A mother-daughter team is creating award-winning, European-inspired liqueurs at a distillery located near the apple capital of Georgia.
House of Applejay recently won three medals at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, including a double gold for its Winter Cherry Mountain liqueur.
Being the only U.S. distillery to receive the double gold in the fruit liqueur category is a point of pride for co-owners Caroline Porsiel, 50, and her 70-year-old mother, Sabine Porsiel.
“We’ve been the smallest company that won in the liqueur category, the double gold, and the only one from the U.S.,” Caroline Porsiel said. “I think it’s a big chance to really promote American-made liqueurs for our cocktails, because this is truly all-natural.”
Credit: Caroline Eubanks
Credit: Caroline Eubanks
Natives of Germany, the women came to the U.S. in 2011 for the younger Porsiel’s work as a technical director. She learned the craft of distilling while working at a Canadian distillery in 2016.
By 2019, Porsiel and her mom were on the hunt for a site to open their own distillery. Had they not driven from their home in Roswell to East Ellijay to purchase a used hot tub, they might never have considered Gilmer County as the home for their future business. But when a space already licensed for a distillery in East Ellijay became available in 2020 because of the pandemic, they snagged it.
Two years later, House of Applejay was up and running, and the women saw their longtime enjoyment of liqueurs turn into a business.
“We love liqueurs because we grew up with it,” Porsiel said. “It’s a part of our culture. It’s beautiful to sit in the afternoon — we always call it our 15 minutes off. We just take a cup of coffee or tea, a little bit of a liqueur and just sit together” while enjoying the nature around them.
The market is pretty saturated in Europe — with big brands such as Campari and Grand Marnier incorporated into countless cocktails — but this type of liqueur is a new tradition stateside. Still, Porsiel noted that liqueur is one of the oldest drink categories, dating back to ancient Mesopotamia.
The idea behind consuming liqueur, she said, “was not to drink for recreational purposes. It was to concentrate on actually getting all the healing essences out of plants and fruits and juices and make them accessible for us.”
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Despite being surrounded by wineries and cideries in North Georgia, House of Applejay is doing something different. Distilling a liqueur is akin to creating a perfume — pulling the essence out of the fruit, not just its flavors, Porsiel said. And the best ingredients for distilling aren’t necessarily the best for eating, which visitors to the nearby orchards might be surprised to learn.
While Porsiel noted that a lot of people had hoped the distillery’s signature product, Applejay from Ellijay, would be made with only local apples, that’s not the case.
“I wish I could,” she said, “but during Prohibition, a lot of the distilling apples and the cider-making apples disappeared. What we need is actually not something that is edible. We need something that has a beautiful smell. It’s tying back to perfume making.”
Besides apple liqueur, House of Applejay produces cherry, cranberry and juniper versions — the three products that garnered success at the 2025 San Francisco competition.
The cherry liqueur has rich notes reminiscent of an old-fashioned, with a touch of bitterness and spices. The juniper liqueur has the notes you’d expect from gin, but without the citrus elements. The cranberry liqueur tastes exactly like its base fruit, but with hints of baking spices.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Visitors can book a $25 tour of the operation, which includes sampling in the tasting room that Sabine Porsiel manages. Besides sipping liqueurs, visitors can taste the distillery’s two vodkas — Mt Frozen Knob, which is the foundation for all the liqueurs, and another vodka infused with sweetgrass from the region.
While House of Applejay products are sold only in the tasting room, the owners plan to begin distribution in Georgia and Florida in the coming months.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Caroline Porsiel said that opening a distillery in the U.S. — and in East Ellijay, specifically — allowed her opportunities that she might not have had in the crowded liqueur field in Germany, where most distilling permits are passed between family members.
“There are not a lot of countries in the world that offer a female distiller a chance to pursue her dream,” she said. “I’m really, really very thankful.”
House of Applejay. 67 Fowler St., East Ellijay. 404-771-4332, houseofapplejay.com
Sign up for the AJC Food and Dining Newsletter
Read more stories like this by liking Atlanta Restaurant Scene on Facebook and following @ATLDiningNews on X and @ajcdining on Instagram.
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
