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From got-it-all, big-box retailers to tiny shops with laser-focused collections, these retailers are ready to help shoppers get in the spirit.

Claire Marin wears a lot of hats as Founder and Head Distiller and Beekeeper at Catskill Provision Distillery and Pollinator Spirits. One of them even includes a beekeeper’s veil!

When Claire Marin moved Upstate to Long Eddy back in 2003, she wasn’t there to keep bees. She was nearing the top of the proverbial ladder in her career as a national magazine publisher, integrating and managing sales departments in an ever-shifting media landscape, encompassing print, digital, events and mobile sales for publications includingMoreand later,Women’s Day.

The brand has whisky, bourbon, and gin. Everything is hand batched and has no artificial flavors or colors.

Originally called Catskills Provisions, Pollinator Spirits in upstate New York will be available in 39 states as of
April 1.

Similarly, beekeeper Claire Marin launched her honey-infused Pollinator Spirits with a mission in mind. “I’ve always wanted to have a socially conscious company,” she says. “For me, pollinators and their importance is obvious.”

When Claire Marin founded Catskill Provisions Distillery in Callicoon, NY in 2010 she was a trailblazer in the farm distillery movement as one of only five female distillers in the country.

Mexico City-inspired tacos shine at Upstate Taco, a casual-cool eatery owned by a foodie couple in Stone Ridge.

Distilling is an ancient profession that has undoubtedly been dominated by men, often discouraging participation from women.

Cracking open your favorite bottle is about more than enjoying a drink; that bottle represents the people behind it and the triumphs and struggles that defined their journey while crafting the spirit you’re about to enjoy.

Distilling is an ancient profession that has undoubtedly been dominated by men, often discouraging participation from women.

Like many highlighted here, it took professional pivots, countless conflicts, and lab-like experiments to get to where Catskill Provisions and her award-winning Pollinator Spirits line is today.

Thanks to its short distance from New York City, the Catskills have long been a tourism hotspot. And until recently—with towns like Woodstock, Phoenicia, and Tannersville considered some of the more popular destinations—it was the Eastern Catskills that received most of the glory. In addition, even further to the east, the thriving city of Hudson has stood as a major hub for a weekend jaunt with modern vibes and a bustling restaurant scene.

It can be difficult to shop for the perfect holiday gift. This year, why not lift your loved ones’ spirits with, well, spirits?

I love a nice cocktail, and my cocktail of choice on cold winter days tends to be a mix of brown spirit and something sweet and something tart: a Paper Plane (aperol, bourbon, amaro, and lemon juice), a Whiskey Sour (bourbon, lemon juice, simple syrup, egg white flip),  or a Lion’s Tail (whiskey, allspice dram, bitters, simple syrup and lime). So when I learned about the honey spirits movement, where distillers were aging whiskey in honey barrels, I was intrigued. 

Pollinator currently makes a rye whiskey finished in honey barrels; it also offers two gins, a vodka, a maple bourbon and a Crimson Amaro. All are sourced from local farms in the Catskills and Finger Lakes regions, and have, until now, only been offered at select stores in New York and Pennsylvania.

That is the question pitting one of the latest advancements in agritech against traditional, garden-variety honey bee farms.

The universal gift anyone can appreciate during the holidays is most definitely a stiff drink.

I recently stopped in my local liquor store a few hours before a significant snowfall. The woman entering the store ahead of me turned and said, “Some people go to the store for milk and bread, some of us go to provision whiskey.”

Excellent handcrafted rye whiskey infused with late-summer Catskills honey. The honey is underlying, not in your face or overly sweet. Use in a Manhattan and skip the sugar.

Honey, and the bees who produce it can command an almost religious dedication. Its taste, color, consistency, health benefits (real and imagined), history (and mythology) have bestowed an almost mystical quality on the sticky liquid.

Is there anything better than a serious spirit that you can sip neat without making a whiskey face? You know – that contorted look that falls on the spectrum between Clint Eastwood face and sour-patch-kids face. What I’m talking about is a smooth spirit that the whiskey beginner and connoisseur alike can drink on its own. Meet Catskill Provisions New York Honey.

Catskill Provisions mixes its late summer honey with Finger Lakes Distillery’s handcrafted rye to create an 80 proof, flavored whiskey.

In the past week I was honored to receive recognition by Cha McCoy Editor of Cherry Bombe Drinks new offshoot of the fab Cherry Bombe! Her words and choice of images humbled me to the core. I could not be more proud to be among the capable, creative strong group of women who accomplish amazing feats everyday in-spite of the obstacles we encounter. #womensupportingwomen

Buying whiskey from craft distillers is not only a responsible way to spend your drinking money, but it will also net you some seriously good booze from people who aren’t afraid to experiment with the form.

By touting water conservation, forest preservation and even bee protection, distilleries put a green sheen on an industry with a heavy carbon footprint. 

