New Scotland Spirits gallops into Saratoga 🐎 🥃

In partnership with

Happy Monday, Capital Region! Today, we’ve partnered with New Scotland Spirits to talk about their big push into Saratoga. You know we love a good homegrown brand around here. Even though it’s going on a decade, locals are still discovering this distillery for the first time. Keep reading to learn how you can get a free bottle of their Helderberg Whiskey (it’s delicious, btw) just by taking a few selfies!

And don’t miss today’s reader poll down below👇️ 

—Phat X. Chiem & Karley Sullivan

New Scotland Spirits gallops into Saratoga 🐎 🥃 

A former paratrooper with the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division and 7th Special Forces Group, Jesse Sommer earned two Bronze stars during his combat deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan.

We mention this not because Jesse needs any special accolades, but because it shows he knows how to do hard things. Taking the easy route has never been his style.

While still in uniform, the New Scotland native launched on an idea that would grow into New Scotland Spirits, a Capital Region success story that does deserve a round of applause. You can now find their whiskey, vodka and gin in almost 300 bars, restaurants and liquor stores across New York.

Now, nearly a decade after bottling the first batch of Helderberg Whiskey, the Albany County distillery is making a bold push into Saratoga Springs, a hotspot for upscale dining and tourism that’s not easy to crack.

“Saratoga is a destination for New Yorkers from Sag Harbor to Buffalo,” Jesse says. “If we want to grow our distribution footprint, we need to reach the out-of-towners when they come to us.”

Starting with a tasting booth at the Taste NY Pavilion during last weekend’s Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, New Scotland Spirits will be pouring samples at the Saratoga Racecourse through the end of the season.

“We’re gonna have Kentuckians walking around. I can’t wait to introduce them to a New York bourbon that proves they got a thing or two to learn back home.”

Along with the track tastings, New Scotland will be running popup events at Saratoga hotspots like Bailey’s, Bibulous and the Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. To make it fun, fans can follow a “sweepstakes map” of local shops carrying New Scotland’s aged whiskies and award-winning vodka. Snap a selfie with a bottle and you could win a $250 gift card.

And everyone who does the challenge will get a free bottle of Helderberg Whiskey and a custom knife / bottle opener, available for pickup at the New Scotland Tasting Room in Albany.

Speaking of the tasting room, June 21 marks the one-year anniversary since Jesse and his business partner, Rosemary McHugh, opened the Prohibition speakeasy-style lounge on Lark Street. Jesse calls it “a love note to old Albany.”

As a Lark Street business owner and resident, Jesse has been quite vocal about the city’s management of the iconic shopping district, and perhaps attracted some critics along the way. Of course, he’s never been one to back down from a challenge. You can expect to keep hearing about his ideas for transforming Albany, like his proposed 6-pillar plan to rejuvenate the city.

Join New Scotland’s Horsing ‘Round Saratoga Sweepstakes here. And visit the Tasting Room at 209 Lark St, Albany. Tell them that you heard about it on The 518!

Have you learned to swim yet? Wet weather continues through midweek, when the sun peeks hazily through for a day or two. Thursday is your best bet for dry outdoor activities, as it looks to be yet another drenching weekend 🙃 

👨‍🎓 Siena College doesn’t want to be Siena College anymore. It now wants to be known as Siena University. The name change isn’t just cosmetic. It reflects “a deep and enduring transformation into a comprehensive, dynamic, and respected university.” The change still needs to be approved by the NYS Board of Regents. [News10]

🏳️‍🌈 Just days before Sunday’s Capital Pride Parade, the Troy City Council held a tense meeting to discuss whether to officially designate June as Pride Month. Republican Councilor Bill Keal stood firm on his decision to vote “no” on the symbolic measure, despite pleas from residents in the meeting. Earlier this year, Collar City Pride said it was moving its annual parade out of Troy because the environment felt “unsafe.” [WAMC]

📷️ See the TU’s photo gallery from the weekend’s Capital Pride Parade & Festival.

