Hall Island Distillery

Ann Benton at @hall_island_distillery has some incredible spirit selections just waiting for you to taste. 🥃

An artisan craft distillery located on an “island” in the swamps of Cicero, NY - Hall Island Distillery was born when two close friends Dave Benton and Andy Casey starting sharing ideas. Beginning their venture in 2017 with Dave hand-crafting the still and working with Andy for a year perfecting their recipe through small batches - their Triple E Vodka was born.

Distilled using 100% New York State corn, Ann will tell you that this creates an attractively smooth and clean taste resulting in a vodka that is soft on the palate compared to other vodkas while still allowing the warm feeling to come through. This quality vodka serves well to both sipping and mixing so be sure to stop by their stand on Saturdays in F-Shed from 7am-2pm.

“It's not just a job, it’s an adventure”. That was the slogan used to inspire Dave Benton, U.S. NAVY veteran, to join the Navy years ago, and one he lives by still today. It comes as no surprise that in later years, specifically 2017, husband-and-wife duo, Ann and Dave Benton, tapped into this mantra as well as some family history to start @hall_island_distillery. Ann shared, “We would be remiss however if we did not mention that the initial brainchild was born from distiller Dave and his close friend Andy. As guys do, these two started by making some small batches. Once they perfected those, they decided to make a go for it and build a distillery and scale the recipes to perfection.”

Dave and Ann worked closely with a local graphics designer and spiritedly with their family to name not only the distillery but also Triple E Vodka. Located in Cicero, NY, they wanted the name of the distillery to encompass the history of its location which is a plot of land known topographically as Hall Island and initially farmed by Ann’s grandparents in the middle of the Cicero Swamp. It also seemed fitting to namesake the distillery Hall Island as the land was again being used for an agricultural purpose, just as Ann’s grandparents had cared for it. Not to mention, Ann’s grandfather did enjoy a good whiskey occasionally after working the fields, (as a good Polish man would!). The name of the vodka came easy too as there had always been a running joke in the family regarding Triple E. The family was often interviewed by the news regarding spraying the swap yearly. It made sense to name their first spirit in the spirit of a family inside joke. Soon after Triple E came Foxtail Whiskey, and in 2021 Wetland Whiskey was created. They’ve even taken feedback from consumers to tweak and perfect their recipes.

Find Ann in D-Shed over the summer or F-Shed through fall/early winter between 7am-2pm. You can always check out their social media for any updates to their schedule. See you at the Market!