There’s something undeniably Maine about a spirit shaped by the sea. With the launch of Marine 01, Portland-based Bold Coast Spirits is bottling that coastal connection in a way that feels both inventive and deeply local.
The new small-batch vodka, created by co-founders Jay Lombard and Stuart Littlefield, is the first release in the brand’s Marine series, a collection inspired by ingredients sourced from Maine’s waters and shoreline. What makes Marine 01 especially distinctive is its resting process: the vodka is rested on cracked oyster shells from Nor’Easter Oyster Company, giving the spirit a subtle mineral quality and silky texture.
“Terroir is a word people use for wine to describe how a place expresses itself in what you taste. There’s an equivalent concept in the oyster world called merroir,” Lombard said. “Marine 01 lives at the intersection of both.”
According to Lombard, the calcium carbonate and natural tannins in the oyster shells slowly work into the spirit during the resting process, creating “a coastal mineral character you can’t replicate through conventional production.” He also points to Maine’s oyster farmers and western Maine’s glacial watershed as essential ingredients in the final product.
“We’re fortunate to work with Maine’s oyster farming community, people who know their waters intimately and take extraordinary care of the resource,” Lombard said. “Vodka is 60 percent water, and western Maine sits on a glacial watershed that produces some of the cleanest water in the country. We’re in the right place to make this product, and we don’t take that lightly.”
Only 600 bottles are included in the first release, which will be available exclusively in Maine this summer at select bars, restaurants, and retailers including Douro, Magnus on Water, and Bow Street Beverage.
For Bold Coast Spirits, this is only the beginning. “Marine 01 is the first expression in a series,” Lombard said. “The coast has more to offer.”