It starts with a bit of inspiration
My first week with Hermann Farm was spent … in New York City.
More specifically, NYC was home base while we zipped to the north and south forks of Long Island and then up near Poughkeepsie to visit some of the state’s farm breweries and distilleries. New York has an extensive program to encourage breweries and distilleries to source their ingredients from the state’s farms. To qualify for the program, breweries and distilleries are required to use at least 75% “New York grown or produced fruits, vegetables, grain and grain products, honey, maple sap or other agricultural products.”
Our little group — myself, JiaMin Dierberg, Georgie Busch and Derek LeRoy — made stops on both the north and south forks of Long Island, tasting and gathering ideas and inspiration to bring home with us to Missouri. Black Shire Distillery operates on the Hermann Farm and Derek, our distiller, is crafting excellent whiskeys, bourbon, American-style gin, vodka and eu de vie, but they aren’t reflecting a sense of place. In the coming months, we will be working on developing a line of seasonal gins — the first one will be released this fall — along with seasonal vermouths. We wanted to create products that allow Derek to experiment and use produce grown on the farm. Our bourbon will remain a core offering, but Derek’s lineup will soon expand to include cask-aged brandy and whiskies aged in spent rum barrels.
When I decided to join the team at Hermann Farm, I didn’t take the decision lightly. I loved my time in publishing and the connections that it allowed me to have with my community. But I kept thinking about the feeling I would have while on location for a story — I always had this longing I couldn’t place. An ache of some sort that left me feeling like something was missing. I’d want to stay with the farmers, the makers. Rather than just telling the story, I wanted to become part of the story, weaving myself into the fabric of a place. I get to do that now, here at Hermann Farm. I am still able to tell the stories of makers, farmers and chefs through tasteMAKERS, and my day to day can now be spent growing roots in the verdant hills of the Missouri River Valley.
I’ll be chronicling my experiences on the farm here, sharing photos and videos, triumphs and failures. This is an entirely new path for me. My pandemic year pointed toward change and growth, something I’m eager to explore in this new phase of my career and, frankly, my life. Thanks for coming along for the ride.