https://www.deadbirdbrandy.com/home daily 1.0 2024-09-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fc679d02bbd7406582ceb43/8038ab4c-e917-495c-be00-0c7e494a51a1/E36B75C8-AF7E-4483-B597-0044502A9E2F.jpeg Dead Bird Brandy | Vermont Crafted Apple Brandy - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.deadbirdbrandy.com/the-distillery daily 0.75 2025-10-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fc679d02bbd7406582ceb43/1609787874752-82YZ0WWTGAEUWRS3CGJG/LR-4761.jpg The Distillery - First, ferment. Then, distill. To the fresh-pressed cider, we add yeast. This yeast ferments the natural sugars in the cider into alcohol. The result is a hard cider of about 6% alcohol. The hard cider is pumped into our stills and we fire 'em up! As the alcohol evaporates, the vapor is diverted through a copper coil set in cold water. The vapor condenses into a liquid spirit. We collect this spirit drip by everlovin' drop. At this point the alcohol content has increased ten-fold to 60% (120 proof). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fc679d02bbd7406582ceb43/1609787657969-MMM5SHPML6KBYY00KQ4W/Apples The Distillery - The apples are the star of the show. Each year, we grow and harvest over 50 varieties of apples in our orchard. Some apples are excellent for eating right off the tree, others shine in a pie, and still others are bitter and funky, but incredible in brandy. We press these apples in small batches extracting fresh apple cider drop by delicious drop. Fresh cider is sweet and tastes like, well, an apple. By the time all is said and done, each bottle of Dead Bird and Pommeau contains at least 30 varieties of apples and about 77 individual apples. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fc679d02bbd7406582ceb43/1609788193647-MODRMR7QW9LY6LZBM72K/Barrell.jpg The Distillery - The art of barrel aging. Next, the brandy is barrel aged for 6 to 8 years. We start the young spirit in new medium toasted oak barrels for 18 to 24 months. Each oak barrel contains about 215 bottles of brandy. This gives the brandy it's wonderful vanilla and caramel flavors. Then we transfer the brandy to older barrels where is rests for at least 5 more years. This slow aging mellows and smooths the brandy while retaining much of its original apple flavors. Aging also results in a lot of lost alcohol through evaporation. This lost alcohol is called the “angel's share" and results in a smoother and more condensed flavor. Over 8 years, the originally clear spirit evolves into a delicious beautiful amber. Pure liquid gold! Dead Bird Brandy! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fc679d02bbd7406582ceb43/1609789739135-ZAGC103QSS2BM0R3SQZ6/LR-4670.jpg The Distillery Interior of a winery or brewing brewery with large stainless steel fermentation tanks, wooden shelving, and supplied equipment, dimly lit with string lights and a paper lantern. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fc679d02bbd7406582ceb43/1609789746664-GBWTIBATCTPWHHOX7IWP/LR-4679.jpg The Distillery A rustic brick oven with a chalkboard message written on the bricks. The message reads: 'The beginning of everything starts working the moment you do. Do not stop when you get hot. Freeze'. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fc679d02bbd7406582ceb43/1609789758437-QHDDUOSH1L6QKV8XT6CZ/LR-4794.jpg The Distillery A man wearing a red beanie and plaid shirt pours from a large metal container into a bathtub in a rustic, industrial-looking room. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fc679d02bbd7406582ceb43/1609789756544-DB21N2GMKZ79CJE6TV45/LR-4749.jpg The Distillery A metal bowl is placed on a wooden block above a large shiny metal container, with hot liquid being poured from a spout into the bowl. