September 2023
Building
With insulation, HVAC, and electrical bids in, and after hours of filling out forms, we submitted our application for the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) grant. This federal grant provides funding to rural small businesses to make energy efficiency improvements. Our project is a bit of a special case (ex. the grant requires establishing an energy baseline with historic energy bills, but our building hasn’t had power in years), but we worked hard to articulate the impact these improvements would have on our startup business. We’ll hear more in the next month as they process and evaluate our application.
Business
It was great to see the Labor Day Weekend crowds at the Farmer’s Market! Many people from out of town were excited for us to start this distillery and familiar faces from around town liked our spicier ginger beer recipe. In addition, we had a great conversation with Jason Sutton of Honeyberry Adventures in Lima (check his operation out on Facebook). Katrina bought some honeyberries and immediately made shrubs with them (for more about shrubs, see last month’s newsletter). Tart and sweet, they were incredible. We look forward to future collaborations with Jason and other small businesses.
Distillery
It might sound too early to prepare for the winter holidays, but we’re about to make some aged eggnog. Riffing on Alton Brown’s Aged Eggnog recipe, we’ll combine egg yolks, sugar, nutmeg, three kinds of dairy (half-and-half, whole milk, and heavy cream), and three kinds of liquor (rum, cognac, and bourbon). Over the next few months, the spices and liquor will meld and mellow, making a smooth and delicious holiday treat. You might wonder about the food safety of raw eggs in an aged drink - don’t worry! Aged eggnog is actually safer to drink than fresh eggnog because the alcohol, after about three weeks, kills any trace of salmonella (for more: https://artofeating.com/aged-eggnog/ and https://www.sciencefriday.com/videos/yet-another-reason-to-spike-that-eggnog/).
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