The Story of Uncle Kevin
Like any good origin story, some of the details are a little fuzzy, and others, well, they just may be made up. But, this is our story, and we’re stickin to it. After all, who was it who said, don’t let the truth get in the way of a good story. (Apocryphally, that quote is misattributed to Mark Twain, so even the supposed origin of the quote isn’t true.)
Uncle Kevin grew up in a tea-totalling family, or so he thought. Well at least his dad was an iced tea totaller and consumed it by the large glassful. In high school he learned that his mom on the other hand was known to have a few drinks on trips out of town. Add drinking to the list of things she said was bad for you… At least she brought him a Vieux Carré shirt from the French Quarter in NOLA. He rediscovered a photo of him wearing the shirt with his trusty steed and furry pal over 40 years later, and ironically, the Vieux Carré is his favorite cocktail. She must have been a prophet.
Uncle Kevin was always interested in science, and often conducted unsupervised “science experiments” frequently involving fire in his formative years. During the wood distillation unit in ninth grade science class he pressed his teacher for more information on distillation. I mean, distilling wood is good, but distilling liquor surely had to be better. Mr. Friendly (not his real name) was excited to see his young student’s curiosity and overshared the process of alcoholic beverage distillation. Tucked away on a hidden shelf in Uncle Kevin's basement bedroom closet, the mason jar filled with potatoes, sugar, water, and yeast was fermenting nicely and not bothering anyone until his mom caught a whiff of the soon to be vodka, and the experiment, blamed on a friend down the street, was abruptly ended.
Well, Uncle Kevin headed off to Mizzou where his cocktail education really started. As governor of the dorm floor, and president of the Surf-n-Turf Club (aka room 715 Hudson Hall) Uncle Kevin, along with his friends and family crafted Surf-n-Turf Punch. Crafted might be an exaggeration.
Surf-n-Turf Punch
Using one 3 gallon plastic bucket add the following:
1 bottle Malibu Rum
1 bottle DeKuyper Peach Schnapps
1 bottle Amaretto
2 liter bottle of Mountain Dew
1 half gallon orange juice
Stir, possibly with your hand, scoop and serve with a large plastic cup.
It wasn't very sophisticated, but it was very popular.
There were many dry years after graduating from Mizzou before he began to enjoy lite beer and sweet wine. Time marched on and palates changed, and he discovered the world of craft beer. On one particular trip with the Harley, Aunt Dana, and some dear friends, he discovered Tilburg’s Dutch Brown Ale, and that was a game changer. That sweet dark elixir set him off in pursuit of the many styles of beer from across the country and around the world.
Fast forward a few years, when a friend shared some home brewed beer. Within days a Groupon turned into a home brew kit delivery. The kit was an odd mashup of ale and lager that was fermented too warm and yielded some mediocre, but passable beer. Serendipitously, between the arrival of the kit and brew day, Uncle Kevin stumbled, mostly metaphorically, onto an old friend who was a Garage Brewer, one of our local home brew clubs. Uncle Kevin soaked up everything he could from some great home brewers in the club and received a lot of compliments on his beer. Harleywood Brewing was born. Uncle Kevin chose that name for his love of Harleys and his career as a video production teacher. Like Norm from Cheers, shouts of Harleywood echoed through the brewery, at the neighborhood pool, and among his biker brothers and sisters whenever he showed up with his newest creation.
Uncle Kevin enjoyed designing recipes, creating and brewing unique beers with bike themed names like Beach Cruiser IPA, Shovelhead Stout, and Torque Monster Barleywine. He even brewed a 15 barrel batch of his Beach Cruiser Pineapple IPA at 4 Hands Brewery in St. Louis.
Along the way Uncle Kevin developed an interest in bourbon, and on a trip with the family to DC stopped into the Jack Rose Saloon. “I’m just getting interested in bourbon. If I were to spend $15 on a pour, what would you recommend?” The bartender reached up on the shelf and said, “I’m trying to finish off this bottle. I’ll give you a pour of this.” Uncle Kevin was so new that he’d never heard of Pappy or Old Rip Van Winkle and didn’t know what he had until he got back to the room and looked it up. Like most things, when Uncle Kevin gets into something he doesn’t do it halfway, and over the last decade, a little interest in bourbon became an obsession, but the homebrewing continued.
Abstract Ales, a collaboration between Uncle Kevin and his brother (in law) Mark Witzling, was a series of beers inspired by Mark’s art. These quirky riffs on traditional beer styles were very popular, and the fourth volume, Cigar Lounge, has been brewed many times over the years.
At his homebrewing peak, Uncle Kevin had 18 of his own home brews on tap on his home bar. Friends enjoyed the semi-monthly beer nights with an occasional sip of bourbon. Then…COVID.
COVID hit the community hard where Uncle Kevin worked, and the beer nights were put on hold. After a couple of months of social distancing and working from home he shared on Facebook that he was reallocating his gasoline budget to alcohol.
During that time Friday night date nights transitioned from wine and beer to bourbon and rum tastings and a growing interest in other spirits as well as cocktail crafting and experimentation.
So, how’d he get the name? Well, he really is an uncle, but the name came from a conversation with a friend. Dana’s always said he gives people license to do the things they really want to do but wouldn’t on their own. He doesn’t have much of a filter; you never know what he’s going to say, and he’s the same guy wherever he goes. He also has a bit of a reputation for being the guy to get you what you need whether it’s good food, good music, a speakeasy, or a tattoo. One time while travelling with friends, a couple of the ladies in the group decided it was time to get their first tattoo, and they knew just who to ask. As they departed the studio with fresh ink, one dear friend said with a little twinkle in her eye, “You’re like the crazy uncle at the cookout. You never know what he’s gonna say or what he’s gonna do. He’s a good guy but a little crazy,” and that’s how Uncle Kevin came to be.
We’re excited to have you join us on this cocktail journey, and we look forward to sharing a drink with you in person one day.
Cheers friends!