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fc679d02bbd7406582ceb43/1609789799732-MUHP6LQLJWPS6YFEJ0UR/LR-4896.jpg The Distillery A bottle of Dead Bird Apple Brandy and two glasses filled with the dark amber spirit on a rustic wooden surface, near a metal barrel in a dimly lit setting. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fc679d02bbd7406582ceb43/1609789847392-ZMBTQPA4936BNUO9JT6Y/LR-4713.jpg The Distillery Person wearing mask and dark clothing inspecting wooden barrels in a cellar. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fc679d02bbd7406582ceb43/1609789868163-T3MZDXZGOB340JFKIAPL/LR-4661.jpg The Distillery Close-up view of a copper still with a decorative sculpture of a winged woman on top, situated in a dimly lit room. https://www.deadbirdbrandy.com/contact-us daily 0.75 2025-10-16 https://www.deadbirdbrandy.com/our-story daily 0.75 2025-10-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fc679d02bbd7406582ceb43/1610387363336-UODBZLFOQQGIMIW4SNJK/image-asset.jpeg Our Story My grandfather, about 30 years after the dead bird was found in the snow. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fc679d02bbd7406582ceb43/1609713439061-5PKLFYER8TF710MJIY9B/7DVT_NickCowles_JamesBuck Our Story Seven Days: At Shelburne Orchards, the Apple Brandy Recipe Includes Words and Music by Sally Pollak (Photo by James Buck) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fc679d02bbd7406582ceb43/1609713467836-3UY64CB0LZFNCHGYP0NT/Shelburne_NickBarrelRoom Our Story Shelburne News: ‘Freaking stoked’: Orchard sells brandy to preserve its future by Madeline Hughes https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fc679d02bbd7406582ceb43/1609714201877-193YNKQGUA2XXT7INY5S/Screen+Shot+2021-01-03+at+5.48.36+PM.png Our Story Boston Globe: Fodor’s Travel calls this Vermont apple orchard ‘dreamy’ and says you’ll never want to leave by Kristi Palma https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fc679d02bbd7406582ceb43/5db5b4ad-f76a-4b28-a9f9-33b2f4d69074/HR-4948.jpg Our Story Our team takes seriously the task of crafting (and tasting) every batch of brandy. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fc679d02bbd7406582ceb43/1609789132192-83J4QJYOZYLK44TAK0L9/LR-4691.jpg Our Story Deliciousness awaits in our tasting room. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fc679d02bbd7406582ceb43/1609789162968-AI1Q4VIROYBNVDV9W8AH/LR-4168.jpg Our Story Two generations of apple-obsessed Cowles, Moriah and Nick, stay warm by the bread oven. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fc679d02bbd7406582ceb43/1609789197079-M5EIYI4FRN8XVLZ1OEKJ/LR-4404.jpg Our Story A woman sitting on a black rocking chair on a wooden porch, smiling, holding a glass of drink, with an empty rocking chair next to her and a bottle on the porch floor. She wears a red and brown hat, blue jacket, red shirt, and jeans, against a weathered wooden house background. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fc679d02bbd7406582ceb43/1609789224184-6ECWINDWBI2ZT9EN7NEA/LR-4090.jpg Our Story Old blue Ford 5900 tractor parked under a rustic wooden shed with weathered posts, surrounded by crates and farm supplies. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fc679d02bbd7406582ceb43/1610130496590-5PWR4R23W9Y36WNE0C24/LR-5005.jpg Our Story A glass of amber-colored wine on an old, weathered wooden surface. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fc679d02bbd7406582ceb43/1610130605136-2PQ84TIJY44UKMFWYW7E/orchard-1.jpg Our Story Snow-covered leafless trees in a winter landscape https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fc679d02bbd7406582ceb43/e47fc90a-efae-4ca3-96a9-20a4343829c1/HR-4783+2.jpg Our Story Two people in plaid shirts and beanies working in a brewery, one holding a large brewing vessel and the other pouring liquid into a container, with a dog nearby. https://www.deadbirdbrandy.com/tasting-room daily 0.75 2025-10-20 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fc679d02bbd7406582ceb43/1611333988967-72QAZINFL4LBPVV0QQZB/orchard-16.jpg