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Blackcurrants might not be on the list of fruits you consume regularly, but did you know that they’re the most nutritious berry? Did you also know that blackcurrants were outlawed in the United States until 2003? They were deemed to be a potential threat to white pine, and as such, any kind of production with blackcurrants halted immediately. In 2003, a New York botanist named Greg Quinn made blackcurrants his mission and got the ban overturned in New York State. Now, those blackcurrants  that were once outlawed are grown by Greg Quinn and used by Rachael Petach to make her blackcurrant aperitif, C. Cassis, in Rhinebeck, NY.

What is C.Cassis?

C. Cassis is an all-natural aperitif made by hand from lightly fermented New York blackcurrants, whole green cardamom, bay leaf, citrus rind, lemon verbena, wild honey, and clean distilled spirits. 

Per the C. Cassis website, “the aperitif is versatile, vermouth-y, and fun to experiment with. We love introducing it to classics like a Negroni or Manhattan, and it feels at home in a bramble or sour. Our blackcurrant aperitif is friendly with almost all spirits, so there’s room to play around and find your favorite.”

The start of it all

Rachael has always been interested in agriculture, but she has worked in hospitality in varying capacities since she was 15 years old. She worked in various front and back of house positions, before becomings the assistant director of events for the Bowery Hotel in New York City, and later, the director of events operations and residencies for the Wythe Hotel in Brooklyn. 

Combine that with her love of unique flavors, and she found that blackcurrants checked both of those boxes for her. “I think that blackcurrants are an underrepresented flavor in this state, so I was thinking about how to elevate that and tap into local agricultural resources as well.” 

Rachael started C. Cassis in December of 2020 in Catskill. The location was for production only, but as the business grew and expanded, Rachael found that she wanted to open a tasting room so that she could welcome customers. In the beginning of 2023, C. Cassis made the move to its current location off of Salisbury Turnpike in Rhinebeck. 

“Having the tasting room and a public-facing piece has been incredibly valuable,” she said. “If you’re not familiar with us, you can come and connect with the fruit, our process, and the ethos behind what we do and how we produce.” 

While she has lengthy experience in food and beverage hospitality, making the switch to creating spirits was a bit of a learning curve for Rachael. 

“I’ve worked in food and beverage but never from a producer’s side. What I knew before I started all came from a lot of long conversations with producers and beverage makers, and I just started to fall more and more in love with the idea of creating my own,” she explained. 

Despite this, her background in events operations came in handy when she was creating her business. “All of the operations that I had gleaned from years of doing large-scale events are directly applicable to my business here,” she said. “A lot of the ways in which I worked also gave me the stability and confidence to do this.” 

Sourcing locally

C. Cassis sources much of its blackcurrants from Walnut Grove Farm in Staatsburg. The farm is owned by none other than Greg Quinn, the farmer and botanist who overturned the blackcurrant ban in New York State over 20 years ago. C. Cassis also sources blackcurrants from a farm in Livingston and gets some fruit directly from its own farm. In the future, Rachael is hoping to grow even more of their own ingredients on the farm in Rhinebeck. 

“Minimizing our carbon footprint is huge. Knowing and interacting with people that you’re in commerce with also feels important to me. We source our honey from Clermont, and a lot of the plants that we use in the beverage program are grown on site or we source them from local farms nearby,” she explained. “It brings crucial meaning and impact to what we’re doing here.”

In the tasting room

The tasting room is a bar meets bottle shop meets market. Rachael describes it as a “small jewel box carved out of our distillery,” and it features big, vintage factory windows that allows visitors to see directly into the production space. 

The tasting room features a full-bar program and a menu of curated cocktails that features their signature cassis. In addition to the full bar, they also sell a curated selection of New York State beers, wines, ciders, and spirits in the market section. Also in the cooler, you can find charcuterie, cheese, house-made packaged goods, sandwiches, and other surprise snacks. Of course, you can also find the shelves stocked with bottles of their cassis and some of their brand merchandise.

“Being situated in Rhinebeck was a big factor for us so that we could be well-connected in the area, with the local community, and with the local land owners that are producing our ingredients,” Rachael said. “It was serendipitous that we ended up here.”

The tasting room is also available for private events, including but not limited to cocktail hours, photo shoots, birthdays, micro weddings, and other shenanigans. In addition to this, the bright and chic greenhouse is also available for rental for various small events.

“For me, I think being able to blend my interests in nature, agriculture, and fermentation science is a dream,” Rachael said. “Having areas where we can grow our own ingredients is also amazing. I get to be in the garden regularly and bring those things directly to the program here.” 

Looking ahead

Long term, Rachael is hoping to continue to ethically scale C. Cassis. She also aims to further bolster the agriculture of the Hudson Valley, draw more people to the area, and “bring the beauty of what this is to everyone else.” 

While she couldn’t share specifics about the potential expansion into other types of spirits and products, Rachael did say that they have been “playing around” with a lot of new ideas, many of which are “coming soon.” 

Until then, Rachael hopes that people continue to come out to the tasting room and see what they’re all about. “It’s a special place and it’s everything to us to be supported by our local community. We’re always so excited to meet more people.” •

To learn more about C. Cassis, visit their website ccassis.com. Visit them in person at the tasting room on Saturdays and Sundays from 12-7pm at 108 Salisbury Turnpike, Rhinebeck, NY, or on Instagram @currentcassis.