Aug 15, 2012
We have had our first delivery of bottles.
This order included one-liter bottles and 375-ml bottles. There were approximately 3,000 bottles.
There were several surprises with this first delivery.
First, the bottles were delivered a day late.
Second, the bottles were taken to the wrong address. FedEx gave the driver an incorrect address, and the bottles were taken to the wrong place, about twenty miles down the road.
Third, the bottles were stacked high on two pallets in the back of the delivery truck, and could not be off-loaded with the pallet jack, as they had been packed in such a way that the pallet jack was useless.
Fourth, the bottles did not come in boxes. This was one of the biggest surprises. They arrived on a pallet, in stacks (about 8 feet tall) on floppy, light-weight cardboard.
Fifth, we had just about the nicest FedEx driver. (I do not know why this surprises me, but he went way out of his way to help us.) Luckily, both Chuck and our son, Iain, were at the distillery at the time of the delivery. It took the three of them over two hours to off-load the bottles. The FedEx driver never complained.
We managed to get the bottles into the distillery. They are in the center of our production room and definitely in the way. It is surprising how much space they take. Now, I need to move the 3,000 bottles to a better location. I plan to look at it as a long walk, going back and forth about 1,000 times.
This week I am expecting the delivery of the 750 ml bottles This is a large order, approximately 4,000 bottles. I really do not know what to expect.
Jun 21, 2012
We met the owners of the Golden Northwest Distillery, Jim Caudill and Bob Stillnovich, at the 2012 American Craft Distillers convention, where they won first prize for their Samish Bay single malt whiskey. We knew we wanted to visit them and try their award winning whiskey.
We drove to the Golden distillery in early June. The distillery is located in Bow, Washington, on Samish Bay. Visitors are casually greeted by their dogs, who like to relax in the warm sun. The distillery is in an old chicken coop, which would have been remarkably large and nice for that purpose, and it has a remarkable view of Samish Bay. Jim and Bob gave us a tour, and shared some samples. Delicious.
If you are traveling in the Pacific Northwest, stop by this distillery. Beautiful drive, friendly dogs, and great whiskey. What a great way to spend the weekend.
May 28, 2012
Lake Cushman Booster Club Meeting:
Salads and Rums
Chuck and I were invited to speak at the May 2 Lake Cushman Booster Club meeting. The Booster Club supports the local fire department, the community disaster center, the food bank, and other organizations.
Lake Cushman is a beautiful community set in the outskirts of the temperate rain forest of the Olympic National Park. It is on Highway 119 between Hoodsport and the National Park.
We were invited to speak about the distillery and to share their pot-luck dinner at the Fire Hall.
The pot-luck dinner included a variety of dishes. There was a spinach salad with blue cheese, almonds and strawberries. Everyone commented that it was a very good salad. A friendly woman sitting at our table told us that she makes the same salad, only a little different. She uses arugula instead of spinach, walnuts instead of almonds, feta instead of blue cheese, and beets instead of strawberries. Otherwise, she said, it’s the same. At first I was astonished, thinking this is not at all the same salad.
But then I realized that she was right. It is the same. Both salads have a leafy green, a crumbly cheese, nuts, and something red. They really are only a little different.
This made me think of creating new spirits and mixed drinks at Hardware Distillery. How could I use her kind of thinking?
In Washington State, craft distilleries must use 51% Washington products for their substrate. This is not difficult, as Washington produces a great variety of products, both grains and fruits.
There are a few crops we don’t have, such as sugar cane. Rum would not qualify as a Washington craft distilled spirit, as it must be distilled from sugar cane.
But using her thinking, we could use Washington state sugar beets instead of sugar cane to make a rum-like spirit. Like the salad with beets instead of strawberries, it will be the same. Only a little different.
May 21, 2012
Our 100-year-old tree moves on to a new life
We have an old black republic cherry tree in our front yard in Seattle. This type of cherry tree has a life span of about 80 years. Ours is at least 100 years old. Most of its branches have died. The trunk has a circumference of about 93 inches and is twisted.
Back in its prime, it produced buckets of large black republic cherries. These cherries are larger than bing or Rainier cherries, with a dark rich juice. When our older son was in grade school, he sold bags of the cherries to our neighbors. He had consistent sales in the summer, making a much higher profit than the neighbor boys, who were selling rocks from their backyard.
The cherry tree was useful in other ways. When he was about seven years old, our younger son built a device that he liked to ride. It had four wheels, and a seat made from a 2 x 4. He did not have a place for his feet, so he took an old pair of shoes, and nailed the tongues of the shoes to the board that connected the front wheels. He then put his feet in those shoes.
It did not have brakes. Fortunately, it did not go fast. Our street has a slight incline, and he would carry it to the top of the street and then ride it down the sidewalk to get a little momentum. When he came to our house, he would steer it (with his nailed-in shoes) onto the grass to slow it down, and then come to a complete stop by crashing into the cherry tree.
Our children are now grown. Our tree looks old and tired. It produces no more than a handful of cherries that only the starlings can reach. No one crashes into it anymore.
Like putting our old dog to sleep, it is heart-breaking to think of ending the life of this old tree. Every year we have enjoyed its blossoms, and the carpet of petals that fall onto the lawn.
To us, it seems obvious that this tree is very valuable. When finally deciding to have it taken down, we had the idea of salvaging the twisted trunk for furniture. So, we contacted an urban wood company that salvages trees. They told us the tree is too twisted, and has no value. It was suggested that we could use the remaining healthy branches for slow burning fires and for smoking.
And that is exactly what we are going to do. We will use the branches of our twisted cherry tree to smoke our barley and to season our spirits. Our tree will continue to give us pleasure. It will never lose it value to us.
May 14, 2012
My gin recipes call for small quantities of roots, herbs and spices. So, I had to buy a small, digital scale. A quick search on the Internet yielded a digital “pocket scale.” I gave no thought to this description, thinking only that it meant small, and immediately ordered it. The shipper was very prompt, and I received my scale in a day or two.
My adult children have informed me that this scale fits into the pockets of drug dealers. Naturally, I wonder what governmental list will include my name. And, I wonder how my children get their information.
The scale works great. It measures to .001 gram, so now I can tinker with my gin recipes with precision.
And, if needed, I can always put it in my pocket.
