Age Your Own Spirits

So I recently found one of the coolest things I have ever seen in a liquor store this past holiday weekend, and believe me, I visit a lot of liquor stores. This particular item of interest is a 2L charred American White Oak barrel packaged with 2 bottles of Wasmund's Rye Spirit. Wasmund's also offers a Single Malt version as well.

Following the directions in the package, I started by filling the barrel with hot water and let it set for a few hours. This is done to make sure that the water swells the wooden barrel so that nothing will leak out. After the coast was clear, I put the bottles of Rye Spirit into the barrel, inserted the bung, and started the process of patiently waiting for 7 to 8 weeks. The first cool thing I noted about this experiment was that even though the test water only sat in the barrel for a few hours, it had a nice light caramel color and pleasant woody smell and taste. I am always thinking about the next thing to try with our Twenty 2, and vodka diluted with "wood water" could have potential.



I will be updating the status of this little project as time goes on, taking small samples along the way, ending with the grand finale of a tasting line up when the spirit is fully aged.

Business and Bars

I came across an article from Entrepreneur.com that covers everything you need to know about business in bars. This isn't aimed at the business of bars, but more interestingly, the advantages of conducting business in bars. There are some definite advantages to using a bar as a temporary office, one of the main ones being the change in atmosphere. People tend to be more relaxed and open in a casual setting versus a strictly professional setting. This can lead to a faster development of working relationships and more complete insight into the person you are meeting with than would normally be discovered sitting across from them at a conference room table.

The article is split into 3 sections:
- How to choose the right bar for your business purpose
- Some of the best bars for conducting business all over the country
- The rules to follow to pull off a successful business meeting in a bar.

The first section outlines what makes a good business bar. Everything listed here is important in choosing the right place to go. For example, it would be pretty awful if you want to interview a potential employee only to have them have to shout their interview questions over Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" blaring over the sound system.

The second section is a fairly comprehensive list of some pre-approved business friendly bars. This list includes One Flew South in Atlanta, which was recently featured in an article by Liquor.com on the best airport bars. Just about every section of the the US is covered in this list, so it is worth the browse.

The third section is what inspired me to write this post. I agree, there are a few dos and don'ts of mixing business and alcohol. Nobody wants to leave a business meeting and stagger into the door frame on the way out, however there are 16 different rules and guidelines on what to do or what not to do. Some of these rules make sense, but it seems to me if you follow all of them, the meeting turns in to more of rehearsed act. If this happens, then you loose the main advantage of meeting in the bar: getting to deal with the other person on more relaxed and comfortable terms than you would in an office (see above). I encourage you to take a look at this list and share your thoughts on whether or not you agree with the list of rules.

At the very least, you will have something to consider the next time you decide to hold an "off-site meeting". Read the full Entrepreneur.com article here.

What's Your Exit?

Big news this week: Twenty 2 Vodka will soon be hitting the shelves of fine liquor stores, bars, and restaurants in Southern New Jersey. This is great news for the many fans we have already picked up around the Vineland area, however, this will also be important to many of our fans and followers outside the reach of the South Jersey. How, you may ask? Well, fortunately New Jersey is one of the great states that allows for online liquor retail sales. So, for everyone out there who many not be able to drive to your local liquor store and pick up some Twenty 2, you should be able to order some online in the near future. More information on where you can buy Twenty 2 online will be posted soon. You can also watch our Facebook page for the latest updates on availability.

And don't forget, Saturday, June 19th is National Martini Day. It is a great reason to sit back, sip and celebrate a truly classic cocktail.

Micro Spirits Take New York

The Micro Spirits Odyssey was held last Sunday as part of the Manhattan Cocktail Classic. The day was everything it promised to be, and more. Butter Restaurant was overrun with interesting, high quality, and (relatively unknown) spirits. It was definitely the best kept secret in NYC last weekend.

