Knowing Your Limits

A year or so back, I was invited to do a winter hike in one of my favorite outdoor spots, The Great Smoky Mountains National Park. As a self proclaimed outdoorsman, I quickly accepted the invitation, thus starting the tedious process of checking my gear, packing and preparing for what would be one hell of an adventure.

The trip started with an early 4a.m. departure from Lafayette and one solid clear directive - Make it to the Smoky Mountain Brewery in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee before night fall. After 12+ hours of driving, we eventually made it into town, a little past sunset, greeted by the promise of cold temperatures and delicious beer. The exact details of that night at the brewery live in legend, but can be summed up as followed: Beer - Pizza - Music! Shout out to Chad McWilliams - total Boss! 

The next morning we awoke feeling slightly hungover but ready to tackle whatever mother nature could throw at us. This year's hike started a little different, we had gathered knowledge earlier in the morning that the road leading to our usual trail, Alum Cave Trail, was closed due to a catastrophic event. Instead of turning away at this ominous sign we pressed on, taking the scenic, less hiked, Rainbow Falls Trail, instead. For those not familiar with the area, Rainbow Falls Trail is a beautiful 6.6 miles (total lie) of scenic overlooks and up hill hiking. Sort of a hikers dream, right?  

Hiking conditions that morning were sunny and calm but as the day and hike progressed temperatures started to plummet and an apocalyptic haze rolled in making the trail look more like an scene from The Bourne Identity and less like a beautiful portion of the Appalachian Trail.

With an ambient air temperature below 20° we trudged on, tackling frozen waterfalls, ice slicks, deep snow, and damn near treacherous uphill hiking for miles, breaking only to eat when we could. 

Around hours 3 of hiking, feeling somewhere between confused and out of my mind, my body started to shut down. The struggle was real, I literally hit limit.

I remember distinctly, every three or four steps I had to rest, covered in sweat, shivering, cold, breathing heavy, reaching for calories, water, literally standing in position thinking nothing but listening to the voice in my head telling me to "Sit down...take a break...close my eyes and rest."

I was experiencing what countless individuals whom have been in this situation experience, "The little voice in your head. I heard it clearer than any voice in my whole life. Those words were so real, so vivid. All I wanted to do was give in.

In that moment, if it wasn't for my mates, in front of and behind me, pushing through, encouraging, and enduring the same struggle I was enduring, I would probably would have turned into a popsicle. 

On the mountain that day, I admittedly hit my upper limit. The struggle of that accent, for me, was real but for others not so much. Unarguably, each person has their own limits and pushing oneself to those limits is the only way to discover what they truly are. 

- Cliff

Less About the Mix

Bourbon is traditionally used to make an old fashioned. Whiskey is the most common deviation from that.  

We engineered our mix to compliment these liquors in particular. Our goal was to enhance the liquor experience itself and not overshadow the beautiful subtlety that each brand presents. There is a reason people prefer "Brand A" to "Brand B, C, or D".  Particular aromas, finishes, wood and nut flavors, etc, all play into why you purchase that particular bottle. That seems obvious right?

So why make a product that removes those experiences and enjoyment?

This question played over and over in our head when we sampled various mixes on the market. Not to our surprise, these samplings all did exactly what we expected; they all destroyed the integrity of the liquor. They were not what we call, "Whiskey Forward". It was absolutely critical that our mix did not follow this example.  

As a result, we have seen more experimentation, more quickly, than we would have ever anticipated. I was just discussing recently this deviation with two or my close friends. One choose Irish Whiskey, the other, Gin. Irish whiskey, I can understand to a degree. Gin however, peaked my interest considerably.

Lets not stop there. Lets compound this a bit more.

I prefer to mix my old fashioned with aged rum.  Now we have three, non traditional old fashioneds that are receiving positive marks. The diversity of liquors already being used with Leisuremann's mix was an awesome feeling. This experimentation would have not been possible if we didn't take the "Whiskey Forward" approach to heart. Sure, our mix is going to bring sweetness, citrus, and subtle numerous flavors to your drink. Not enough, however, to compromise the most crucial element of your cocktail.

You want the truth?  You can handle the truth. You are enjoying the liquor.

We wouldn't have it any other way.

Feels good man.

- Matt

OF 16091 ###

That number you see above tells me two things:

First, I should improve my penmanship. 

Second, we actually made a viable product.

The latter, is absolutely amazing. My business partner and I are both graduates of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette's Industrial Design Program. which is just a fancy way of saying "product design". Official graduation totals put the class of 2009 at a whopping 8 students.  This sure made for a nice, tight knit community. Luckily for us, not only did our career aspiration generally overlap, but a handful of our small graduating class found ourselves enjoying each others' company outside of the professional realm.  

One of our group's favorites, an annual hiking adventure which we dubbed - MEN vs WILD.

The gravity we assign to this event is immense and the preparations ever so meticulous. Out there on the Backbone Trail, arguably one of Louisiana's finest hikes, our crew would unnecessarily dominate that environment. The bite of winter winds halted against our 800 fill power dry down jackets.  Wet and muddy trails were a laughable matter versus our GoreTEX mountaineering boots. Need a hot meal, coffee, or tea? No problem. Just ask any one of us; we ALL brought our isobutane stoves. For an 8 mile trail a good friend of mine has done in loafers, this was extreme overkill.

No matter. It was events like Men vs Wild that brought out some of our most creative ideas; ideas that we would later discover had already been invented, marketed, and subsequently, failed. This would only temporarily discourage us. Our next outing was always just around the corner.

Now we have that product. Now we have something tangible to share with our community. 

We couldn't be more excited.

- Matt