How Cooper’s Daughter is Disrupting the Spirits Business
Five years since opening, Sophie Newsome, owner/flavor developer of Cooper’s Daughter Spirits at Olde York Farm, says the young distillery has found success by, “disrupting the concept that single malt whiskey has to have the strongest and baddest taste, or that vodka has to be only made as a clean spirit.” “The company is a family affair - it is majority woman-owned with Sophie at the helm and Sophie’s father, Stuart Newsome, as another owner and the Master Cooper,
The distillery is located on a property that’s on The National Register of Historic Places in Claverack, NY. The current distillery brings the property full circle, as the Jacob Rutsen van Rensselaer House & Mill site had, at one time, a distillery and cooperage on the site. Stuart Newsome put his carpentry background to good use rehabilitating the property and as the master cooper he makes oak casks by hand to age Cooper’s Daughter Spirit’s bourbon and whiskey.
A Distillery Amidst the Farms
“I refer to us as a farm to glass, or farm to cask distillery,” says Newsome. She says she’s always been a strong proponent of the farm-to-table movement and supporting local businesses, and her dad’s passion is fermenting and distilling. With Cooper’s Daughter Spirits the team gets to do both. It was Newsome’s interest in boutique ingredients, like basil from a farm down the road from Olde York Farm, that had her thinking of a different way of creating spirits. Tice says, “When you talk to men in the industry about whiskey you hear that they want to make it very strong, and there wasn’t a market for something like a rhubarb & honey vodka.”
Newsome says there has been a learning curve, both for herself and prospective buyers, when it comes to dealing with a young (she’s 31) spirits business owner. “I’m naturally more introverted; over the years I’ve gotten better at asserting myself.” She notes that visitors would assume her father was the business owner and converse with him during sales calls. “Our marketing has gotten stronger, and we’re putting the fact that we’re a women-owned business front and center.
Changing Minds About Flavored Spirits
Newsome says early on prospective customers would approach the team at the property or at farmers markets and say, “We want a plain whiskey or a true bourbon.” She notes that often flavored spirits have negative connotations and poor reputations, known for tasting artificial or overly sweet. “We’re not making flavor bombs.” Newsome reports that 99% of the time the Cooper’s Daughter Spirits flavors “convert people to our subtle infusions. She says the flavor profiles of many of the spirits “taste like a high-end cocktail that you can get at a fancy speakeasy.”
The brand’s offerings are seasonal and run the gamut from black walnut bourbon and ramp vodka in the spring, to mulled peach whiskey and Finocchietto amaro in the fall. “A lot of what we do is educational — we tell our customer base how our flavors differ and what may be on the horizon.” Their location in Claverack is not far from the booming town of Hudson, NY - which saw an influx of New York City residents move there during the pandemic. To accommodate the new residents, and Hudson Valley visitors, Cooper’s Daughter Spirits offers a cocktail garden, replete with heaters and fire pits during the cooler months.
Supporting Women & Embracing Innovation
A woman’s touch is evident beyond just the ownership of the distillery. A number of the bottles are squared and, says Newsome and, “look like a beautiful bottle of perfume.” The “cubix” design, as she describes them, circles back to the flavors of the spirits, and reinforces, “our softer approach to our offerings.” Beyond that, Newsome is proud that the company works with a great number of farms that are owned by women and that many of their food vendors at the rotating food truck lineup at the cocktail garden are women-owned and operated. She notes that creating space for other female businesses to grow has been “one of the most satisfying parts of our business.” Tice notes that working with farmers in general allows them to “grow cash crops in larger quantities.”
Newsome is excited about bringing a milk-washed whiskey, with notes of white chocolate, to market next year. The milk will be provided by Hudson Valley’s Ronnybrook Farm. “Fat-washed cocktails are often found in trendy cocktail bars,” says Newsome. “By bringing this directly to our customers they can enjoy that delicious experience at home.” And looking further out, she says they’d love to have a branch office location one day with a tasting and bottle shop, offering locally made beer, wine, cider, and provisions. “As far as looking backwards, my dad, myself, and my husband all started part-time with day jobs and we’re all now full time, have four other full-time and six part-time team members and we’re constantly growing.”