From left, Adam Peterson, Zamir Gotta, Scott Stanton, and Teal Schlegel. Photo by Chris Carosa
An Evening with Zamir Gotta
When big events happen in big cities, there is all kinds of hoop-la. What happens when big events happen in small towns? Well that kind of hoop-la was experienced in Honeoye Falls at the Honeoye Falls Distillery.
Zamir Gotta was guest speaker at the vodka sampling and gourmet dinner. Zamir Gotta is a world-traveled man. His name translated from Russian: Zamir means peace and Gotta means. God. As a result, he has lived his life in his name. He is a film producer among other things and does wonders with his films. He used this example: In Russia, not much is done with people who have Down Syndrome. He was able to successfully produce a film using people with Down Syndrome. Not only were they looked at in a different way by many Russians, but most importantly, the movie built confidence and self -esteem in these delightful individuals with Down Syndrome.
Zamir is a friendly personable man; only a few minutes with him and you feel as though you have been friends forever. As guests arrived, he welcomed each one. In no time, everyone was talking and enjoying themselves. Guest circled around him as he described how to toast vodka. “I like rye vodka because rye comes from the ground and is cultivated by many working hands .First you must never drink on an empty stomach Step One: You take a piece of rye bread, smell it, take a bite. Step Two: Take a pickle, smell it so that the aroma goes through your senses; bite it (if you like pickles). Step Three: Drink the vodka. Last Step: Smell the back of your hand.” He feels this is an icebreaker and before you know it, everyone is friends. The next two hours were fun, new friends were made – not to mention having sips of deliciously smooth Frozen Falls Vodka (Teal Schlegel’s National winner of #1 Rye Vodka see The Sentinel’s front-page story in its April 21, 2016 issue.)
Scott Stanton and his team made everyone feel welcome. In addition, they made sure everyone was comfortable.
At 6:30, guests were seated at a large table and at the bar. They were served a very impressive dinner. It consisted of trays of cheese, potato sausage, and house-made pickled vegetables. The first course was tamales followed by a second course of breast of duck with juniper and blackberry compote, and duck confit with duck crackling. Third course was beef brisket with Kansas City barbecue sauce. All the meats were sourced from local farms and slaughtered and butchered at Joe’s Meat Market in Ontario, NY. We finished the meal with birds milk cake, a two-layered sponge cake filled with a white cream and topped with a chocolate glaze. Vodka was poured for each guest between every course. Zamir made sure there were interesting toasts. Kudos to Chef Adam Peterson and his team for the choices, the presentation, and the tastefulness. (They were excellent Chef!) Adam operates Normal Supper, which is an unbelievable experience in dining… We will be hearing more in the future.
Thursday, May 19, 2016 was a memorable evening for all who attended the Honeoye Falls Distillery, a big city feeling with small town ambience. Many came as strangers and left as friends. The evening went so fast because of the pleasure and fun we had.
Boston may have its famous bar the Bull & Finch Pub, “where everyone knows your name.” but Honeoye Falls has the Distillery. CHEERS!!’