☕️ A former barista for Stacks Espresso Bar is suing the company, its owner and CEO, alleging that she and other workers were illegally required to share tips with ineligible employees. Emeline Bard-Hobbs, who worked at four different Stacks Espresso locations over nearly four years, filed the complaint under the Fair Labor Standards Act and New York labor law. “I’m speaking up now, not just for myself, but for everyone that I’ve worked with,” she says. [Times Union]

Would anyone else go gaga over the idea of taking a saltwater dip in any season? The highlight of this 1965 property in rural Cambridge is an indoor saltwater pool with walls of windows so you can feel like you’re outdoors even when it’s literally freezing outside. Ideal for family living and entertaining, this spacious home has seen many updates over the past two years, including a whole-house generator, new central A/C, and pool upgrades. Did we mention the six acres of land where you can live out your fantasy of a gentleman’s farm?

The deets: 2 bd, 3 ba, 2187 sf. 6+ acres. Asking: $334,750. Days on market: 2. See the full listing here. 

Note: Our full weekend roundup publishes every Thursday. Be sure to check your inboxes!

🎬️ On Tuesday, Qfest at Proctors kicks off with Cheryl’s Dunye’s queer classic, “Watermelon Woman.” Criterion Collection calls it “breezy… and romantic.” This is true, and so much more. Not to be missed.

🎙️On Wednesday, Opera Saratoga Presents: Festival Artist Spotlight Concerts at Saratoga Winery.

✈️ Also Wednesday, the 5th annual Night on the Tarmac at The Hangar at 743 benefits the Prescott Foundation's Workforce Development Program.

🎸 On Thursday, it’s Funk & Pride Night at Albany’s Alive at Five, featuring Neal Francis with TV Doctors. The jam session continues at Ophelia’s for the after-party.

🎺 Also Thursday, Cohoes kicks off its Rock the Block Concert Series with the horn-fueled party band, The Refrigerators.

🎙️ Playhouse Stage Company raises the curtain on The Waiting: A New Musical, at the Cohoes Music Hall (Thus-Sun).

🎭️ The inaugural Capital Region Festival of Theatre kicks off on Thursday at the Cue Theatre with a huge lineup of local performers. Various events are scheduled through the weekend.

🎬️ Movies Under the Stars will screen “Moana 2” at Lincoln Park on Thursday evening. It’s all weather-dependent, of course!

🎺 Also Thursday, Historic Cherry Hill presents Music of the Black Experience During the Gilded Age: An Evening Serenade. Also, Cherry Hill is offering Summer Tours every Friday & Saturday.

🪕 Acoustic bluegrass band Willowby Station plays at Niskayuna Town Hall on Thursday.

🪴 Are Plants People? Join this intriguing conversation on Friday, hosted by Capital Region Public Philosophy and Collard City Growers. Come for the talk, then stay to help out in the Sanctuary for Independent Media’s garden. Please RSVP for pizza!

📸 Also Friday, Youth FX presents Framing Our Futures, a digital photography popup show at Albany Center Gallery.

🎈The Art Thing is hosting “Positive Space,” an immersive art installation where you’re encouraged to move balloons and other big objects around. Step inside, take up space, and be a part of the art! In Little Falls, NY, Fri-Sun.

💀 On Saturday, Albany Twilight Market returns to Albany’s Quackenbush Square. Then head on over to the Larkin Hi-Fi for the official afterparty.

🐕️ Also Saturday, Curtis Lumber hosts its annual pet adoption Petapalooza in Ballston Spa. Walk away with the next love of your life 🤎 

👨🏽 Sunday is Father’s Day! Get your Pop to Dad Fest in Albany’s Washington Park for a classic car show, plenty of good eats and good music (tributes to Grateful Dead, KISS and Bon Jovi).

🎸 Also Sunday, blues revivalist Jontavious Willis brings his soulful vocals, killer guitar, and his original take on traditional blues to Caffè Lena.

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