December Booze Events: Preview of Rhum Tiki Bar

If it's possible, I am the MOST excited about this next Portland Spirits Society event (new to the PSS? It's ladies who love booze - tastings, education, social, fun). 

I've long wanted to throw a tiki party at a Portland bar, and when I heard Jay Loring of Nosh and his business partners were launching a tiki bar, I knew they were the perfect people to talk to. Their new bar is called Rhum, and the chefs are Rebecca and Frank Anderson, who hosted the Hunter's Bend supper club for a while. 

So the tiki party is happening at Bramhall - the perfect underground, speakeasy-esque space to decorate with palm trees, torches, and flowers - on Tuesday, December 1st. The ladies of the Portland Spirits Society will get a private, VIP reception before the tiki party starts, with a tiki rum flight, snacks from the chefs, and a meet-and-greet with the owners and chefs. 

Buy your tickets soon - they're going fast! (I say that a lot, and it's always true, but especially so in this case. The tickets are almost half gone and they went on sale last night. You ladies love tiki!)

Other booze events of interest coming up (godspeed to all of our livers!):

• Friday, November 20th - Liquid Riot's release of their agave spirit (aka tequila, but not legally allowed to call it that), 12pm-close, includes cocktails and Mexican food

• Saturday, December 5th - Holiday rum tasting at Maine Maritime Museum, with yours truly! Rum will be provided by local producers Wiggly Bridge, New England Distilling, and Bartlett Spirits of Maine, tickets are $20/25

• Sunday, December 6th - Repeal Day Ball from Rum Riots, fundraiser for the Portland chapter of the US Bartenders Guild, tickets are $10 and include $2 drink specials, a photo booth, and live music

Strawberry Season in Maine

The fresh strawberries are starting to appear in the markets here in Southern Maine (!!!). I see strawberries as the official start to the short Maine preserving season - for one, strawberry jam is one of my favorite types of jam, so it's the first Maine-grown produce I feel the need to capture in large amounts. When the berries are in, I hear the firing of the starting gun. The race is on to put up my favorite produce - and our in-season, local fruit is high on the list.

That said, I also thinking jamming, in general, and strawberry jam, in particular, is one of the more finicky things one can attempt in food preservation. Some knowledge and experience is required to get fruit jams to "set" or to have that jam-like, spreadable texture (versus a runny fruit syrup). And then strawberries have their own issues, like foaming and floating, that can confuse or worry a newbie canner.

I've written tons on how to best preserve strawberries, but here are the highlights: my favorite recipes for the New England canner who is as excited about the first fruits of summer as I am.

For jamming, I turn to Pomona's Pectin - it's available at natural foods stores, Whole Foods, and online. Pectin is the stuff in fruit that bonds with sugar and water to create the set. Manufacturers extract pectin from fruit, dry it, and powder it, so you can be sure your jam or jelly will set. The thing is, most pectins require the addition of sugar to work. If you're looking to avoid sugar completely or use an alternative sweetener for whatever reason (flavor, health, fun), you're out of luck with most commercially-available pectins. 

Pomona's is uniquely formulated, in that it does not need sugar to set! No sugar needed means you're free to use any kind of sweetener you want: honey, maple syrup, agave, Stevia, Splenda, and of course, white or raw sugar, just maybe less of it than some recipes call for. 

My favorite strawberry jam made using Pomona's Pectin is this strawberry rhubarb jam, using a robust honey from my friend SK. The honey flavor complimented the tart rhubarb and strawberries nicely and stood up to the fruit, whereas a mild honey would disappear. 

I've also made low-sugar strawberry jam using SureJell's No Sugar Needed pectin (no sugar in that you can use Splenda, but it's also a reduced sugar pectin). The recipe calls for 6 cups of fruit and 4 cups of white sugar. I think the flavor is perfectly sweet without being cloying or losing the fruit flavor, but the more I become used to my low-sugar jams made with Pomona's, the more I find it's on the sweet side. This recipe would be perfect for someone who is used to a full-sugar jam, but is looking to use less sugar without freaking out their sweet tooth. 

While I love the classic strawberry jam, add-ins are fun, like vanilla extract or herbs. I'm enjoying the strawberry basil jam from my friend Sue at Above the Dam Jam that I bought at the Kennebunk Farmers Market. She adds whole basil leaves while the fruit is cooking, then removes them before canning. I've steeped whole herbs like lavender and mint in with my strawberry mixture, adding a subtle complexity to the final product. 

Bourbon and vanilla add a nice touch too - if you're lucky enough to have been given or if you make your own, a splash of Bourbon vanilla extract adds some sweetness, which will in turn help you reduce the sugar in your jams. I've also added a vanilla bean to my sugar before jamming, to infuse the sugar with a slight perfume of the spice. I've got Love and Olive Oil's limoncello strawberry jam bookmarked for this year. 

A lof of these projects might not take place in the next few weeks, since I use my freezer to preserve the berries first. I pick my own fruit, then wash, dry, and hull the berries. After they're packed into freezer-grade plastic bags, I stow them in the freezer until I either run low on strawberry jam or until I have more time to undertake a more elaborate project like canning. 

Jam also freezes well, and several pectins are available that don't require cooking to work. That means there's more fruit flavor making its way into your jam, and in the middle of winter, your tastebuds will be particularly wowed. 

Wintertime Canning: Hot Pepper Jam

Canning hot pepper jam in the middle of winter is the perfect pick-me-up. It's nice to put up a quick little project that doesn't rely on perfect in-season produce, and this jam refreshes the canning pantry which is starting to look a little thin this time of year.

These are local Maine peppers though; I promised A. that we'd can one day last summer, and we both bought the necessary supplies. I, as is my tendency in the summer, overbooked my evening and had to bail, so I recommended that she freeze the peppers until we had time to can. Well, a good seven months later, we did. 

A. froze the peppers whole, so we thawed them partially before chopping. We also found we'd bought some habanero peppers to substitute in for some of the jalapeños to make it hotter. This jam came out delightfully spicy, sweet with a tangy kick. A. says it's great with cream cheese and bagel chips.

Hot Pepper Jam
Adapted from Sure Jell

1-1/2 cups red peppers, seeded, finely chopped (about 2 medium)
1-1/2 cups green peppers, seeded, finely chopped (about 2 medium)
1 cup jalapeño peppers, seeded, finely chopped (about 5 large peppers, 1 habanero)
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
3 cups sugar, measured into separate bowl, divided
1 box Sure Jell For Less or No Sugar Needed Pectin

Wash 8 4-oz. jars, lids, and screw bands. Set lids and screw bands aside. Fill boiling water bath canner halfway with water and heat on medium heat. Add jars to canner.

Chop peppers; wear gloves when chopping hot peppers. Bring peppers, vinegar and water to a boil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally to avoid scorching. Measure out 1/4-cup sugar into a separate bowl, and mix in pectin powder thoroughly.

When pepper mixture boils, add sugar-pectin mix and stir to dissolve. Return to a roiling boil and add remaining sugar. Stir to dissolve and return to a full rolling boil. After mixture boils, remove from heat. Ladle into 4 oz. jars leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Wipe rims. Apply dome lid and screw band until fingertip tight. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Let cool, check seals, and store for up to one year. 

Yield: about 4 cups (8 4-oz. jars)

For more information about safe home food preservation visit the National Center for Home Food Preservation. 

Portland Spirits Society Tasting: New England Distilling

I'm intimidated by the world of spirits in a way that it doesn't occur to me to feel about food. Sure, the world of food has it's high-end restaurant with their hard-to-pronounce ingredients and arrangements made using tweezers. But in the end, we all have to eat, and that need, I think, is a great equalizer. Taste is subjective, which means a dish can be perfectly executed, and you still might not like it. And that's OK - I don't think it means you're a rube or a philistine. 

But when it comes to cocktails and spirits, there is definitely a hierarchy. Digesting a cocktail list can feel intimidating. The world of spirits is seemingly endless. I ask people in-the-know what their favorite whiskeys are, and they rattle off a long list of names I've never even heard of. Oh, and you can't even get half of them in Maine, so good luck following up on that. 

There's different styles within a type of spirit: do you like London dry gin or Genever? Do you taste the unique botanicals on the finish? Is that cinnamon or coriander? There's a whole world of liqueurs, amaros, digestifs, aperitifs... oh, you haven't had Fernet? It's an industry (read: insider) favorite. And you say "coachy americano" instead of "koh-kee americano"? *snort*

And then there's bullshit (please excuse my French) like this: Your bartender might secretly hate you. I'll spare you the rant, but after reading a throw-away piece like that, it certainly doesn't make you want to go to a bar and try something new. 

