It may not sound like the ideal way to celebrate, but I am enjoying my Christmas day out at the distillery running my first batch of a 50/50 malted barley and rye mash. I’m guessing most people wouldn’t see this as a great way to spend a holiday (alone and working), but truly it is the best present I could have received.
Most of you know by now that my business partner Corey and I have been working on getting a small micro-distillery up and running over the past year. We started in August 2012 by running some numbers to check the viability of the prospect, and got our LLC set up December 12, 2012. Since then we have been working on obtaining equipment and the right licenses from the city, State, and Federal levels. As of December 9th, 2013, we now have all the permits and licenses in place and are able to finally begin production.
So, while I sit here typing waiting on my first mash to heat up and start running my first distillation, I am also looking back on the past year with a sense of amazement and awe. The support Corey and I have received to help get us to this point has been inspiring. We owe a debt of gratitude to our wives for believing in us and our ideas. And, of course we also owe the same gratitude to Ted of Big Bottom Whiskey for believing in us so much that he opened his business to us so we could co-locate and startup without the normal heavy expenses associated with distillery properties. Along with the industry knowledge we’ve been absorbing from him, I can honestly say we couldn’t have done it without him.
Here’s to the end of a pretty crazy year of changes, and the start of a truly amazing time in my life thanks to the support of you all as well. 2014 is going to be a wild ride, and I count myself the luckiest person in the world to be able to share it with and because of you all!
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