There has been a buzz in the air the past few weeks at the distillery leading up to the holidays. And I do mean to use the word “buzz” in all forms 🙂 It has been exciting and insanely busy. I’m humbled by the multitude of fans of Wiggly Bridge Distillery who have come by or stopped in their local liquor store to buy our product or to give as gift. When I personally buy gifts for my family and friends, I want it to be special, unique, and just plain awesome. I want them to open their gift and say AWESOME! The fact that people have chosen Wiggly Spirits to give as their special gifts just makes me proud and fills my heart. I’ve had dozens of my own facebook friends personally ask me where to buy Wiggly Spirits and what cocktails to make. Thank you!

interior shot of the wiggly bridge outfitted for the chirstmas holiday, lights, green garland and red bows covering the walls and banisters
an image of the barn lit up and decorated for the christmas holiday for an event
aerial shot from the top floor of the barn, an image of the people conversing during a wiggly bridge event

Our events season started to slow down outside of the distillery and I was able to focus more on the happenings on site. We’ve had a few awesome events held at the barn and I was able meet and work with so many neat people.

I also was able to take a breath (a small one), evaluate what we have accomplished and realize that I love what I do. We are building something amazing! I like to say my job is primarily marketing, but it definitely doesn’t fall within the typical parameters. I do a multitude of other “stuff”, some just as fun and some not so much, but they all kind of intertwine together.

It’s hard to believe that at the ripe old age of 30 I have my dream job. You’re probably thinking that I have to say that, seeing as it’s a family business and all. Legit- this is what I’ve always wanted to do. Yes it is a family business and it did take from age 23 until now to find where I fit in all of this, and it’s constantly evolving, but nonetheless I’m here now and I want to blow the socks off of it.

I’m also a mother of two, young, beautiful, healthy, rambunctious, trying children. I quickly learned after my first babe that I was not stay at home material. Props to those mothers out there who do. It’s probably the toughest job I will ever have. With that said, going to “work” for me is actually more of a vacation. Finding the balance between the two has been, hands down, my greatest challenge. I’m an ambitious overachiever by nature so I want to do my best at being WigglyGirl and more importantly be the best at being mom.

Not only do I get to be involved in all aspects of the business, I get to see/work with my husband and occasionally include the kids! When your 4 year old can recognize and verbally state the smell of bourbon, it kind of makes me wonder about our parenting. Oy. But this is our life- we live, breath, and drink Wiggly. This is what we do and our kids are growing up as our business grows as well. How awesome is that. And well, if our son can identify what bourbon smells like without tasting it, I’d say that’s a win.

a man in a black shirt holding an iphone, using it as a flashlight while showing a little girl something on a barrel
behind the scene shot of photographing cocktails and spirits
a man climbing into a distill

What I’ve learned about being a part of a family business is that you have to be innovative and creative. What big companies do to stay in the spotlight is something that a small local business cannot afford to do. We have to find ways to stay in the spotlight creatively through social media, videos, pictures, web, and whatever else we can conjure up. THAT is what I’ve always wanted to do. It’s daunting at times, but incredibly rewarding. It requires a lot of reading and research and trial and error. It’s what makes my job so fun! I get to be photographer, bartender, manager, data analyst, retail purchaser, web designer, and the list goes on.

On the other hand, when things don’t work out quite like we plan for, it’s up to us to fix it! Just a small example is when the cook kettle gets clogged. Thank goodness David can fit in there!

I could probably go on and on about this, but at the end of the day the point is that I’m proud of what we do and feel fortunate to be a part of it. I wake up and look forward to working- if you can even call it that. I “work” with some incredible people who compliment what we want to accomplish and are like family.

As we close out 2016 I’m thankful for my job and all of our Wiggly fans.

Cheers!