Rum boxes waiting to be filled at New England Distilling

I have hesitated to write fully about my recent experiences exploring spirits on the Blueberry Files. I know that you come here for news about the Portland food scene. But I have been thrust into the world of spirits (I won't say unwillingly), writing my next book about the history of alcohol in Maine. It's been a positive experience - I believe that we are incredibly fortunate to have such kind, approachable bartenders and distillers in Maine. They aren't the ones continuing the air of mystery around their products. 

I started the Portland Spirits Society to have a social excuse to learn more about alcohol and was very happy to find that other people are looking for a more formal experience too. I mean, hell, anyone can give themselves an "education" in booze, just plunk down at a bar and start ordering. It's what I did when my editor assigned me a piece on tequila for the Phoenix. 

So I've decided to give into my desire to use this blog as a place for my thoughts on alcohol. It's the only way I can continue to create content here without feeling like I'm wasting valuable time that should be spent writing my manuscript. I like writing here, but ultimately it's a hobby. And hobbies should definitely not inspire a sense of guilt. 

If you come here exclusively for food-related stuff and are disappointed that my writing has taken a boozy tack, take heart in the fact that my deadline is quickly approaching, and one day I'll have the time to go out to eat again. But until then, I hope many of you are excited to explore the world of spirits, those both from Maine and away. I've been trying my hand at home bartending, and while there are tons of fantastic cocktail blogs (even in Portland - check out Three Sheets Mfg. for the real deal), I'd love to be able to share my evolution. Hopefully you'll find that it's approachable, and we can get over our intimidation together. 

The next Portland Spirits Society event (ladies only; sorry, dudes) is out at New England Distilling, 26 Evergreen Dr. Portland, which is near Allagash Brewing. Distiller Ned Wight will give us a tour and then we'll sample is Maryland-style rye whiskey, New England-style aged rum, and his unique gin (we can learn about gin styles together!). Hope to see you. 

Barrels of rye whiskey ageing at New England Distilling

Portland Spirits Society: Women's Whiskey Tasting at Portland Hunt & Alpine

The Portland Spirits Society, the women's spirits appreciation club I started with Lora just for the hell of it, has hit the ground running - our first event, a tour and tasting of Maine Craft Distilling's spirits (including their single malt whiskey, 50 Stone), is next week and it has reached its capacity with 30 whiskey-loving ladies planning to attend.

Photo by Sharon Kitchens for the Huffington Post

Lora and I quickly worked to schedule another beginner's whiskey tasting event with the gracious staff of the Portland Hunt & Alpine Club. PH&A has a great selection of whiskey, and we'll learn from the knowledgeable and entertaining bartender, John Meyers. Bow Street Distributing's Paula Truman will also be there, as she's a whiskey enthusiast too.

The whiskey tasting is Wednesday, February 11th, from 6-8pm at the Portland Hunt & Alpine Club and this is a ticketed event ($25 plus a small service fee), which will cover the cost of several tasting pours of different styles of whiskey.

To get a taste of what we're in for, see my friend Sharon's post, inspired by Lew Bryson's book Tasting Whiskey (which she lent me, and I'll attempt to open before this event!). Sharon met with Andrew Volk of Portland Hunt & Alpine and Don Lindgren of culinary bookstore Rabelais for a "home" whiskey tasting a few months ago.

The tickets for this event are going fast, so if you're interested, grab yours now! Hope to see you there.

John Meyers of Portland Hunt & Alpine, teaching a cocktail class in October

DigPortland Closure, Maine Women and Whiskey

Portland's newest alt weekly, DigPortland, closed unceremoniously this week, and as a contributor to their Food & Draaaanks section, that means I lost my monthly column. While I have plenty of writing to do (see book manuscript deadline approaching quickly), many of my fellow freelancers unwillingly lost their bylines, and my editor and the staff writer both lost their full-time positions.

I don't agree that Portland wasn't big enough for two alt weeklies*, and I'm sad that there are fewer platforms for talented Maine writers. I was happy to be a part of creating something that diversified the media coverage in Portland and that helped to support artists, musicians, chefs, and food producers by highlighting their efforts. 

All of this is a roundabout way of saying, I'd written a column for this week's paper, and it won't be published. So you get to read it here! 

