Harvesting Witch Hazel

PROCESS & CAPABILITIES

How We Harvest

The Witch Hazel plant is found growing in its highest density throughout the wilderness of greater New England, home of American Distilling. Since all of our harvests are wild crop certified (organic) our managing harvesters take great care in assuring that harvest areas are carefully selected, managed, documented and approved according to National Organic Program (NOP) regulations prior to use.

Responsible Forest Techniques

After approval, the sites are harvested in accordance with State Forestry Regulations, ensuring the protection of the environment and the regeneration of the Witch Hazel plant. It is our policy to monitor compliance with these regulations so that our harvests promote and sustain the growth and successful proliferation of the species while contributing to the overall health of the forest.

Sustainable Harvest Techniques

Our harvests begin in late autumn after the leaves have fallen and continue throughout the winter and spring while the plants are dormant. During this time the ground is mostly frozen, allowing our approved foresters access to the crop with minimal potential for adverse environmental impact. The Witch Hazel plants are then harvested and delivered to our facility for processing.

Upon arrival, we screen, clean and transfer the raw Witch Hazel pulp material to storage silos where it is further conditioned prior to distillation. This conditioning ensures maximum and uniform extraction during the distillation process. Every day our sophisticated, fully automated system processes and extracts the therapeutic organic constituents of the Witch Hazel plant material to produce the finished product with the utmost efficiency, quality and care.

We take great pride in the fact that there is no waste from the production of our products. Our process utilizes all the plant materials we harvest to produce various Witch Hazel products. We then recycle the processed plant material into natural, biodegradable landscaping mulch.

Certified Organic Wild Crop

In addition to our natural formulations of Witch Hazel, we also offer Certified Organic Pulp Extracts. For over 100 years we have harvested our Witch Hazel material as a wild crop from the wilderness of New England. American Distilling has been USDA certified by Quality Assurance International (QAI) as an Organic Wild Crop Handler and Processor, adhering to a strict Organic System Plan which encompasses over 30,000 acres of land approved for harvest.

World-Class Customer Service

American Distilling has partnered with the world’s most successful and recognized companies, to deliver the highest quality Witch Hazel ingredients whenever, wherever – exceeding our customers’ needs and expectations,