am going to enter!

Here is a sign I have not seen in a while, because I have not been running.  I really want to start again, but with below zero wind chills and ice on the roadways, I keep putting it off. I have been saying I am going to run the Boilermaker 15K in Utica, NY this July but have not yet registered.  I heard open registration started, so I better get moving on it.  It will be good for a few blog posts anyways.

Bittersweet is the word.

I close on a melancholy note.  I shared this picture on Facebook this morning after it showed up in my Memories.  The mugs were a Christmas gift from my sister Cheryl, the Queen of Christmas, to my dearly missed husband Steve and me. I said that I rarely use these mugs, but perhaps I would today for a cup of hot cocoa.  I recently purchased the necessary ingredients.  Hmm, that motivates me to get out the door and get on with my errands and adventures.  I can return to a steaming mug of hot cocoa.  Maybe I’ll add a shot of moonshine from Dikin Durt Distillery, just to give a local business a shout-out.

 

Leave a comment

Posted in humor, Lame Post Friday, personal and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Late Post, Even Later Pictures

Posted on September 14, 2025 by mohawkvalleygirl

Well, the Mohawk Valley wasn’t lame yesterday, but I pretty much was.  I was afraid the Mohawk Valley Garlic and Herb Festival would be too much of a crowd scene, so I stayed close to home.  I did a little yard word and discovered I have another Rose of Sharon growing some distance from the original bush, and it has a few blooms on it!  I meant to take a picture for inclusion here but, alas, forgot.  I could do it now, but the sun isn’t up yet.

The crown scene in 2018.

As for cleaning the house, I made very little progress.  I managed to write my usual Saturday post cards and walked them to the post office.

A regular stop for me.

Yes, the only picture I could find in my Media Library of Herkimer’s post office was in the wintertime, January 2019 to be exact, and it took me long enough to find that.  Anyways, after the post office I kept walking.  For one reason, I had not gone running (will I go running today?  Good question).  For another, I was low on cash, and Cliff’s Local Market (might as well give them a shout-out too; they are locally owned) has an AmeriCU ATM.  From there it was little trouble to cross the street and enjoy another tasting at Valley Wine and Liquor.  They usually have them from 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturdays.

Full disclosure: this is not what I tasted yesterday.

This is another photo from a previous event, but at least it is more recent than my previous pictures.  Additionally, it give me a chance to give another shout-out to one of my favorite local businesses, DikinDurt Distillery.

I guess this turned out to be a less lame blog post than I expected (or do I flatter myself?).  And I feel I should appreciate whatever I manage to get done these days.  Will I have any bloggable Mohawk Valley Adventures today?  Hard to say.  It is, after all, Wrist to Forehead Sunday.  But I do hope to make a blog post, and I hope you will stay tuned.

 

Leave a comment

Posted in humor, personal, Scattered Saturday and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Love That DikinDurt!

Posted on August 17, 2025 by mohawkvalleygirl

I used to make it to all the tastings at Valley Wine and Liquor in Herkimer, NY.  It was a great way to start and to continue the weekend.  These days I am not so consistent, but when a great local producer like DikinDurt Distillery is tasting, I am there!

I arrived early and stood chatting with the guys behind the counter, hastening to get out of the way when I noticed someone wanted to make a purchase.  This is my problem with living alone:  I go all day with only myself to talk to.  This is not easy for an incurably social person such as myself.  I went on to some good conversation with Kayla, who was pouring.

She was really nice.

For hard liquor they are allowed to give you three regular tastes or six itty bitty tastes.  I went for three regular tastes, starting with the bourbon.  I have never been fond of bourbon, but lately at tastings, I have found a few I liked.  I really liked the DikinDurt stuff.  I suppose my tastes are changing in my old age.  That should keep things interesting.  I went on  to the Toasted Maple Moonshine, which I have previously liked quite a bit.  This time it tasted sweet to me.  Kayla pointed out that it doesn’t taste so sweet after the berry-infused flavors.  Quite true, of course.

I ended with Mohawk Valley Fire, and my tasting note is, “Oh yeah!”  I am constantly recommending this to people drinking Fireball.  Kayla recommended mixing it with apple cider and a splash of apple juice for an Apple Pie drink.  I know some people who would love something like that.  For myself, I will probably use it to flavor some iced coffee one afternoon.  I love a glass of iced coffee on a summer afternoon!