With my research into the history of alcohol in Maine, I've obviously been thinking a lot about booze. This "women and whiskey" trend in national publications has caught my attention and helped plant the seed for the Portland Spirits Society, a women's spirits appreciation group. We are having our first event, a private tour and tasting, in a week at Maine Craft Distilling (rsvp on facebook). If you can't make it, stay tuned; an announcement about our next event is coming before the end of the week. 

*I mean as far as coverage for two papers; I do not mean to comment on the financials. I don't know anything about that.

On a recent weeknight evening, similar scenes were happening behind the steamy windows in two adjacent East Bayside warehouses: Inside Maine Craft Distilling, a group of men and women from out of town sampled small pours of craft spirits. Karen Farber, co-founder of the business, tended to them, speaking knowledgeably about distillation, filtration, and flavor profiles. Next door at Rising Tide Brewing, co-founder Heather Sanborn waved goodnight to her staff as she headed home for the day. Behind the bar, Shonee Strickland, who is in the midst of opening her own brewery in Biddeford, filled in for tasting room manager, Stasia Brewczynski. Strickland poured me a Skipper, a hopped session ale, and then tended to a group of women next to me, explaining the different styles of beer available on tap.

That you might find women on either side of the bar at a brewery or distillery should come as no surprise. Since the industry’s inception in the late 1980s, women have come to occupy all positions within the production, marketing, distribution and sale of craft beer. And in Portland, you’ll find just as many women as men enjoying porters at Novare Res and saisons at Oxbow.

The local craft spirit industry is a bit behind that of craft beer when it comes to the number of women in its ranks. But craft spirits today are following the same growth rate as craft beer in the 1990s. Currently, there are fewer craft spirit producers and consumers than craft beer, and of the craft spirits crowd, women are a minority. Ideally, we can all agree that we’re finished with the stereotype that women don’t enjoy craft beer. But do we still need to shake the perception that barrel-aged spirits are a man’s drink?

Forbes magazine recently triggered a wave of think pieces on gender and liquor with their assertion that women now make up 37% of whiskey drinkers in the US, up from 15% in the nineties. Apparently the Cosmo is out and Canadian Club is in. In an attempt to learn what women in Portland think of brown spirits, I asked Maine Craft Distilling’s Karen Farber how women react to her products.

“We’re in a neighborhood of 3 breweries, and we get a lot of beer traffic,” Farber told me. “And for every woman who says, ‘oooo, this [spirit] is too strong,’ there’s one that suffered through a beer tour and is excited to come in here.” In particular, she finds a growing number of young women are interested in barrel-aged rum and whiskey.

Women have always played a role in the manufacture, distribution, and consumption of whiskey. As detailed in Whiskey Women: The Untold Story of How Women Saved Bourbon, Scotch, and Irish Whiskey by Fred Minnick, Laphroaig, Bushmills, Johnnie Walker, and Maker’s Mark have all had women as distillers or significant stakeholders. At home, whiskey was historically used as medicine for everything from constipation to fatigue and was administered to the ailing by women.

So why the splash surrounding Forbes' recent statistic? Part of it is marketing, as corporations stand to profit if they’re ahead of trends. More women are drinking whiskey? Great, let’s brand “Skinny Whiskey,” and promote it as low-cal. The other part is the very real notion of a “boys club” in craft beer and spirits. How else to explain the craft beer names, “Tramp Stamp,” “Raging Bitch,” and “PD” (where the illustration lets you know they mean “Panty Dropper”). 

Fortunately, none of these are Maine beers. And thanks to the all-female Maine Beer Mavens, there’s a place for women to explore their love of craft beer in a novice-friendly environment. The recently launched Portland Spirits Society intends to do the same thing for women and whiskey. Beer Mavens co-founder Lora Burns and I are organizing tastings, tours, and educational events for wannabe whiskey aficionados.

National interest in craft spirits is growing among both men and women. While Maine may be a little further behind in the number of small distilleries or spirit-centric bars, we excel in entrepreneurialism and access to agricultural products to ferment. So while the rest of the country may be just learning that women like whiskey, we in the Great White North have always known that to be true.

Reading the Tea Leaves

The Honey Paw on Middle Street

In 2015, over 100,000 cruise ship passengers are scheduled to visit Portland between May and November (up from 82,000 in 2014). Hoteliers aim to fill the 575 new rooms that opened up in the last year, plus the additional 110 planned for this one, with visitors that arrive by plane, train, and automobile. With Portland’s ever-growing reputation for an exceptional dining scene, more and more restaurateurs are hoping to be the answer to the question, where should we eat tonight? More importantly, where will we locals retreat to hide from all those tourists? 18 restaurants and bars are planned to open in 2015, building inspectors willing.

