Drinking The World

Just the other day I had a delivery I had been waiting almost a year for. My copy of Ted "Dr. Cocktail" Haigh's latest edition, Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails - Deluxe Edition. I immediately pored over the book and found it to be even better than I hoped. The book is very well done. the graphics, writing, format, information, etc.

I knew that there was one page I wanted to take a look before reading the book cover to cover. I opened to the index and went to "P", and saw Penobscot Bay Distillery pointing to page 153. There I read about what I am working on developing. A product that should be available this Fall. American style, dry, aged Peach Brandy. I thought that was pretty cool. (Although Doc, you mis-spelled my last name with two R's. That's OK, it happens.)

I've become friends with Doc over the past year or so, after he wrote me an email and gave me a call when he heard I was opening a distillery. Specifically, that I wanted to recreate, and improve upon, "Gilded Era" pre-prohibition style spirits, especially to make real, aged, Peach Brandy. After that first phone call, we would chat every now and then, as well as email, and soon we got to meet in person a few days before Tales of the Cocktail 2008.

Follow up:

I stopped by the Museum of the American Cocktail just before its grand opening, as Doc and Dale DeGroff struggled to finish the last touches, with Dale manning a table saw, doing last minute cabinetry. During the following week Doc and I had many late night cocktails together as we talked spirits until the wee hours of the morn. I know one night it was actually day before I got back to the Hotel Monteleone. I wasn't good for much for the rest of the day, and must have seemed a zombie as I shuffled from seminar to seminar, barely alive.

Doc has tried a few of my prototypes that I created at a friends distillery, and has had nothing but great words to say. It really helps having constructive criticism from a spirits expert. Every time someone tries one of my experiments and goes "Wow!" it helps me keep my focus, as construction delays stretch on and on. Of course now I'm on the line here. I'm already fielding inquiries about when and where folks will be able to get my products. Everyone hang tight. It won't be long now. Construction should hopefully be finished before July is done.

Here's a copy of pg. 153 of Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails.