Category: Food and Drink

Stowe, VT, Day 1: Arrival to Burlington

Stowe, VT, Day 2: Farmer’s Market!

Stowe, VT, Day 3: Cider Doughnuts & Cheese

Stowe, VT, Day 4: Mt. Mansfield & Montpelier

Stowe, VT, Day 5: Return to Raleigh

Mount Mansfield

Mount Mansfield is the tallest mountain in Vermont, and one of its lower peaks is fairly close to Stowe. In fact, the Stowe resort has built a series of gondolas that will take you up! These serve a secondary purpose for getting skiers up to the top of the slope during ski season. Though it was almost 74 degrees Fahrenheit at the base, it was in the mid 60s at the top.

Smuggler’s Notch

Just beyond Mount Mansfield is the region known as Smuggler’s Notch. The many switchbacks and narrow roads make for very dangerous driving conditions. Certainly not something I would want to do in the winter! Lovely views to be experienced, however, and a popular destination for hikers and mountain climbers.

Montpelier

Montpelier is located roughly 30 minutes south of the Village Green at Stowe, so it was a very short drive. The actual distance is much shorter, but a lot of time is spent on surface streets given the location of the condos. For those that haven’t visited Montpelier, it is a surprisingly down-to-earth, especially for a capital. We grabbed lunch at the Three-Penny Taproom before doing some more gift-shopping. Most of the stores close at 5, so be sure to get there early in the day!

Stowe, VT, Day 1: Arrival to Burlington

Stowe, VT, Day 2: Farmer’s Market!

Stowe, VT, Day 3: Cider Doughnuts & Cheese

Stowe, VT, Day 4: Mt. Mansfield & Montpelier

Stowe, VT, Day 5: Return to Raleigh

A trip to Vermont is not complete without cider doughnuts, cheese, or chocolates… so we squeezed all three into one day! 😀

Cold Hollow Cider Mill

Our first stop of the day was Cold Hollow Cider Mill. Only 15 minutes from the Village Green condos, it made for a delicious start to the day. You are encouraged to sample their different ciders, apple butters, and spreads. They also make wonderfully moist cider doughnuts – the traditional size, so you don’t have to feel guilty about it, of course.

After putting our legs up for a bit, we made our way to Pete’s Green’s, where we were told we could see some alpaca! Though the alpaca didn’t want to be friendly, we did meet a very friendly sheep and an adventurous chicken who escaped the pen as we made our way to the car.

Cabot Annex, Smuggler’s Notch Distillery, and More

Located just south of Pete’s Greens is a strip-mall-esque location containing an annex for Cabot’s cheeses, as well as Danforth Pewter, Lake Champlain Chocolates, and Smuggler’s Notch Distillery.

We had to sample everything available here, so we took our time and explored what they had to share. My personal favorite at Cabot was their Lamberton cheese, which we picked up for our burgers. I also purchased a fifth of Smuggler’s Notch Litigation – a new offering of whiskey that I found quite tasty.

Though there is quite a lot of detail in the wares at Danforth Pewter, the prices are quite reasonable given the work put into the items, and it is an excellent option for souvenirs and gifts. This property is attached directly to the Lake Champlain Chocolate store, which made for a nice transition. Though the iced Americano was tasty, the iced brew from Scout & Co. in South Burlington was by and far better.

For lunch we traveled back to Waterbury and visited the Prohibition Pig.

Ben & Jerry

On the way back to Stowe, we had to visit Ben & Jerry’s headquarters.

Though we didn’t stay for the tour, we definitely had some ice-cream (Bourbon Brown Butter) and went to say hi to the cows on the way back to the car. Gotta thank the ladies for the delicious milk!

Stowe, VT, Day 1: Arrival to Burlington

Stowe, VT, Day 2: Farmer’s Market!

Stowe, VT, Day 3: Cider Doughnuts & Cheese

Stowe, VT, Day 4: Mt. Mansfield & Montpelier

Stowe, VT, Day 5: Return to Raleigh

We spent our day wandering about the various stalls at the Stowe Farmer’s Market and I found myself falling in love all over with cheese. I also discovered a liquor distilled from maple syrup, as well as gins that were created exclusively with herbs from Vermont! There were many fuzzies (puppies mainly, though a horse did show up!) that were very friendly with us.

Afterwards, we visited the Stowe Cider as well as Stowe Wine and Cheese. The staff everywhere was extremely friendly and is happy to help you find a cider that fits your flavor profiles! They make one that is aged in Rum barrels, for example, that is quite tasty.

For lunch, we visited the Malt Shop, where I opted for onion rings and a burger with bleu cheese. They also have excellent chili-fries. Be warned, though, they only accept cash!