Aspirational Spirits

 

One of the top shelves in our kitchen features five bottles of spirits that each represent a different aspiration:

Wiggly Bridge

This Maine-distilled bourbon will be opened when our horse racing partnership celebrates its first start in a Maine Sire Stakes race--hopefully in July 2027.

Dewar's

This Scotch will be opened when the Maine Soccer Association develops a Maine-based league that is sanctioned as a qualifying league for the U.S. Open Cup.

The trophy for this competition--which is the only tournament in the United States that features both professional and amateur teams--was originally named after Sir Thomas Dewar, one of the two brothers to grow their distillery's brand.

Floki

This Icelandic whiskey aged in sheep dung (yes, you read that correctly) will be opened when one of our soccer club's youth teams defeats an Icelandic youth team for the first time during one of our triennial trips to the land of fire and ice.

André

This champagne will be opened when our club qualifies for the U.S. Open Cup for the first time.

The bottle itself is actually from Chicago House AC's qualifying game against Brockton FC in December 2023, when the legendary Peter Wilt hosted me at the game in Randolph, MA that became known as the "Brockton Blackout."

Woodford Reserve

This bourbon is the commemorative bottle of the 2022 Kentucky Derby, and it will be opened when our partnership makes our first Thoroughbred start on the NYRA circuit with a horse in the New York Stallion Series.

One of our partners Keith Luke and his Donegal Racing compatriots co-owned Mo Donegal, who finished fifth in that year's Derby before going on to win the Belmont Stakes in June 2022.