When we think of gin, we usually think of a distinct botanical, juniper-inflected flavor and clear appearance. But Catskills-based craft gin distillery Isolation Proof explores the versatility of this spirit, pushing boundaries through seasonal releases that include savory flavors—mushroom gin, anyone?—or vibrant hues, like the pale pink strawberry rhubarb gin.
Beyond taste and appearance, Isolation Proof’s seasonal products are made with hyperlocally sourced or foraged ingredients. From wild apples to hillside spring water, the brand creates a distinctly Catskills “taste of place.”
“There are a lot of clear gins, and I wanted a way to differentiate us, but I’m also excited about using local ingredients to do so,” says Jake Sherry—owner, distiller, man of many hats. “Classic gin is made with seven core botanicals and you need to rely on a global supply chain for some, but by offering expressions of seasonally sourced ingredients, we can use items from the farm down the road or that are found while foraging on our own property. It turns into a product that’s the reflection of a place, and I embrace the challenge of finding seasonal ingredients and building delicious gin around a uniquely Catskills recipe.”
Sherry began distilling as a self-taught hobbyist in 2018, while working a full-time position in the film advertising industry in the city. “Around the same time, I discovered both the Catskills and the hobby of distilling,” he explains, “but by 2020—we all know what happened. Film production slowed and suddenly I had a lot of extra time, so I found myself in Bovina distilling in my barn more and more.” The Isolation Proof brand started during that time, the name a nod to the solitariness of quarantine.
“We became a craft gin distillery—and gin is an important distinction from just calling it a distillery because when people think about distillers in New York, they often associate it with whisky,” Sherry explains. “But because I was a gin drinker, it was important to me to focus on this spirit, and to open people’s eyes to the bigger picture of what gin could be. It’s a juniper-touched spirit, but beyond that, there are so many possibilities.”
The first product was a classic clear gin. The second was a pivot that many other distillers were taking at the time—hand sanitizer. “I started making a strong, 60-proof gin that worked as a sanitizer, but realized we could lower the proof and make a classic London-style dry that’s more suitable for cocktails,” Sherry says. “I took the approach of getting it to market first then continuing to evolve it—add a few more grams of cinnamon here, change the licorice root; it allows the gin to be consistent, but a living product that gets better over time.”
About a year later, in 2021, Isolation Proof started to gain momentum in interest and sales, and Sherry realized he couldn’t simultaneously give his full attention to both the distillery in the Catskills and to his career as a director of advertising in the city. “I was growing restless of working on other people’s brands and was passionate about distilling, so I abandoned my career of over a decade and pivoted to something in which I had no formal training,” Sherry laughs. “I think that coming out of the pandemic gave me the perspective to consider how I really wanted to spend my time. And luckily my wife was, and has been, super supportive of the decision.”
Although the distillery started in Bovina, as the business grew, Sherry realized he needed more space and found a new location nearby in Bloomville. The move was bittersweet at first, as he sourced water from a spring on the former property for his gin, which he insisted on continuing and would truck over tanks of water to the new spot. “One day I was exploring the new property and was lucky to find a spring that bubbles out of a big boulder on the hillside,” he says. “Quality water is important, and using this natural spring allows us to keep the taste and minerality.”
That same hillside exploration led him to fresh ramps last spring, which he used to create a pale green-hued ramp gin. “Wild ramps are the catnip of chefs around here, so I thought, how cool would it be to make a ramp gin? And people went crazy for it,” he says, clarifying that actually, “it was divisive. People either loved it or would yell ‘Why would you make such a weird savory gin?’ But it’s great for cocktails like a gibson or bloody Mary.” Sherry says it’s the first ramp gin created in the world.
Next, when local farms were harvesting strawberries in June, he distilled a strawberry rhubarb gin, giving the classic summer pie combination a boozy twist. During the fall, he sourced wild apples from the Bloomsville property and infused assam tea to create the Orchard Gin, which has a dark amber color that almost presents like a whisky and offers hints of pear, cocoa, spice, and a slight sweetness from the apples.
Also of intrigue: mushroom gin. “Like with the ramp gin, some people were super interested, others were like ‘Why?’ but I wanted to push the boundaries of how gin could taste,” he explains. The idea was presented to him in summer 2022 by Andrea Gentl, a photographer and mushroom forager who was writing a cookbook called Cooking With Mushrooms and knew of Sherry’s affinity for experimental gins. “She asked if I’d like to make a mushroom gin to use alongside the book, and I thought, ‘Who would want that?’, so I only made a small amount—but as it turns out, restaurants were really into the idea. Mushrooms were having a moment, and at the same time, the cocktail scene had started experimenting more with savory cocktails. The gin came out earthy, not overly mushroomy, and with a natural sweetness that worked even as a simple gin and tonic.” It’s made with maitake and shiitake mushrooms, chamomile, and green coriander, in addition to the usual botanicals.
The distillery produced about 28,000 bottles of gin in the last 12 months. Sherry says he has plans to try more savory flavors over time, like heirloom tomato or a spicy gin, and wants to continue utilizing locally grown as much as possible. “Besides being able to support local farms, it’s also more sustainable, which we value,” he says.
Another sustainable measure is making the gin from whey sourced from the Finger Lakes dairies rather than the standard corn. “It’s an upcycled product and makes a much smaller carbon footprint than corn coming from the Midwest,” Sherry says. “We also compost all spent botanicals and are in the process of installing solar panels for all equipment. The property has a beautiful 15-acre field where we plan to create an off-grid tasting space.”
Currently, Isolation Proof Gin can be found in boutique wine and spirits shops around the Hudson Valley and Catskills, as well as in select bars and restaurants around the state including local cocktail hot spots Lone Wolf, Chleo, and more. “Our goal is to become known as the gin of New York; I’m really proud of pushing the boundaries of what gin can do and especially to be doing this in the Catskills,” Sherry says. “For me, it’s like transporting people here through gin. Capturing the Catskills in a bottle and bringing people here with each sip.”
This article appears in December 2024.
