This is the week in the United States where we celebrate eating ourselves silly and marathon shopping.  This was not the original intent of the holiday of Thanksgiving.  As the name suggests, we should be giving thanks for all the bounty of goodness we have in our lives.

I have mentioned before what a rough transition I have had in Memphis.  So many things have factored into this, but when I stop and take a look, I really have so many blessings, almost too many to count.  I am thankful every day I have a job to go to, a roof over my head and warm, snuggly pets to welcome me home every afternoon.  I’ve made some incredible friends.  It is some of my new amazing friends I am going to tell you about today and not the sweet potato beer I was supposed to find.  I wonder how Meg did with this week’s assignment?

Ever since I moved, I’ve been lamenting the loss of my monthly dinners.  Well, I finally pulled the trigger and started a Meetup group of my own.  I need to get back to my monthly cooking and cocktails with other good folks who enjoy the same.  Our club has been up and running for a few months now and so far everyone who has joined has truly been interesting and offered something special to the event they attended.

This past Sunday, my new friends and I went for a short road trip to Jackson, Tennessee with the express intent of visiting a local distillery.  Since we drove an hour, we also had to hit the little winery down the road.  This was an amazing day and one I think everyone enjoyed.

We started with lunch at Casey Jones Village and the Old Country Store to give our moonshine a soft place to land.  We spent a delicious hour or so with Sam of Samuel T Bryant Distillery.  Sam let us sample all sorts of good stuff including his two version of scotch, a grappa, an aged Tennessee moonshine (can’t be called a whiskey since it doesn’t follow all the “official” steps of a whiskey), an agave spirit (kinda like tequilla), some flavored moonshines and a coffee-shine.

The grappa was delightfully smooth compared to some of the grappa I’ve had in the past.  The two scotches were quite smooth with different levels of peat.  The original moonshine was very sippable, with hints of rye coming through for a wonderful sweet finish.

From there, we went to the Century Farms Winery for an assortment of reds, whites, fruit wines, and a couple of ports.  I came home with a semi-sweet white that will be perfect whenever summer rolls around again, their cranberry wine, and a port.

So much good stuff, it’s a wonder I have a liver left.  Everything in moderation, even the good times.  Here’s to hoping you and yours have a wonderful day of giving thanks, wherever the day may find you.