Here are the ones we’re most excited about and what these business plans might mean for Portland.

The Washington Avenue corridor

With multiple high-end real estate projects developing on the north side of Munjoy Hill and into East Bayside, many restaurateurs are eyeing the available spaces on Washington Avenue. Two unnamed restaurants are in the works, one in a former restaurant space near Silly’s, the other in the former J.J. Nissen Bakery building. The immediate success of Oxbow Brewing’s tasting room behind Coffee By Design on Washington Avenue points to the pent up demand for comfortable, casual spots around Munjoy Hill. In general, as the Old Port continues to maintain high occupancy rates, business-owners are looking for space in outlying areas, like the Arts District and the West End.

The wrath of grapes

As discerning diners like to know the provenance of their food, the traceability and hyper-localism spill over into beverages, illustrated by the growing demand for craft beer, wine, and spirits. Maybe wine is getting its time in the spotlight, alongside craft beer. The owners of Maine & Loire, a natural and biodynamic wine shop also opening on Washington Avenue, sure hope so. As do those of UnWINEd, the Blue Lobster Urban Winery, and Lincolns. UnWINEd, opening soon on Congress St. in the Arts District, will serve wine and appetizers in a comfortable lounge setting. The Blue Lobster Urban Winery has been in the works for several years now, but the proprietors assure Anestes Fotiades of Portland Food Map (portlandfoodmap.com) that they plan to complete their microwinery in 2015. Lincolns, while promising a selection of alcohol and beer, is co-owned by Mark Ohlson of MJ’s Wine Bar. This underground lounge at 46 Market St., where everything costs only $5 (hence Lincolns), is sure to offer a limited selection of quality wines.

Superstar expansions

While some businesses, like Lincolns and UnWINEd, are hoping to capture the local love with inexpensive, stripped-down lounges, others are aiming high with premium real estate and prices to follow. Dana Street (of Street & Co. and Fore Street) will open a 144-seat eatery on Maine Wharf with a high-end seafood menu and retail seafood market. The owners of Hugo’s and Eventide Oyster Co. are expanding their restaurant row down the block with The Honey Paw. The new restaurant’s concept is scant on details other than “non-denominational noodle restaurant,” but will surely continue the tradition of well-crafted, thoughtful, delicious food. Small Axe food truckers Karl Deuben and Bill Leavy find a brick-and-mortar home in the East Ender space—same name, new menu; don’t worry, their cold-smoked burger will make the transition.

Portland’s food and drink scene continues to expand, seemingly unabated, causing many to wonder when the bubble is going to pop. With residential real estate development, cruise ship schedules, and the number of hotel rooms increasing, many powers-that-be with money are betting that the bubble is still inflating. For the most part, these planned restaurant projects are still chef-owned and operated; Portland has not yet seen an influx of corporate restaurant groups. Here’s hoping the addition of these new projects continues to add to Portland’s high-quality dining scene.

To see a complete list of food-related businesses opening in 2015, visit portlandfoodmap.com/underconstruction.html

Originally published in DigPortland, January 1, 2015.

Customer Appreciation Month

Ask any restaurant owner in Portland and they’ll say one of the hardest parts of owning a restaurant here is the bipolar cycles of customers. While Portlanders enjoy a relative glut of wintertime activities compared to other coastal towns that close up as soon as the last cruise ship departs, restaurateurs still feel the pinch in the winter.

Even owner of the popular (now shuttered) restaurant Bresca, Krista Kern Desjarlais, told me, “To be a restaurant owner here…is extremely challenging. It’s very magnified. You can take a walk around town on any January, February, March…midweek evening, and we’re all waving at the window at you, like, hey, come on in!” Business owners employ several strategies to lure in reclusive diners, discounting meals or offering special menus. Others take advantage of the slower pace to do some much-needed maintenance and renovations.

Eventide Oyster Co. and Hugo’s owner Arlin Smith doesn’t mind that there are fewer customers in his restaurants this month. A construction crew is working in the adjacent space, expanding Eventide’s dining room and the restaurants’ shared kitchen, while adding yet a third restaurant, The Honey Paw. Both Eventide and Hugo’s will be closed for a week at the end of January while dining room walls are demolished and drywall dust flies. Smith knows the staff will appreciate the time off guilt-free, as they aren’t missing lucrative tips.

