Life After Death

By Nancy Timper|February 15th, 2014|Our Blog|0 Comments|

Have you ever noticed how individuals continue to evolve after they die? Maybe it doesn’t happen in every family but it does in mine. One of my uncles, who we will call Cal for convenience, led a life after death that was completely different than the one he had lived as a mortal. He achieved personal and professional successes that were unprecedented in his life and he became one of the greatest lovers of the twentieth century. He continued to change and make brilliant comments on contemporary issues until thirty years after his death. Once his wife passed away, early in 2013, he became silent. I remember him most for his untied shoes, Olympic class smoking and his great idea to blast all our nuclear waste into space. He also made a great Silver Fizz. I can only hope that our Gurley Street Gin will end up in a Gin Fizz as good as Uncle Cal’s.

I have been thinking about death a lot lately and wondering if it’s not just the good that die young but also just the beautiful. Whenever people present a photo of a relative or friend who died young the viewer invariably comments on how beautiful they were. I’m wondering if it is less of a loss if they weren’t beautiful or if everyone who dies young is indeed beautiful. One of my friends tells me that I am too cynical and that youth always has its own beauty. I’m not sure. There were several girls in junior high that would have been distasteful even in death. Perhaps it is just the Dorian Gray effect captured in digital eternity. At any rate, according to a note in a well respected medical journal, alcohol consumption is good for your autoimmune system, and at the very least you look a lot better when I drink.

Watching the River Flow

By Nancy Timper|December 31st, 2013|Our Blog|0 Comments|

I am sitting here, East of Moab, watching the Colorado River flow. On the far shore there is a family of river otters playing and diving for fish. It is cold and clear and the red cliffs, with their desert varnish, are topped with white white snow like giant red cream puffs. Yummo

I have an old friend who lives just over the hill in Castle Valley - a little slice of heaven. I claim that I taught him to make-out and French kiss. This was when I was 16 and he was 14. We were at the drive-in movie watching “The Longest Day”. He now claims that he was scared and it was one of the longest nights of his life. I think that he should own up to the fact that it was probably one of the best nights of his life.

We are talking about our decisions for the distillery regarding bottles, labels, etc. Last Friday we visited The Arizona Distilling Company in Tempe. They opened their doors last April. They are making a Bourbon and a wheat whiskey. We also tasted a gin that they had just made that was fragrant with lavender. They are the second distillery to open in Arizona since prohibition and we plan to be the third. We have all of our licenses now and are ready to start producing.

I will keep you posted on the progress.

Nicodemus Probably Liked Rum

By Nancy Timper|December 6th, 2013|Our Blog|0 Comments|

Making whiskey seems like a noble job. For a drink to be used in times of celebration, loneliness grieving, sexual desire and complete and utter political frustration. Hunter Thompson says that all the pigs should have to go and live on Vesco Island. It would be so overrun with porcine species by now that we could raise money with big game hunts sponsored by multinational oil and construction companies.

So we make the spirits and try not to let the pigs ruin our days. We celebrate what is left to celebrate and let go of what might have been. We celebrate these shorter and shorter Indian Summer Days, the sweet tasting dried grains, the smell of yeast multiplying and the pleasure of walking and talking with the handful of friends that really matter.

I am melancholy today, missing old family, political rants fueled by sweet cocktails, Richard Nixon and Bebe Rebozo.

We are committed to making the best spirits that we possibly can to provide the perfect drink for the best times of life. Make yourself a drink and toast to the pigs on Vesco Island and to D.B. Cooper, wherever he is.

Gin, juice and Lou Reed

By Nancy Timper|October 29th, 2013|Our Blog|0 Comments|

Mixed up bundles of herbs of Sunday. Lots of sage, fennel, juniper, star anise, lemon peel and coriander. Wrapped each bundle in cheesecloth and gave them each a brief incantation to the gods of Gin. The first bundle was infused into a neutral spirit and we got lots of citrus and star anise. The second bundle was heavy on sage and juniper, a little less citrus, pinch of coriander and no anise. This bundle was infused into an unaged rye spirit. We got juniper and sage and just enough citrus. It was an interesting experiment and I learned a lot about how the individual herbs and spices respond to the infusion process. So now there is lots of work to do - as usual.

Son of a bitch, Lou Reed died.
I think it was the NYT writer that said that his music made you want to shoot heroin but made you happy at the same time. A rare combination sorely lacking in this post-tolerant world.

We are working on labels, bottles and corks. We are expecting our federal license within a couple of weeks and that will be really be exciting. Our labels will be really high class and our stories on the back will entice you with western stories, myths and lore. When I was a little girl the square boxes of Shredded Wheat came with a card of Indian Lore between each layer of big shredded pillows.
That was where I learned about covering your tracks and how to make a travois to carry an injured compadre. These are important skills for the average 8 year old. This was a couple of years after Charles Manson and I were locked in the cells of the Beaver City jail, but that’s a story for another day.