It’s now common to see Maine-made spirits on store shelves and cocktail menus, but in 2004 there was no such thing as a craft distillery here. That’s when Chris Dow, Donnie Thibodeau, and two other partners founded Maine Distilleries, known as Cold River Distillery, in Freeport with the goal to make potato vodka with spuds sourced from Thibodeau’s Green Thumb Farms in Fryeburg. The distillery released Cold River Potato Vodka in 2005 and has since released Cold River Blueberry Vodka, Cold River Traditional Gin, and Cold River Distiller’s Reserve, which is essentially a whiskey. The blueberry vodka is the distillery’s best-selling spirit and makes for an easy summer cocktail when mixed with lemonade.

The Maine Squeeze

INGREDIENTS
• 2 ounces Cold River Blueberry Vodka
• 5 ounces lemonade
• Lemon slice
• Blueberries

DIRECTIONS
Combine blueberry vodka and lemonade in an ice-filled Collins glass (or any glass you have on hand), and garnish with a lemon slice and a spoonful of blueberries.