November / December 2022

Building

We were awarded the Big Sky Economic Development Trust Fund Planning Grant! The support will help us design a functional and energy efficient manufacturing space as well as a comfortable and inviting tasting room and outdoor patio. This is a matching grant, meaning that every dollar we spend will be matched, effectively doubling our money. 

Renovations are slow but progressing. As we head into the New Year, wish Derek reasonable winter temperatures (there’s no heat in there, yet). Keep an eye on our social media for updated pictures. 

Earlier this fall, we were able to meet with members of the Williams family and learn about the history of the building. We loved hearing stories of how important this place was to their family over the years. We’ll have a post later this spring with more that they shared. We’re grateful to Heidi, Gary, and Carl for visiting and sharing their memories with us.

Business

The University of Montana Western Business Capstone students gave their final presentation at the end of the semester. Their thoughtful perspective and well-researched numbers will help us think through (and establish) our market position here in Dillon. We especially appreciated their insights about events that could invite customers into the tasting room. Thanks Andi, Coy, Dalton, and Gus! And thanks to their professor, Dr. Brian England for his collaboration. 

Our marketing strategy meetings with Michele Lake have helped us clarify our goals and intentions for how we want to represent ourselves. She has done an amazing job listening to us and helping us articulate what values drive our decisions. With her help (and marketing lingo), we are interviewing for a designer to help us finalize our logo and develop a ‘brand book’ - basically the rules we’ll use for fonts and colors when creating signs, merch, etc.

Distillery

A manufacturing update: our still is 80% done! The picture above is what Affordable Distillery Equipment sent along right before the holidays. We can’t wait to show you the setup when you visit someday. 

We’re working on our first recipe: apple brandy. The choice was one of convenience - we had a bumper crop of apples from our backyard tree this fall. 

Speaking of apple brandy, Derek bought a bottle of FireRoot Spirits’ double-gold winning AppleJack. Silky smooth, apple-ly, and very drinkable, he highly recommends. Look at all these cocktails you can make with it! 

We want to sincerely thank you all for your support this past year. With eight months under our belt, we’re both eager for (and a little intimidated by) what the next eight months will bring - let alone the future beyond that. We hope you have a wonderful New Year and look forward to welcoming you to Terminus.

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