Let me apologize for taking a few months off from blogging. It’s important Amanda and I be able to speak directly about our whiskies. Going forward our blog may be a little sporadic as it’s just the two of us making everything!
When we first launch there was so much to say. My wife and I had been working out at the distillery for years, and without telling hardly anyone in the industry about our project. I was so excited to share about all our research and the hard work over that period of time, and especially tell the stories of people who had been willing to help us from all over the world!
After launching we had more responsibilities to take on for our new business partners. Swift’s distributor, Republic National Distributing Co., asked Amanda and I if we’d travel across Texas to introduce our single malt. Initially I thought we’d only be sold around the distillery in Central Texas. So, happily we agree to travel the state meetings with stores, bars, resturants and hotels along the way. To this day I’m so grateful for the reception my wife and I received. Because it’s only Amanda and I we’d travel to different cities on the weekend to be back home by Sunday night. Amanda would wake me up before sunrise Monday so we could start back running the place every week. You can see why we were running out of daylight.
But one of the things that makes Amanda and I unique is we’ve actually made everything by hand. We never purchased anyone else’s alcohol to “get our distillery started.” Everything’s been carefully selected and tested to age under the specific conditions we want here at the distillery
Now, if you’ve browsed though our blog before you’ve probably scene our French Sauternes release. It’s been going on almost 3 years now! Well, it’s finally ready. The family’s come out to bottle, and Republic’s picked up our first pallet!
Although a Sauternes finish was always Amanda and my dream, releasing a second product was not something we took lightly. Another whiskey demanded a great deal of research and labour. On top of our new sales roles there was only more work to be done at the distillery. Fortunately, Amanda’s Mom is and engineer and Uncle a physicist. They helped us decide on some upgrades to make our lives much more manageable (as opposed to me carry a 1/2 ton of barley up a ladder one container at a time). Meanwhile, Amanda made certain I thoroughly tested every idea that came from our research and communication with distillers abroad. There’s so much that went into this project from our time in France and Japan, but I’ll need to hold back for another post.
The Sauternes’ launch has allowed me a little breathing room. I’m glad to have a moment to sit down an update our customers. It’s still hard to fathom we sell bottles all over the state. The distributors talk in case volume or pallets, but when you fill every bottle by hand (standing next to said mother-in-law) you’re amazed that so many people continue to find your bottles.
This is a time to celebrate! Amanda and I have been together 15 years this July. We’ve just released a whiskey we’re extremely proud of and cannot wait for you to try. So now it’s time, once again, to arranging tastings across Texas and have an opportunity to meet with y’all. And in a few months maybe I can share the next project we’ve been working on out here 😉
Cheers!
–Nick