The top half of the restaurant was set up with tasting tables filled with many different micro spirits. Everything from white whiskey to absinthe was available for the tasting, and none of it was made in a fully automated commercial distillery. Every drop was made by hand, and in most cases, the distillers were there on site to walk you through the tasting notes of each of their creations.

The bottom half of the restaurant was set up for a series of seminars all related to the business of small spirits. Panelists covered a range of topics from the moon shining history of Junior Johnson to what it takes to start your own distillery.

And, don’t forget that this event was part of a larger event called the Manhattan Cocktail Classic, so the cocktails played the lead role. In all, 16 distinct cocktail were created by a cocktail company called Hush. Each cocktail was made by hand to order and featured at least one of the micro spirits on display. My personal favorites included the Cat Daddy Fizz (with Cat Daddy Moonshine) and a tall drink featuring LIV vodka (please forgive me for not remembering the name). Although these two ranked at the top of my list, I can assure you, I did not have a bad drink the entire day.

For all of you interesting in finding out more about micro spirits, here are a few of the distilleries that I had a chance to meet with at the event. While many were from the New York area, there were spirits that traveled across the entire country, so I encourage you to find out what is being hand crafted at a distillery near you.

Tuthilltown Spirits

A.B. Smeby Bittering Company

Harvest Spirits

American Fruits

Bluecoat Gin

21 Bootlegger Vodka

Piedmont Distillers

Death's Door

House Spirits

LIV Spirits

Montanya Rum

And please don't forget our favorite small distillery, Twenty 2 Vodka

World Cocktail Day

As you may or may not have heard, today is World Cocktail Day. This day was intended to commemorate the first time the term "cocktail" was ever used in print, officially paving the way for everything that modern mixology has to offer. Like anything of importance, there have been both dark spots and highlights in cocktail history, fortunately for us, we are currently at a high point if there ever was one. Micro distilleries are producing spirits that are uniquely hand crafted, high quality mixers from the likes of Fentiman's are bringing life to the party, and bartending has truly evolved into the art of mixology by marring these high quality ingredients together with a whole new technique.

Today is the end of world cocktail week, although it is certainly not the end of celebrating how the cocktail has made the world a better place to live. If you have any doubt about this whatsoever, be sure to check out the Manhattan Cocktail Classic this weekend in New York City, or even the upcoming Tales of the Cocktail Festival in New Orleans this July and see for yourself.

Manhattan Cocktail Classic: Micro Spirits Odyssey

The opening event to the Manhattan Cocktail Classic is just 1 week away, and while it is sure to be a great time, I have to put in a good word for the Micro Spirits Odyssey. The Odyssey, or MSO for short, looks like it will be the premier event of the spring for anyone involved in small batch spirits.

The event will be next Sunday, May 16th at Butter Restaurant in New York City, (for all you foodies out there, Alex Guarnaschelli is the executive chef here). The day is packed with seminars covering many aspects of the micro distilling world, as well as a tasting room to try neat samples of several micro spirits, not to mention a lounge where you can try custom drinks from HUSH cocktails featuring many different boutique spirits. For more information, check out: http://manhattancocktailclassic.com/

On top of all of this, the MSO is only a part of the festivities going on next weekend in NYC, so be sure to check it out. I will certainly be there!

Distilling, Maine, Business, and Cocktails

This is the first post in what (hopefully) will be the go-to-place for what is the latest and greatest in the worlds of micro distilling, the Maine scene, stating a small business, and cocktails.

Now you might ask yourself, "What in the world do all of these things have in common?" The answer is me. My name is Jessica and I am part of the force behind Twenty 2 Vodka.

Twenty 2 is a micro distilled vodka made in Houlton Maine. The business was started by Scott and myself a few years back, and now that we finally have Twenty 2 Vodka on the shelves to show for our many hours of hard labor, I want to share some of the adventure we went through in order to start this business. Not to mention, some of the cool things, people, places, and drinks we are continuing to meet every day.

Feel free to contact me and let me know your thoughts and questions you might have about any of these areas. Here we go, I hope you enjoy.