Upward, not Outward.

‘Lumber-Chic,’ the new phrase coined by the infamous Shannon Tebay describing her look of the season.  Stemming from the new LL Bean duck boots which she has recently cemented her self into and heading up to her fashionable winter leggings, onward to her understated flannel plaid shirt, and capping off at the timeless hand knit beanie.  Lumber-Chic.  This winter is going to be the winter of the LL Bean boot as our household has decided to be sponsored by the iconic boot, each of us sporting our own variation from Bison leather to shearling lined.  I have encountered more then a few problems getting a hold of mine, as per usual the boots I ordered in my normal size were perfect in length and as wide as they are long.  I would love to meet all of these people that clothing companies think are roaming around at 6’6″ and 450 lbs.  It should be noted to all of the clothing designers who are obviously reading this: Tall people do not equal wide people.  If anything most are stretched out and skinny then your average 6′ bear.

As I recover from the flu, Addie from a cold, and Shannon from a tooth ache it came to our attention that finding a doctor is difficult.  One of the hardest things we have had to do out here is find healthcare providers!  Finding a reliable doctor who we like and trust, not to mention takes our insurance which we may or may not have at certain points, is extremely challenging.  We have seen a few over the last year for various reasons from physicals to sinus infections and have yet to be impressed.  If you have any advice on locating good doctors let us know!

The NYC Crew are headed home for the holidays in under a week!  All of us are very excited to get back to NM to see everyone and get some fresh air and clear skies.  It is hard to believe that Shannon and I have been gone for a whole year.  I feel like time has flown, and it has been the longest year of my life at the same time.  It might be time to do a year in review on the blog.

Anyways, this was just a quick update to let you all know that we are still alive and kicking.  Everything else seems to be marching right along, the distillery has recently been featured in a flood of publications ranging from Newsweek to The New York Times to GQ and many more.  It’s fun to see your stuff on the shelves at stores and think I actually made that very bottle!  I will be bringing tastes home for anyone who is interested!

I hope everyone is doing well this holiday season!  Much love from NYC.

Holiday Season

It’s taken almost a whole year and a trip away for me to really start to come around to living in New York.  Up until this point I have enjoyed my time in this and have attempted to gain every possible experience that it had to offer, but I haven’t quite been able to commit myself to being a part of this city rather than just a visitor.  The last three nights this week I have found myself wandering through cold empty streets very very late at night, and during the quietest time in NYC when the early morning cafe owners and the late night bartenders hand off the baton (I actually high fived a cafe owner opening his shop on my walk home the other night at 5 AM) my high regard for this city has emerged.  It is an odd sensation when you walk down a street where hundreds of people live and feel like it is YOUR city, but finally I feel like I might actually live here and not just vacation here.  It is amongst the cold but festively decorated streets of the East Village that I am finally feeling at home.

Bourbon arrives!  We recently un-casked the first ever run of whiskey at the distillery!  It simulates a bourbon in flavor, but without being

Shelf of various results.

aged for 2 years I am not sure it can technically be called bourbon.  As it turns out we can produce a respectable product!  Cinnamon, clove, slight citrus all abound on the palate of our new amber colored creation!  Simply awesome!  With production fairly limited at the time and a little bit of a learning curve built into our recipes I will wait to share it with you all, but if you are a bourbon/whiskey drinker and would like a taste please let me know!  I am very excited about this and I think it will be a huge time for the distillery!

I finally left the city for the first time (minus the cabin fiasco)  for a relaxing trip to Reno, NV to see our good friends the Freyers as is required by Thanksgiving tradition.  What an amazing thing to have fresh air in my lungs and blue skies above me!  After years of living in Albuquerque it was a reminder that my body was tempered at high altitude, as both my sister and I commented of how natural the thin air felt versus the thick seaside air of NYC.  As far as the trip went, what could be better than consistently having a productive morning at the gym and around town and then retiring by 3pm to the living with with a bottle of wine!  It was a much needed getaway, and their will be a much more in depth post about the week long affair.

The weather here is actually promising to get cold and wet as it should be, rather than the eerie balmy warmth it has been, and so I wish you all a cold winter season with a warm hearth to curl up next to!