Sonny’s, Local 188, and Salvage BBQ also gave the staff a break after the busy holiday season while owner Jay Villani closed the restaurants last week for deep cleaning. When they reopened, Villani began the annual “white sale” (a name that traditionally refers to linen sales at department stores in January), a 15 percent discount on food at his three restaurants. Villani says the promotion is a form of “customer appreciation,” in the colder months and of course, helps counteract the post-holiday (literal and figurative) belt-tightening.

Other chefs use the slower pace of the winter to flex their culinary creativity or feature a popular menu item for a limited time. At Hugo’s, the chefs are bringing in whole sides of pork and beef, which allow them to serve big cuts of meat family-style for the relative bargain of $45 per person. Arlin Smith says these promotions might not be the biggest money maker for the restaurant, but energize staff and excite customers at an otherwise quiet time of year.

Back Bay Grill chef Larry Matthews is bringing back his famed burger for a few nights this week. Matthews served the local beef patty, topped with shredded lettuce, a creamy garlic dressing, and Stilton bleu cheese on a brioche bun, as a bar menu item in his classic Bayside bistro. When Matthews did away with the bar menu a few years ago, many mourned the loss of the burger. Now, he brings back the burger to fill the house during otherwise slow weeks. Matthew enjoys that the burger’s scarcity creates demand and give people a reason to go out in the winter. And it works; the restaurant fills and the burgers sell out (call ahead to reserve one for this week or next).

The ultimate wintertime promotion is Maine Restaurant Week, launched locally by foodie PR firm gBritt seven years ago. Jim Britt specifically planned the event to occur in March, “to stir up business during the darkest days of winter.” Participating restaurants serve special tasting menus, designed to entice housebound diners to cash-hungry dining rooms.

 Even those with nothing to gain other than fun have helped promoted local restaurants during the colder months. Event planner Emily Hricko and graphic designer Cecilia Ziko began Plow-WOW, a pop-up happy hour, three years ago to liven up the otherwise unpleasant task of moving one’s car in a snowstorm. This year, the happy hours are at Local 188 from 6-8 pm during parking bans. Follow Plow-WOW’s facebook page (facebook.com/plow.wow) to be updated on the next event.

If you’re willing to endure, slippery sidewalks, reduced parking, and biting winds for dinner, some of Portland’s finest restaurants will be there to reward your loyalty. But call ahead first…just to be on the safe side.

Originally published in DigPortland on January 14, 2015.

Portland Spirits Society

A few weeks ago, an NPR story caught my attention: Not Just a Man's Drink: Ladies Lead the Whiskey Renaissance. Women? Whiskey? Yes, please. 

The story featured Heather Greene, who teaches Whiskey 101 at New York's The Flatiron Room. Greene relayed a growing interest in whiskey amongst women, but that they often wondered if drinking whiskey would make them seem too aggressive or were intimidated by the male-dominated culture of whiskey drinking.

In listening, I thought of the Maine Beer Mavens, a local group of women interested in learning more about craft beer. The Mavens have the expected beer tastings and brewery tours, but also offer looks into the angles industry, like distribution, HR, and marketing. Then I thought, I wonder if the Mavens would be interested in learning about whiskey too?

So I got in touch with Maine Beer Mavens' coordinator Lora Burns to ask her about coordinating a women's whiskey tasting. We met for some whiskey at Portland Hunt & Alpine (OK, I got sucked in by my favorite cocktail of late, the Jack Rose: applejack, grenadine, and lemon juice - kind of the polar opposite of whiskey). And it turns out Lora has also had thoughts about starting a spirits appreciation club. Thus, the Portland Spirits Society was born.

Design by Elizabeth Hunter (my sister!!)

Lora and I are very excited about mobilizing some whiskey-loving ladies to meet the people behind Maine's craft spirits and to explore our newfound whiskey preferences. We're planning a beginners tasting event and tours of local whiskey distilleries. We hope to find knowledgeable ladies who work in the whiskey industry to talk and drink with us.

Once the Spirits Society gets rolling, we'll expand to learn about other liquors based on the group's preferences. Follow our page on facebook to be updated with future events, and if you have any ideas for the group, be it topics or contacts within the greater Portland area, email me (ha, I typed femail - perfect) at blueberryfiles at gmail dot com.

Cheers!