Photo by Gina Holman
I have witnessed a lot of community team work the past couple of weeks and great things have happened. The J. Carver Distillery First Annual “Golf With A Purpose” Tournament benefited the Waconia Baseball Association (WBA) Grandstand project. It was a smashing success with over $64,000 being raised the day of the event because of amazing sponsors, volunteers and golfers. Todd Moen from The Waconia Patriot wrote a great article recapping the success of the tournament in this week’s publication titled “Grandstand project receives official go-ahead.” A huge shout out and thanks goes to all of our sponsors and volunteers who made the event possible.
Photo by Gina Holman
One of my favorite highlights at the golf event was the generous support from Island View Dining. Thank you to Kim and Kevin Heenie for collaborating with J. Carver Distillery as we showcased cocktails made with Minnesota craft spirits and local beer from Enki Brewery. As the sign at Hole #6 stated,” J. Carver Distillery isn’t in production YET, but we are proud to highlight and support other Minnesota micro distilleries already in production.” The specialty cocktails were:
Cocktail #1:
Moscow Mule made with 11 Wells MN 13 White Whiskey from 11 Wells Distillery in St. Paul, MN
Cocktail #2:
Raspberry Ginger Crush made with Norseman Vodka from Norseman Distillery in Mpls., MN
Cocktail #3
Twisted Gin Margarita made with Far North Solveig Gin from Far North Spirits in Hallock, MN
Cocktail #4
Minnesota 14 aged Whiskey was served neat from Panther Distillery in Osakis, MN
Photo by Gina Holman
I can’t thank these other micro distilleries enough for being open to sharing with us one of their favorite recipes which created a great opportunity to talk about Minnesota craft spirits and the whole micro distillery boom - Great drinks, Great conversation, and Great recipes. Yep, the teamwork paid off as our golfers watched Gregg Groechel, one of our distillery partners, and distillery friends and volunteers, Mary and Greg, who whipped up sample cocktails and poured some local beer from Enki Brewery. Fun was had by all and I must say the cocktails and beer were tasty. Much gratitude to Island View Dining, 11 Wells Distillery, Norseman Distillery, Far North Spirits, and Panther Distillery for letting us showcase their products for our golfer’s enjoyment. Hole #6 was a hit. Thanks for helping us pull it off!
Photo by Gina Holman
Back at the distillery, we have been busy as ever. I must say, it’s been a pretty awesome week. We finished up the final chapter of our renovation project. All plumbing and electrical are complete which allowed us to “unwrap” and fire up the stills for cleaning; steam never looked so good!
Photo by Gina Holman
Now to the next chapter of our story. I’d love to title this one, “Production – Can’t wait to quench your thirst!” We have a couple more logistical items to complete this week and then we hope to be milling and mashing which are the first steps in the distillation process. Over the next couple of weeks, my blogs will be describing the distilling process step by step. Exciting times and we can’t wait as this next chapter unfolds. It goes without saying, but a huge thank you to all of our distillery friends and fans for your support! Here we go. Full steam ahead! J. Carver Distillery – Spirits of Discovery.
Photo by Gina Holman