The Sullivan Catskills region has always been a place of invention and reinvention, where tinkering is encouraged and crashing becomes an opportunity to build something stronger. Where neighbors lift each other up in the process.
In 2003, Claire Marin gave her partner Cathy Leidersdorff a beekeeping kit as a gift. Like any good offering between loved ones, Claire found herself drawn to it too — peeking under the hood, getting her hands sticky with curiosity. She had no idea that this weekend hobby would eventually lead her away from Manhattan publishing and toward 300 beehives, a barn-turned-distillery, and one of only three woman-owned distilleries in the United States.
From Publishing to Pollen
Technology changed everything in the mid-2000s, especially for traditional publishing. Social media exploded. Subway commutes shifted from dog-eared magazine pages to endless screen scrolling. Glamour, Gourmet, LIFE, InStyle, even O — one by one, they disappeared from dentist waiting rooms and coffee tables alike.
“There was a massive feeling of insecurity within the world I was working in,” recalls Claire, who was living in New York City at the time but had already begun harvesting honey on weekends at Cathy’s property in the Sullivan County community of Long Eddy. “It became quite uncomfortable.”
The question came quickly: “I asked Cathy if she’d still love me if I quit.”
Spoiler: She said yes.
Catskill Provisions was incorporated in April 2010. Claire’s first honey buyer was Cookshop on Manhattan’s Tenth Avenue — a restaurant where, as their website still proclaims, “agricultural ingredients are the birthright from which a restaurant begins, grows, and evolves.”
The same could be said for Claire. Only with bees. Long Eddy — along with Cathy — became her steady.
Enough to Get Into Trouble
At the time, the Sullivan Catskills was experiencing a creative ground shift. The Borscht Belt rebranded itself through a wave of agriculturally-focused makers who saw the rough landscape as a clean canvas.
“I was inspired by it all and wanted to do my part to support the local farm movement,” Claire said. “From there, I became interested in distilling and started focusing on using honey to soften the complexity and spiciness of rye.”
When Claire says she became “interested” in distilling, what she really means is she bought a tiny still and, before long, was selling whiskey out of her car trunk.
Her makeshift distribution operation caught the attention of a national distributor. By 2014, Catskill Provisions was producing Pollinator Spirits — available for distribution to every market in the country almost instantly.
“From there, I felt like I knew enough to get into some trouble,” Claire explains. “I started attending trade shows and taking courses at other distilleries. My joy for the company came from understanding the fabric of upstate New York. The terrain was big enough to give you space to be creative, but small enough to really know your neighbors.”
Exciting & Simultaneously Terrifying
Trouble became a full build-out of Cathy’s 1,800-square-foot barn using all local contractors. A consultant from the Caribbean island of St. John moved into the farmhouse for a month to help set up the improved operation.
“There was a lot of anxiety and pressure,” Claire remembers. “But it was also part of the growth I needed at the time. I was fairly confident I had the process and quality of products to make it all work, but there was a lot of unknown. Some of it exciting, some of it scary as hell.”
Today, Pollinator Spirits produces around 70,000 bottles of craft beverages per year: one vodka, two gins, four whiskeys, an amaro and a new nocino. Each bottle is created through a commitment to methodology and quality, using all New York State grains and botanicals. When those grains are spent, Claire sends them back to the farmers so they can feed their livestock. Catskills recycling.
The barrels? They come from Adirondack Barrel Cooperage in Glenville.
Black T-Shirts & Tattoos
“When I started distilling, women had been involved in the marketing and administrative side of the industry, but hadn’t been making the products,” says Claire. “It was all men in black t-shirts and tattoos. I didn’t set out to be a disrupter, but that’s kinda what happened.”
And it happened fast — both for Claire and for the industry as a whole. Brewing and distilling were banished in the United States under prohibition until the laws were repealed in 1933. Big business dominated after that. When Claire started distilling in 2010, there were two other farm distilleries in New York State. Today, there are over 240.
To her knowledge, three of those 240 are owned by women. Pollinator Spirits, created in a barn, is hers.
Outside the barn and among the 300 beehives on 20 acres sits a garden and a life built in the Sullivan Catskills. The farmhouse Claire shares with Cathy began as an escape and became a home — where she still has the original beekeeping tutorial tapes on VHS.
“I had these visions of where I’d fit, and all of it comes back to being outdoors and food,” says Claire, whose mother is Spanish and father, French. “I grew up gardening, fishing and spending a lot of time in the kitchen. My most amazing memories all come from sharing the experience of cooking — and I suppose that’s exactly what I’m still doing with distilling.”
It’s a dream unplanned and unpublished in a place Claire describes as raw, undesigned, and innocent. A place she loves and pours everything into caring for — as much as it has cared for her, Cathy, and their dream. A Catskills canvas still not complete, but with plenty of promise and a barn full of grit to make it all work.
Your Pollinator Pour
Try these Catskills-curated Pollinator Spirits cocktail recipes:
Golden Hour Sour
A vibrant aperitif-style sour with herbaceous depth and a touch of citrus. Golden Hour Sour balances the bittersweet complexity of Crimson Amaro with fresh lemon and honey for a golden glow in every glass.
Ingredients:
- 2 oz Pollinator Crimson Amaro
- 1 oz fresh lemon juice
- ¾ oz honey syrup (1:1 honey + water)
- 1 egg white (or ½ oz aquafaba for a vegan option)
- Dash of Angostura bitters (optional, for garnish)
- Lemon wheel or twist (for garnish)
Instructions:
Add the Crimson Amaro, lemon juice, honey syrup, and egg white to a cocktail shaker without ice. Dry shake vigorously for 10-15 seconds to emulsify. Add ice and shake again until well chilled and frothy. Strain into a chilled coupe or rocks glass. Garnish with a dash of bitters on the foam and a lemon wheel or twist.
Bonfire Cider
Smoky and spiced with bold apple and cinnamon — crafted for crisp evenings and cozy gatherings.
Ingredients:
- 2 oz Bonfire Rye
- 4 oz fresh apple cider (warm or chilled)
- ½ oz fresh lemon juice
- ¼ oz maple syrup (or honey, optional for sweetness)
- 1 cinnamon stick
Apple slice, cinnamon stick, or star anise (for garnish)
Instructions:
In a shaker, combine Bonfire Rye, apple cider, lemon juice, and maple syrup with ice. Shake gently until chilled (skip shaking if serving warm). Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice, or pour into a heatproof mug for a warm version. Garnish with a cinnamon stick and an apple slice or star anise.
Peach & Rye Smash
Juicy and spiced with a hint of honey — made for golden hour hangs in the Sullivan Catskills.
Ingredients:
- 2 oz Pollinator Rye Whiskey
- ½ ripe peach (or 1 oz peach puree)
- ½ oz fresh lemon juice
- ½ oz honey syrup (1:1 honey and warm water)
- 3 fresh mint leaves
- Mint sprig and peach slice (for garnish)
Instructions:
In a shaker, muddle the peach with lemon juice, honey syrup, and mint leaves. Add Pollinator Rye Whiskey and a handful of ice. Shake vigorously until well chilled. Strain into a rocks glass with crushed ice. Garnish with a mint sprig and peach slice.
Whether you’re stirring up something new or savoring something familiar, every pour is a reminder that the best things are built slow, shared often, and always worth the wait. Cheers to that.