Montezuma Winery - Hidden Marsh Distillery
For more than thirty years, George Martin had been a bee keeper. George, along with wife, Virginia and son Ed, maintained and built a honey production and pollination business which contained two thousand hives and took place in Maine, New York, Florida and South Carolina.
In 2007, the Martin family had their eyes set on a new venture- distillation. They started lobbying in Albany for the laws to change, which would result in making it easier to distill spirits. At the time there were only a mere six distilleries in the state of New York.
Custom-built in Germany, our 400-liter Christian Carl column pot still has 2 columns consisting of a 4-plate column for high-end brandy production and a 21-plate column for premium vodka production. Being the first of its kind in the Finger Lakes region, we’re proud to be a pioneer in the field of artisan distilling in New York State. Each batch is a hands-on process and takes on a more artistic form producing high-quality premium spirits.
Author: Caroline Porsiel
Caroline Porsiel is a master distiller and liqueurist based in East Ellijay, Georgia. She founded House of Applejay, a fine spirits and liqueur distillery, in 2022 with her mother, Sabine, crafting award-winning products like Applejay from Ellijay, Mt. Frozen Knob Vodka, and Winter Cherry Mountain Liqueur. The distillery won a 2024 Best of Georgia Award and a 2025 Double Gold Medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition for its Winter Cherry Mountain Liqueur. As a founding member of the AMBRU Campaign, launched in 2020, Porsiel advocates for the global recognition of American Brandy and Rum. She continues to drive innovation in the craft spirits industry from her active distillery in the heart of Georgia’s apple country.
