darrencase

Thanks, smoogdog. In some ways, it was a snifter of Rhum Clement that started me down this road; it would be really interesting to see a setup for agricultural rum, Hawaiian-style. I'll see if I can work the airfare into my business plan

Hi everyone, my name's Darren. I come from southern Maine and currently live/work in Brooklyn, NY. I was a musician (saxophone), worked on boats, worked in politics, sold real estate, and then got into tech. Currently, I manage technology projects at an ad agency, but I'm looking to change course and start a business that doesn't require sitting and staring at a screen all day (and sometimes night) but is just as intellectually challenging as computer programming. I began considering distilling a year ago, and the more I learn about the complex process, the challenges of the business, and the growing market, the more attractive it has become as a prospective business venture. I am currently reading as many books as I can find as well as this forum, and learning how to write a business plan. I have read the entire library from the Amphora Society (http://www.amphora-society.com/), and am now reading Charlie Papazian and Sandor Ellix Katz's "The Art of Fermentation" in order to learn more about, well, fermentation. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated. Ultimately, I learned computer programming by just diving in and figuring it out, and I imagine distiling's much the same. Following Paul Tomaszewski's advice in this fantastic post, I am planning a distillery visiting trip for Jan/Feb 2014. I want to head out to St. George Spirits in CA, hopefully get up to WA, hit High West in Park City, and then do a southern swing through Kentucky and Tennessee. Between now and then, I'm hoping to visit all the fantastic distilleries in the NYC area, as well as in southern Maine where I plan to hopefully setup my own shop. Again, I would really appreciate recommendations of places to visit. I look forward to hopefully getting to know some of you better and perhaps meeting you in person on my trip.