Saratoga Courage
Saratoga Courage was founded by Holly and Serge Shishik in 2013.
Our mission: Create locally made products that compete with the finest spirits from around the world.
"We received a tremendous amount of support at the state and local level that allowed us to build and license a state of the art facility in our hometown."
Our Goal: Support local businesses from construction to consumption.
"Whether sourcing local lumber to build our stillhouse or finding a bottle supplier, we looked in our own backyards first, suprisingly we found nearly everything we needed."
Local artist Rich Gabriel provided the artwork. Saratoga resident Patrick Jankowski has done all our graphic design. Even our labels are printed just down the road in Clifton Park. By keeping everything local we found savings, supported our neighbors and sleep very soundly at the end of a great day of making booze.
Holly, Serge & The Water
Serge and Holly are both pharmacists and attention to detail is something they do not compromise. They are currently raising three children on their home behind the distillery.
Holly and Serge were thrilled when this land became available and knew that the water would be of exceptional quality. The property is perched at the foothill of the Palmertown Mountain Range (one of the 5 ranges that make up the Adirondacks).
"The first thing we did after purchasing the land was to bring in a friend who is a renown dozer to find the best location for the well."
The well's location is not a secret; we tapped the water from its source just north of Saratoga Springs. This location provided mountain filtered water prior to it hitting the mineral rich springs in Saratoga. The water we use to make our spirits comes directly from this well without any additional processing. It was evaluated by industry experts and received accolades for its purity. We also meet all the NYS Department of Agriculture requirements.
"We have great pride in the process we've developed for making our products. Each batch is made with the utmost care to ensure consistency in each bottle."
The well was dug and the rest was history, we had indeed found the perfect water source.