This is the first Rare Release Batch from THE REVERIES. There's so much to say about this release I almost find myself without a place to start. As I was harvesting barrels this winter and doing sensory out in the country, the biggest Raven I've ever seen joined me just outside the warehouse door. I had forgotten just how big a Raven is compared to a crow.

With feathers black as night, I started to pay attention and realize that there are a number of Ravens that have made their home among the facilities where I'm keeping The Reveries and this particular bird was the giant among them. Its raspy, echoing, guttural caw became a familiar sound as I worked this winter to put together this blend and it stuck with me. We built a rapport over a few shared pistachios, this particular bird thankful for some easy snacking after I watched him peck a hole clean through the inches of ice of frozen over puddles for a drink of water during Virginia's coldest mornings. 

The Reveries embody a dreamlike state, fueled by hand selected casks. But, people forget that dreams come in all shapes and forms. The Rare Release series of blends features the endemic, literary and mythological horrors that have inhabited the minds of the worlds civilizations. Just as I drew fascination to the Ravens who make their home among the trees and far smaller birds in Virginia, they have lived in the minds of many for centuries. Perhaps the best known is Edgar Allen Poe, whose famous works took a moment to recognize the Raven as well.

They are impressive birds, smart, cunning, vocal yet lurking and I've grown to be fascinated by what they represent. To some, the arrival of a Raven is an omen, to others a curiosity and to others yet a celebration. To me, the company of the large ravens of Middleburg became a comfort as I sat among these barrels and heard their caws and cries approaching in the distance, knowing I'd soon be joined by these large phantoms of the trees and the rooftops. Falling asleep at night, alone in the country, the last thing I heard at night was often the Ravens, their own discussions and words among themselves blotting out the thoughts I was left alone with myself this winter.