About Us
Myer Farm Distillers makes vodka, gin, and whiskeys, including flavored spirits, aged gin, and liqueurs. As a New York State Farm Distillery, we use International Certification Services certified organic grain from our own Myer Farm--one of the largest and oldest currently operating organic farms in the Northeast United States--to craft distill a range of spirits. At Myer Farm Distillers, we both plant the seed and produce the spirit.
From Field to Flask
As a New York State Farm Distillery, we use International Certification Services certified organic grain from our own Myer Farm—one of the largest and oldest currently operating organic farms in the Northeast United States—to craft distill a range of spirits. At Myer Farm Distillers, we both plant the seed and produce the spirit. Anything we use to flavor or infuse our products is also as local, organic, and sustainable as possible, with most other ingredients sourced within 20 miles of our site.
Our History
Our ancestors, Andrew Dunlap and his brother-in-law Joseph Wilson were, in 1789, the first to settle the Town of Ovid. Andrew Dunlap is credited with being the first to plow land in all of Seneca County, while Joseph Wilson was one of a trio of couples to be the first married in Ovid. These pioneers also both had the earliest distilleries on record in the town. Our family has farmed in Ovid since as early as 1810 and have been working the land at our current location since 1868.
John Myer has a B.S. in General Studies in Agriculture from Cornell University, and, as a fifth-generation farmer, has successfully nurtured and managed Myer Farm for over thirty-five years. John tends the largest acreage to corn and soybeans, in addition to a hundred acres of winter and spring wheat, and smaller various tracts including triticale, spelt, barley, rye, oats, clover, and alfalfa.
Joe Myer owned and operated a pure-bred Holstein stud bull husbandry business, is a seasoned dairy herdsman, is an accomplished violinist and pianist, an award winning fine arts painter, and a published poet.
In the year 2012, brothers Joe and John Myer drew from their deep roots and range of skills and talents to pioneer the marriage of farming and distilling with a commitment to develop the finest spirits available in our country’s artisan revival.
The Site
The farm is located on what was originally part of Military Lot No. 13, the town of Ovid being among a group of towns in central New York State that were known after the Revolutionary War as Military Tract Townships. The distillery production and tasting room are, in particular, located on Lot 5 of the original John V. Grove farm, overlooking Cayuga Lake from the west side of State Route 89.
The Distillery
We designed the building to reflect the old distilleries of Scotland. With our hip-roofed and pagoda-topped still-house paying homage to Scottish malt houses, finished in hand-cut and chiseled wall stone, we hope to give you a taste of our attention to detail and craftsmanship, until your very own local single malt from Myer Farm Distillers is available to drink.
The Still
Our still is a 650-liter copper pot still meticulously hand-crafted by CARL, Gmbh, Germany’s oldest still fabricator. Our set-up includes a 5’ side column for producing whiskey, a gin head for vapor-infusion of traditional botanicals, and a 16’ rectification column for producing vodka. The rectification column contains 19 plates at which alcohol (whose boiling point is 173ºF.) can separate from water (whose boiling point is 212ºF), each plate allowing for further distillation until the alcohol is captured and condensed at a distillation of 95% alcohol by volume, or 190 proof, which is the required minimum distillation strength for a spirit to be classified as vodka.