Tasting Room - Tasting Room Our tasting room is closed until next apple season! Keep an eye out for our newsletter for special tasting event dates! For now, I suppose you’ll just have to grab a bottle! (Available for purchase online here with curbside pickup at the orchard). https://www.deadbirdbrandy.com/shop-our-spirits-inperson daily 0.75 2025-10-20 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fc679d02bbd7406582ceb43/194f8db9-5707-45fb-a1e4-8b18066b6f21/LR-7624.jpg Our Spirits - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fc679d02bbd7406582ceb43/1642609544110-NKU6OB21Q55FT5RWYS6E/6FF08830-B98D-4F91-9351-8E8E584BFFCF.jpeg Our Spirits - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fc679d02bbd7406582ceb43/ba4b28e8-559a-4b98-84cc-2d39d04b23b7/IMG_0667.jpg Our Spirits - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fc679d02bbd7406582ceb43/7030e38f-eb3a-4be6-a530-dc0067689bb0/tempImageM9X1vt.jpg Our Spirits - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.deadbirdbrandy.com/tasting-room-open daily 0.75 2025-10-20 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fc679d02bbd7406582ceb43/c15c039b-c4d3-4acf-808d-f1012fa451f2/orchard-16.jpg Tasting Room - Tasting Room We will be open Saturdays and Sundays 11am-5pm starting Saturday 9/13! If you are 21 or older, come try a sample of our very own Dead Bird Brandy, Pear Brandy and/or Pommeau for $2.50 / sample. Hey, you can also buy a bottle while you’re at it! We have a batch of Pear Brandy that will be open for sampling and available for sale at the store until it’s gone. We now sell 350ml bottles of Pommeau, and 200ml flask sized bottles of Dead Bird Brandy (they are the perfect size for a gift)! Click here for more info about the spirits that we make! We hope to see you this fall! https://www.deadbirdbrandy.com/tasting-room-tours daily 0.75 2024-04-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fc679d02bbd7406582ceb43/1611333988967-72QAZINFL4LBPVV0QQZB/orchard-16.jpg Tasting Room - Eclipse weekend TOURS! - Tasting Room ECLIPSE WEEKEND TASTING TOURS! We are having a special set of tours available on the Eclipse weekend! Come on out to get a tour from Nick in the Barrel house where the brandy and pommeau is aging in oak barrels. Ask any quesitons you like and hear all about the process, history and magic. Then make your way to the tasting room to try a sample of both the Shelburne Orchards Dead Bird Brandy and the Pommeau (more info on each here). Times: 1pm and 2pm tours available on both Saturday 4/6 and Sunday 4/7. Cost: $10/person SCHEDULE your tour HERE. (If you can’t make a tour, brandy is also available for purchase online here with curbside pickup at the orchard). https://www.deadbirdbrandy.com/shop-our-spirits daily 0.75 2025-10-20 https://www.deadbirdbrandy.com/shop-our-spirits/p/pear-brandy monthly 0.5 2025-10-20 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fc679d02bbd7406582ceb43/ba4b28e8-559a-4b98-84cc-2d39d04b23b7/IMG_0667.jpg Our Spirits / Purchase - Pear Brandy - IMG_0667.jpg https://www.deadbirdbrandy.com/shop-our-spirits/p/dead-bird-brandy-12-year-single-barrel monthly 0.5 2025-10-20 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fc679d02bbd7406582ceb43/7030e38f-eb3a-4be6-a530-dc0067689bb0/tempImageM9X1vt.jpg Our Spirits / Purchase - Dead Bird Brandy - 12 Year, Single Barrel https://www.deadbirdbrandy.com/shop-our-spirits/p/pommeau monthly 0.5 2024-10-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fc679d02bbd7406582ceb43/1642609544110-NKU6OB21Q55FT5RWYS6E/6FF08830-B98D-4F91-9351-8E8E584BFFCF.jpeg Our Spirits / Purchase - Pommeau https://www.deadbirdbrandy.com/shop-our-spirits/p/dead-bird-brandy monthly 0.5 2024-11-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fc679d02bbd7406582ceb43/1698026513748-87JSV1X3OLM8TQ7FHFA3/LR-7629.jpg Our Spirits / Purchase - Dead Bird Brandy