45th Parallel

 Tucked in the wilds of New Richmond, Wisconsin's industrial park is 45th Parallel Spirits. It is a proper distillery for vodkas, gin, and other spirits. Nicole and I recently took a quick tour of the facility and sampled some of their creations.

They currently have two products on the market utilizing their great process. One is a top-shelf vodka and the other is a variation on the vodka flavored with horseradish. They use local corn for the sugars and then the sugars get to spend some with with yeast to create some alcohol. Most vodkas on the market will skip this step and buy the liquid in bulk from an ethanol distributor. That is what makes 45th Parallel special. By starting with the corn itself and monitoring each step in the process, they can craft the desired flavor profile.

Here is their main still operation. It's where the magic happens. This takes that sloppy alcoholic mixture and removes the impurities through distillation.  

Two of their next projects are a whiskey and a bourbon. These barrels were filled a few months ago and will take time to age.  

I would love to make my own spirits, but that is currently illegal under federal law. Nicole has all the equipment at work, which makes me wonder what is she really doing every day?

Expansion is in their future.

 We were able to sample a test gin that they are making. It was incredibly tasty. The juniper favors were very strong and in a good way. The horseradish vodka wasn't really my thing, but might taste great in a bloody mary. The main vodka though is amazing. It has a very pleasant scent and taste that is hard to pin down, but makes a great sipper.

 When in Wisconsin, have glass of vodka before grabbing that beer.

Frosty Morning

We had a frosty morning last weekend, the only interesting snow-themed event to occur yet this winter. Meteorologically-speaking, I'm not exactly sure how the ice forms, but it covered everything in little ice spikes. Very pretty.

We took a quick hike up to William O'Brien State Park later that morning. This was the morning of the Superbowl, and the park was packed with people probably looking to pre-burn their calories. It appears that the ice storm made it this far north, too.

Vacation Glow

One month later, I realized that I never got around to posting photos from our Baltimore trip. The D.C. day trip was awesome, as always, but Baltimore - and specifically, Amelia and Basil's real neighborhood tour of Baltimore - is highly memorable. I am in a strangely nostalgic mood today, so you're getting holiday-themed vacation photos in the middle of January. Lucky you.

This particular one-block section of row houses is my new memory of Christmas, Baltimore-style. Every single house on the block was decked out for the holidays. My personal favorite celebrated with a robot-themed Nativity scene. (Runner-up? The Christmas flamingos.) Amelia informed us that the utility companies give the homeowners a break on their electric bills, in the spirit of the holidays and/or tourism, I guess. Because of this amazing light show, we get to park about 8 blocks away from home. Totally worth it.

We began our mornings with a trip to the "progressive American coffee" shop, which is just one of the many unique restaurants and stores located within a few blocks of Amelia and Basil's home. The neighborhood is home to an amazing diversity of young folks. (And maybe older ones, too, but they weren't at the haunts I frequented.)

Home, Sweet Home!

Baltimore is the only place I've encountered that has speed hump signs instead of speed bumps. I'm not quite sure why this was so funny, but it cracked me up every single day.

Someone has got to do something about this poor tree - no more room for the roots. 

 Yoga. Love it.

Knitters and crafty types on the loose! So many creative activities that I decided to learn to knit. Seriously, this is my year. I got the basic instructions from Alison, so watch out, winter! I'm making my own scarves now!

We also toured Baltimore's Inner Harbor, which is the only part of Baltimore I (and most visitors) had previously visited. (Side note: I apologize for the crazy edits, but Picasa recently got a few new buttons, and I had a blast trying them out. I'll get over it soon, I promise.)

Ye Olde Wharf. I like that no one bothered to connect the two piers.

Merry Christmas, tree!
I'm saving this idea for next year. 

We took a break for sushi and tea, followed by amazing homemade gelato, then happy hour with rosemary fries and local beers, and ended it all with drinks on the town. You have to love a vacation as delicious as that! FYI, I have a new favorite drink - anything with St-Germain elderflower liqueur - followed closely by Alison's sparkly pop rocks drink concoction, which was the loudest drink I've ever tasted. 

Santa convergence outside the gelato shop.
I wonder what all the kiddos thought about this?

Our final excursion was a lovely hike along the river. Don't let the hats and scarves fool you: the winter weather in Baltimore - much like Minnesota lately - was downright tropical.

This is the game face of a serious hiker.

Pre-hike warm-ups

The English major giving the Biology major a remedial lesson in mosses vs lichens.

Alison!!!

Gotcha, newlyweds!

Thanks for a wonderful, relaxing, amazing weekend, Amelia, Basil, and Alison! The memories will carry me throughout winter and into season two of The Wire.