It wasn’t even on our ever-growing list of things to do, but it sounded like a great idea—so we went for it. Our friend at Tobacco Barn Distillery, retired two-star Admiral Scott Sanders, asked if we’d be interested in partnering with the distillery to make bourbon barrel aged maple syrup. Naturally, we said yes.

We started with a small test batch using a freshly dumped bourbon barrel from the Distillery and a plan cooked up by Scott—affectionately known around here as “the Admiral.” Through his connections, we sourced 100% pure maple syrup from a farmer in New Hampshire, consulted maple syrup experts on best practices, and got busy.

With help from cousin Fred Evans, who supplied the still, and a few last-minute essentials borrowed from our neighbor (and Freddy’s Grandmother) Lucy Dixon next door, we processed and hot-packed our very first batch. Like most things on the farm, it was a mix of planning, improvisation, and good people showing up at just the right time—and the results were well worth it, it’s delicious!

After the test batch, we applied for the appropriate health department permits, selected the bottle, designed the labels—and just like that, the final product came to life.