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The dream kicked off in March with our research and distilling class in Seattle. Since then our lives have been propelled forward with our passion! After receiving our approval from the TTB and having our Federal license in hand, we began clean up and construction of what was to be our weekend home for the remainder of the year! We began construction the last week in September, transforming an old workshop into a small 'mom and pop' craft distillery. Only able to drive the 2 1/2 hrs to work on available weekends, we've managed to accomplish a tremendous amount over the last three months working only 17 days with a total of 192 team hours! BEFORE | 9.26.2015  Murray's Fools Distilling HQ BEFORE Construction PROGRESS UPDATE VIDEO BLOG | 12.20.2015 No More Care Free Weekends and We Couldn't Be Happier!  Murray's Fools Distilling Co. Construction | 09.25.2015 I've always heard that when you are doing something you are passionate about it does not feel like work. This has never been truer in my own life then at this time, when Sarah and I are planning and building out our small craft distillery in upstate New York.
We research and plan all week, in between our day job and family commitments, then spend the weekends implementing our plans. Quite a bit of manual labor happens during Saturdays and Sundays, but it never seems burdensome. There is something about the building of this business from the ground up that instills in both of us a fulfilling and exhilarating sense of mission and partnership. Current plans are for all the permits to be in place and to have the stills running by January 2016. That is just a few months away, and there is plenty of work that must be done in order to meet that goal. Fortunately, our passion drives us and picks up the slack when any mental or physical fatigue threatens. When we do get frustrated or tired, we still smile. This is our dream. This is ours.  William Henry Harrison Murray One hundred and forty six years ago, in the summer of 1869, the Adirondack Mountains were overrun. Thousands of urbanites from Boston, New York City, and other civilized regions along the east coast, left the comfort of their homes and rushed into the unknown wilderness. They went seeking a storied wilderness of great beauty, restorative and even curative powers. These adventures were informed by one man, a preacher from Boston. They heeded his words and followed. The preacher from Boston was William Henry Harrison Murray (“Adirondack Murray”). Murray’s book Adventures in the Wilderness gave rise to the “Murray Rush” and “Murray’s Fools,” the movement and moniker applied to those citizens who ventured into the wilderness and found themselves, at first, unprepared for its obstacles. Despite severe challenges, the brave souls who sought out the restorative Adirondacks that Murray wrote about that first summer of 1869, and who often did not make it into the woods due to logistical log jams, did not give up. From 1870 to 1874, Murray’s Fools poured into the Adirondack region with much success. Murray’s advocacy of restoration and recreation found a willing ear among the growing middle class of late 19th century America. Not only did the vacation begin to be recognized as a necessary part of urban life, wilderness appreciation increasingly became a marker of social class. It was in the spirit of Adirondack Murray and the determination of Murray’s Fools that my wife, Sarah, and I began to dream about starting our craft distillery. Soon after, we found that dreaming was not enough for us. We needed to act. That meant taking classes, reading books, and studying the industry we inspired to join. Those preliminary acts culminated in obtaining our Basic Permit from the Alcohol & Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau – the permit that allows us to distill spirits. With our federal permit in hand, we are embarking on the next phase of putting our dreams into action – setting the distillery up and obtaining our New York State permit. Like the travelers to the wilderness of the early 1870s, we face many unknowns and challenges; but also the promise of something wonderful. "We live within-doors too much to be happy. We should seek more variety. Life becomes too much of a routine, an exhibition of one and the same experience. We should open ourselves up to the exhilaration of incident. We should go forth and stand in the midst of many objects, and rejoice our eyes with varied sights and court contact with the accidental and the romantic." - W.H.H. Murray | From Lake Champlain and Its Shores (speaking about Outdoor Life)  |
Randall Beach
Co-founder of Murray's Fools Distilling Co. | Altona. NY Categories
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