Whiskey Ridge sourdough bakery grows, plans South Glens Falls storefront

By Zander Frost, Chronicle Staff Writer

Leah Murphy and her husband Ben started Whiskey Ridge Sourdough bakery out of their home in Moreau just over two years ago.

They’re now making over 100 loaves per week. When The Chronicle visited, they said they had baked 1,300 cookies.

Now they’re planning to open a storefront on 63 Main Street in South Glens Falls, next to Monahan’s Meats. They hope to open by November 1.

Mrs. Murphy said they bake at home, as a New York State Approved Home Processor. All the products are sourdough, fermented 24 hours.

Breads include honey oat, asiago and herb, and classic sourdough. “You can’t beat a classic,” Mrs. Murphy said. “I always have one sweet flavor and rotate through them.”

Scone types rotate, too — blueberry lemon is the staple flavor. For cookies, Mrs.

Murphy said chocolate chip is the biggest seller — peanut butter chip is big too.

Mr. Murphy took a bigger role in the business after Mrs. Murphy fell from a horse and broke her back. “When I was recovering, I couldn’t lift anything, so he started helping me,” she says. “And then he just never left.”

Mr. Murphy has his own focus — he’s the “cookie man,” she said.

But he’s quick to say of the business, “This is all mama. It’s all her.”

As for the name, “Whiskey” comes from their daughter’s horse. “Ridge” refers to their home on Selfridge Road.

Mrs. Murphy is from Glens Falls; Mr. Murphy from Hudson Falls. The business started organically while the couple were home schooling their daughters.

“It was after COVID and they were in the middle of learning all these new things, and they had all their little hobbies,” Mrs. Murphy said.

She said she wanted to “show them that I can still learn new things and do new things too. It became something that I had some kind of natural intuition with.”

The hobby outgrew the household fast.

“It eventually got to the point where I was making more than my family could eat, and I could only give away so much,” Mrs. Murphy said.

Initially it was drop-offs to friends and family, then she started taking pre-orders.

“It started off pretty small, just pickups here and there, very small and humble,” Mrs. Murphy said. “But it just keeps snowballing and getting bigger….Every message I get with an order is always exciting. It doesn’t get old.”

Initially they said they did their “drops” in their driveway, and ended up attracting up to 50 to 60 customers per pickup day. That’s why they eventually had to move pickups off-site.

“It just became too big,” she said.

Whiskey Ridge orders are delivered in “drops.” Customers order on the Hot Plate app. The menu goes out at noon Sunday, orders close Tuesday, prep starts that night and dough is made Wednesday.

They do drops of certain items at Monahan’s Meats in South Glens Falls throughout the week, and Fridays from 3-6 p.m. is pre-order pickup.

On Sundays in September they’ll be at the Farmers & Makers Market at Dancing Grain Brewery and on alternating Thursdays at Canal Street Marketplace.

They started selling from a renovated horse trailer, which they now call their trademark. They bring it loaded to events.

The large horse logo on its side was designed by their 13-year-old daughter.

Go to hotplate.com/whiskeyridgesourdough to sign-up for “drops.”

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