Kayla also suggested I visit DikinDurt’s tasting room in Newport, which is open Fridays from 4:30 to 9 p.m. and Saturdays from 2 to 9 p.m..  I have been meaning to do this, especially as there are a few other places in Newport that are worth a stop.  I just do so little adventuring on my own these days.  Perhaps it is time to change that.

 

Leave a comment

Posted in humor, local business, personal and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

I Guess It’s My Thursday Thing Now

Posted on March 17, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

Never mind how I ended up at Fratello’s Pizzeria in Frankfort, NY, it’s a long story (and I may make it my Lame Post Friday post,  but no promises).  The point is, I walked in, heard music, and right away saw my niece Kimi and her boyfriend,  Matt.

“Boy am I glad to see you!” I said.  Friends, music, food, this was the cure I needed.

I loved his sound.

The singer was Tom Maneen (good God, autocorrect tried to make it Hanson!), who I had never heard before.  He played acoustic guitar and a wonderful mix of music.

At one point he asked for a Jack Fire.  I asked if he had tried Mohawk Valley Fire from Dikin Durt Distillery, which I like to recommend to people when they are having something similar.  He said he had tried all their stuff and loved it.  It’s always nice to encounter someone who likes the same local business I do.

Matt asked for Cold Play but could not pick one of their great hits.  I asked for something from the ’80’s and got “Purple Rain,” which I realized I was writing about with a purple pen.  It’s the little things.

We were soon joined by Matt’s friend Dan, who I had met before.  I was pleased that I remembered his name, because I usually can only remember one person per name, and I already know a few Dans.  Dan was drinking Utica Club, which I mention in order to plug another local business.  I told Dan he was going in the blog for that reason.  He agreed to it, mentioning that he always drinks UC.

As I said, the evening was just what I needed, even if I did wait till Friday morning to make my Thursday blog post (I don’t know why I feel compelled to point up my lateness, but so it is).  I can only hope I get just what I need on Friday.

 

Leave a comment

Posted in humor, local business, personal and tagged , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Sweet Halloween Spirits on Throwback Thursday

Posted on October 21, 2022 by mohawkvalleygirl

We can call yesterday either a real Wuss-out Wednesday or a real Blogger’s Sick Day; the result is the same, and the least said, soonest mended.  Already I have said too much.  I continue to say too much by complaining that headaches continue plague me.  I daresay I do not lead a healthy enough lifestyle.  I must work on that, but in the meantime,  let me attempt another Throwback Thursday Post.

That is a good quote.

I went back to October 2016 for a shot of one of my favorite places, the So Sweet Candy Shoppe in Utica, NY.  I have not been there recently so cannot report on their current Halloween decor.

Must have spirits on Halloween.

I looked in my Media Library in October 2017 and found this shot from Dikin Durt Distillery in Herkimer,  NY.  I do not know that it is overtly Halloweeny, but it does involve spirits.  I say that counts.

Those are some big pumpkins!

Skipping ahead to October 2019, here is a more Halloweeny shot from Pumpkin Junction in Sauquoit, NY.  I have been there once this year (perhaps you read my blog post about it) and hope to go again.

I think my concluding paragraph will bring me to 200 words, my admittedly arbitrary blog standard (it did).  I will provide the headache and healthy lifestyle update in a future post.

 

Leave a comment

Posted in humor, personal, Throwback Thursday and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Throwback and Shout-out

Posted on January 28, 2022 by mohawkvalleygirl

Time for another Throwback Thursday post. Full disclosure: It is early Friday morning. I had a rather frantic time after work yesterday, trying to get a few things done before rehearsal. Fuller disclosure: I did not get many things done; I sat and watched a rerun of Mom to relax myself. It’s called Self Care.

They are nice, and their product is good.

This is a shout-out to a local business, but the picture is from 2017. That counts, right? It is DikinDurt Distillery of Herkimer. I am more into wine than booze, but their product is yummy, and comes in several flavors: something for everyone. Almost everyone. I know not everyone drinks.

Not equipment currently in use.

I might as well go ahead and give them a thorough shout-out. You can sometimes find their product in local bars and liquor stores. They also attend many area vendor fairs. Or you can visit the distillery at 115 Smith Rd. in Herkimer. You can see the distilling equipment through a window and hear all about the business.

The distilling room.

I visited the tasting room once with my friend Kim. We have been meaning to go again. In the meantime, I hope this counts as my Throwback Thursday post.

