At the core of Wild Hart Distillery is one man’s passion for his home state of Vermont.

Founded in 2016 by Craig Stevens, Wild Hart Spirits “embodies all of Vermont: the contemporary, the quirkiness, the accessibility.” Stevens attended a course taught by one of the first distillers in Vermont, which eventually led to Stevens becoming an apprentice under said distiller, and from there, he was attracted to every facet of the industry. He quickly realized it would be his encore career. “At Wild Hart, I revel in having a completely different project every single day. Yes, at the core it is manufacturing, producing the same thing over and over, but in running a small, thriving distillery, I must be flexible, resourceful, and adaptable.”

Wild Hart’s name originates from a spin on the three stages of alcohol production: heads, hearts, and tails. While sticking to their Vermont roots, they blended the “hearts” imbibed with the red deer, or hart, found in their unique state. “The hart is also a nod to our roots and love of the outdoors, becoming the foundation of our image, branding, and sense of place.”

 

 

The Wild Hart brand demonstrates several values of Vermont, such as independent thinking, love and respect of the land, sense of community, strong work ethic, and a live-and-let-live attitude. Wild Hart distillery has a simple, classic, yet contemporary branding, along with premium quality spirits with comprehensible pricing, and unique, but not over-the-top, flavor profiles. They use time-honored distillation techniques but update classic spirits to make them relatable.

Wild Hart Distillery’s portfolio is quite unique, and from a marketing perspective, many people like to try new flavors, so this is directly reflected in Stevens’ work. “I think about new flavor profiles that are going to be eye catching to entice our customers to pick us up off the shelf. My inspiration has come from so very many places. I talk a lot with people in the industry—bartenders, servers, owners—and understand their need to maintain fast paced, fool-proof cocktail programs that make their customers feel entertained and delighted. I am constantly gleaning ideas about how to bring a craft cocktail experience to people’s homes and what flavor shortcuts we can give them to leverage that desire.”

Stevens remarks that the success of Wild Hart’s portfolio is in the long-term relationship they create with consumers and businesses. “Our spirits become staples of a well-rounded bar because they are delicious, elevate the simplest of cocktails, and put a modern spin on popular classics and craft cocktails. Take our Chai Spiced Rum in a Dark and Stormy, our Pear Ginger Gin in a Gimlet, or our Blood Orange Gin in a Negroni. Each spirit enhances traditional cocktails for fast-paced restaurants and bars that want to provide a sophisticated experience for their customers.”

Wild Hart has some exciting things in the works, as they are being catapulted into the cocktail scene of the mid-Atlantic region by Vintage Imports with launches in PA, MD, NY, and NJ, and Stevens also plans on expanding their rum program.

 

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Blackberry Blood Orange G&T

Ingredients:

• 2 oz Wild Hart Vermont Blood Orange Gin
• 6 large blackberries
• 1/2 oz simple syrup
• 3-4 oz tonic water

Preparation: In a cocktail stirring glass, muddle the blackberries and simple syrup together to create a thick, deep red syrup. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into the bottom of your serving glass. Add several large ice cubes. Pour the tonic over the ice gently, so that most of the blackberry syrup stays close to the bottom. Gently float the gin on top of the tonic.

 

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Chai Tai

Ingredients:

• 2 oz Wild Hart Vermont Chai Spiced Rum
• 1 oz Cranberry Juice
• 3 oz Pineapple Juice
• 1/2 oz Orange Liqueur
• 1 oz Dark Rum
• Pineapple for garnish

Preparation: First, in a cocktail mixing glass, mix up the middle layer: pineapple juice, chai-spiced rum, and orange liqueur. Then add a few big ice cubes to a glass. Next, pour the cranberry juice into the bottom of your glass, being careful not to splash on the sides. After, very gently, float the pineapple-rum-orange mixture over the cranberry juice. Finally, and very gently, float an ounce of dark rum over the top… or a bit more, we won’t tell. Garnish with a slice of pineapple and enjoy!

 

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Fig Gin & Ginger

Ingredients:

• 2 oz Wild Hart Vermont Classic Gin
• 1/2 oz Fig Simple Syrup
• 3-4 oz Ginger Beer
• Ice

​Preparation: In a cocktail stirring glass, combine the gin and fig simple syrup and stir with ice. Place a few large ice cubes into a highball glass. Pour the gin mixture over the ice. Top it off with ginger beer to fill the glass. Garnish with fresh figs.