Claire Marin, shows us the ancient spirit has a life of its own when she blends it with just the right touch of local honey. Resulting in a rich, smooth and downright delicious flavor.

Yes, you did just see a pig flying past your window on a unicorn. I am recommending a honey whiskey. Catskills, NY-based beekeeper Claire Marin, a founding member of the Women’s Cocktail Collective, has created a whiskey sweetened with her own raw wildflower honey.

Claire Marin is an entrepreneur who started as a purveyor of sustainably made, local honey in the Catskill region of New York. After discovering the small, rural town of Long Eddy in the Catskill Mountains, she found herself drawn to the bees and how they work in easy harmony with each other and their surroundings.

I am a serial entrepreneur. After a 15-year career in Publishing in NYC I started a business called Catskill Provisions in 2010 based in Long Eddy NY.

Using honey produced on her 32-acre farm in Long Eddy, New York, Catskill Provisions’ CEO and founder, Claire Marin, has been blending rye whiskey on-site for three years and is now taking the plunge and beginning her own distilling operation. 

This International Women’s Day we’re celebrating a multitude of women from around the world who are making their mark in the very much male-dominated alcohol industry.

Telling the stories of those who labor for the future health of the planet never gets old. Claire Marin, the founder and CEO of Catskill Provisions, is one of those fearless souls who left the corporate world behind to do just that, and she is leaving an impenetrable mark.

NY Honey Rye Whiskey is infused in small batches with late-summer honey from New York’s Catskill Mountains for a flavor with notes of toffee, burnt orange peel and golden raisin, the company says.

From the world of craft spirits comes this rye whiskey that contains farm-fresh honey. Proprietor Claire Marin began beekeeping 15 years ago. Her honey (and maple) business now supplies hundreds of restaurants throughout New York.

Catskill Provision uses 100% NY raw wildflower honey as the feature ingredient in their small-batch products, including a line of honey rye whiskey infused with a dash of honey, maple syrup, chocolate honey truffles, ketchup, apple cider vinegar and pancake mix.

When Claire Marin was a publishing executive at Woman’s Day, beekeeping was her hobby. Then, the face of publishing began to change—the printed communications world experiencing the rapid rise of the digital age.

It all started with the bees. Claire Marin’s partner had a country place in upstate New York where the two would go on weekends to escape New York City. In the spirit of a part-time country squire, Marin thought it would be fitting to give her partner a beehive as a gift.

The sunny color and refreshing citrus defines summer. Serve this lemonade cocktail at your next party, and treat your guests to a special rye that’s been infused with raw wildflower honey from the Catskills.

When I recently began working with local NY Artisanal Food & Craft Spirits company Catskill Provisions, I rediscovered the beauty and charm of the Western Catskills.

There is a lack of consistency in gourmet food ingredients. We have been bringing local and delicious artisanal ingredients and spirits to chefs, restaurants and cocktail bars at affordable prices consistently for 7 years.

In celebration of the Pollinator Partnership whose mission is to protect pollinators to ensure healthy ecosystems and food security, Catskill Provisions is teaming up with the female members of the New York Chilled 100 to mix-up some sexy and delicious cocktails with their New York Honey Rye Whiskey.

Wherever you are, you’ll want to enjoy something refreshing to drink, with the tinkle of ice in your glass, preferably garnished with a fresh sprig of mint or perhaps an unexpected herb like thyme.

When I tasted Catskill Provisions’ Honey Rye Whisky I thought wow! It’s amazing that the honey isn’t sweet and speaks more to true natural honeycomb flavor.

Thoughtful gifts for drink enthusiasts.

Flavored Craft Whiskies such as Catskill Provisions Honey Flavored Rye Whiskey offers new levels of expertise in the hands of a home mixologist. The honeybee, weaving a veritable pot of gold, transforms the attentive drinker into a conceptualist who communicates with good taste.

How Claire Marin of Catskill Provisions is drawing upon the local natural resources of upstate New York to create a sustainable line of gourmet products

Both literally & figuratively, there are more women in the room today than ever before. It's promising and shows the staying power of women in the spirits industry; our talent becomes impossible to ignore

Catskill Provisions and Glen Copack work like busy bees to re-package NYS Farm raised honey and mixes

In its new line of handcrafted truffles ($50 for a nine-piece box), Catskill Provisions has married the classic confection with a more complicated partner: honey.

“You know, there’s just a freedom about New York that I’ve always felt. I visited many states in the U.S. since I’ve been here, and I just feel that there’s a history here of making history,” says Claire Marin, proprietress of artisanal food company Catskill Provisions. 

You might know the upstate beekeepers of Catskill Provisions for their raw wildflower honey, or their more recent foray into the maple-syrup business

We met Claire Marin, co-founder and beekeeper of Catskill Provisions, at an Ascot Chang press preview last February in New York. She was making cocktails for guests using her delicious honey whiskey. I am not typically a whiskey drinker, but I enjoyed and devoured the entire drink.