My friend Kim.

I thought it would be a good idea to include the picture of the beautiful blonde.

2 Comments

Posted in humor, local business, personal, Throwback Thursday and tagged , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

I Don’t Just Wine

Posted on January 29, 2021 by mohawkvalleygirl

I am going to make a Throwback Thursday Post and work on having more Mohawk Valley Valley Adventures tomorrow. Any objections? I thought not.

I wish I was there!

From January 2017, I found this picture of Prospect Falls Winery in Prospect, NY. I love that place! I see by their Facebook page they are open. Not this minute, but tomorrow. There’s an adventure I could get into.

Beer is good, too!

Here is a picture of my husband Steven and me at Woodland Farm Brewery in Utica, NY. That is another site I’d like to visit again.

I think we look nice.

These hot flappers are my friend Kim and I at a Prohibition Party at Gerber 1933 Tavern in Utica. They are temporarily closed, according to their Facebook page. Oh, I hope they re-open soon! I will be there, whether or not I can dress in 1920’s clothes.

And there’s always booze.

I was looking for another picture of 1920’s clothes, but I found this one of the proprietors of DikinDurt Distillery in Herkimer, NY. I believe they are still open at their Smith Road location, as well as being available at some local liquor stores and bars. It is some very fine stuff.

I guess this has been a fairly alcohol-soaked Throwback Thursday Post. But I never drink and drive. In future posts I’ll look to share some sober adventures as well.

In the meantime, I am over 200 words. Happy Thursday, everyone!

2 Comments

Posted in humor, personal, Throwback Thursday and tagged , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

I Dig DikinDurt!

Posted on March 4, 2020 by mohawkvalleygirl

We recentlyenjoyed a tasting of DikinDurt Distillery of Herkimer at Valley Wine and Liquor,  also in Herkimer.  We have enjoyed DikinDurt Moonshine on many other occasions and were happy to sip a little more.

Good stuff!

We also had a nice time chatting up Elizabeth Stack, one of the proprietors of  DikinDurt.  We have met her at numerous tastings as well as at the distillery itself.  You know me, I am always ready to taste!

I had to persuade Elizabeth to let me get a picture of her and Steve.

Of particular interest was their bourbon, a non-moonshine choice.  I have only recently started to like bourbon, and I quite enjoyed this one.  Elizabeth gave us some recipes, using the bourbon and the various flavors of moonshine.  Perhaps a moonshine cocktail party is in our future!

Sometimes I like other things than wine.

We purchased the Honey Buzz Moonshine, which is made with local honey.  I am looking forward to making a few hot toddies with that!  We also talked about making another trip to the distillery.  For one reason, I would like to bring my sisters there.  I think they would enjoy the moonshine and the bourbon.

DikinDurt Distillery is located at 115 Smith Rd., Herkimer, NY.  Their tasting room is open 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, and 1 to 6 p.m. Saturday.   You can also purchase their delicious product at Valley Wine and Liquor, 326 S. Caroline St., Herkimer.

 

Leave a comment

Posted in humor, local business, personal and tagged , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

For a Sunday Post, It Will Have To Do

Posted on September 9, 2019 by mohawkvalleygirl

 

It is SO Wrist to Forehead Sunday today!  I don’t want to make a post.  I don’t want to do anything!  What a bum!

The only reason I am typing anything at all (as Truman Capote famously said, “That’s not writing, that’s typing”) is that I do not want to be typing at 4 a.m. tomorrow.  I know, I said posting in the morning was going to be a thing, but I don’t want to HAVE to do it. Am I making sense?  Probably not,  but as usual, I ask you to bear with me.

We had a fun time earlier with our friend Kim at the End Zone Pub and Grub.  There is not much else I can say about that, and, alas, I did not take pictures.  Pictures always do pep up a post, don’t they?

Isn’t she pretty?

Just to prove that point, I put in a picture of Kim.  This is at Dikin Durt Distillery in Herkimer, NY.  That lets me include another plug for a local business.  I need to get back to Dikin Durt soon.  I could use another bottle of moonshine for coffee of questionable moral fiber purposes.

So this is my blog post for today.  Two small plugs for local businesses and a little whining about How I Can’t Make a Post.  It will have to do.

Just to also include a picture of the End Zone.

 

Leave a comment

Posted in humor, personal, Wrist to Forehead Sunday and tagged , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.
← Older Posts
→