October 19 Issue - Newspaper - Page 17
Page 17
McPeake
My Interest
In my humble opinion
Thanksgiving is the best
holiday. It is all about the
Macy’s Thanksgiving
Day Parade, eating,
drinking, football,
autumn weather and
spending time with
family and friends that
you love. Since my wife,
Leah Anne McPeake, and
I have been together we
have created some
wonderful memories. She
starts the day early in her
apron and like a
magician, she
wonderfully balances the
timing of all the food. I
become her sous chef and
peel the potatoes and prep
them for the mashed
potatoes. I mostly stay
out of her way until she
needs me to do a task.
When the feast is
complete, she has me
carve the turkey and
pretend that I was the one
in charge. She is in her
glory cooking and taking
care of her family. She is
a saint hiding in plain
sight. My favorite part is
giving the blessing. I
have been writing one for
each year and Leah Anne
saves them in her
memory box. I am
hopeful that my grandson
Aidan carries on the
tradition after I’m gone.
He better or he will get a
punch in the nose…
(inside joke) Then our
ever-growing family sits
down to eat and spend
quality time with each
other. In total we have 5
children, 8 grandchildren
and 1 great
granddaughter and 3
sheepdogs. The
comradery, laughter,
messes, dogs looking for
a handout and cleaning
the floor, toys
everywhere and sticky
fingers make memories
that I will always cherish.
When I was younger, I
would have left early for
a turkey trot 5K or 10K
race. Running and
coaching was an
important part of my life.
I was very successful at
both, and I still run into
people who always ask
me “do you still run?” In
2018 I was diagnosed
with MS and my running
days came to a halt. At
the time it was a hurtful
blow to my pride. It was
taking away the one thing
I was the best at. It is
funny how God blesses
us in ways that we don’t
always understand. I was
a very selfish person back
then and would often put
my running / coaching
career first and
everything else came
second. I am thankful for
the 30 plus years of being
a middle- and
long-distance runner, but
I’m also realizing that I
am so much more than
that person. By burying
that personality, it has
allowed another side of
me to bloom and in many
Heist Spirits:
Invest in Good Times
By Brian McPeake
Thanksgiving
October 19 2023
EDITION 8
ways, it is a better version
of myself. I have more
time to be a better
husband, father,
grandfather, friend,
co-worker, neighbor, and
son. I am looking forward
to this new Brian and
spreading love and joy to
those around me. Leah
Anne, here is the
McPeake 2023
Thanksgiving Blessing:
Loving Lord,
As I express my gratitude
to you in prayer,
May it be a pleasing and
joyful sound to you.
Thank you, Lord, for your
love.
It brings me acceptance
and significance.
Thank you, Lord, for your
truth,
It brings me guidance and
direction.
Thank you, Lord, for your
mercy,
It brings me help and
comfort.
Thank you, Lord, for your
faithfulness.
It brings me stability and
strength.
Thank you, Lord for your
beauty!
Displayed in the earth.
It brings me joy and
delight.
Thank you, Lord for your
way of
By Tom Grande
Housed in a converted
bank building, Heist
spirits is a recent addition
to the local distillery
scene operating in
Burgettstown. Upon
entering, you are
transported back to a time
when banks were treated
as monuments of art deco
design. The high ceilings
suspend elegant
chandeliers above the
production facility and
tasting room. Massive
windows allow natural
light to pour in and
highlight the decadence
of the surroundings. In
the center is a line of
bright, shiny stills for
processing alcohol.
Alex and Lana Ramsey
are the founders of the
Golden Handcuffs brand
that Heist spirits is known
for. Of course, being in a
former bank building
with a name like Heist led
to an obvious question
which had a surprising
answer, “Fun fact, this
bank was successfully
robbed once.” Alex
responds. “Good Friday
1986 never caught the
people that robbed it. And
never disclosed the
amount of money they
got off with.” When
pulling out the teller
windows, the Ramsey’s
discovered the final
missing piece of evidence
from the day, “We heard a
clinking sound, and we
found a shell casing
rolling on the floor.” This
came from an
intimidation shot fired
during the robbery and
was undiscovered during
the search because it had
wound up wedged under
the teller counter, “We
had it mounted and
framed.”
The vision for a distillery
came to Alex during his
day job, working to
purify natural gas from
fracking wells,
“…distillation is in our
wheelhouse… taking that
understanding of how that
process works, I can
apply that to a different
product.” Having a
background in this
specific type of chemistry
lends itself to every
aspect of production. The
elegance of the
equipment and
surroundings are a sign of
just how much effort goes
into running a clean,
buttoned-up operation.
Golden Handcuffs
products include vodka,
gin, rye whiskey, corn
whiskey, bourbon, and
even an apple whiskey.
The primary grains for
production are all locally
redemption – the cross. It
brings me
salvation and
regeneration.
Our heavenly father,
accept our thanks
For the blessings of this
day.
Bless this food to our use,
And the health of our
family and friends.
Amen
To all the Weekly
Recorder readers have a
great Thanksgiving from
my family to yours!
And yes, Leah Anne,
Saturday November 25th
you can put up the
Christmas Tree…
The Still Heist Spirits
sourced from nearby
farms, a point of pride for
the Ramsey’s, “We work
with local farmers,
Campbell’s for our corn
and wheat, which is a
ten-minute drive down
the road… and
Wheatherbury in Avella
supplies our Rye.”
Lana Ramsey’s vision is
executed over in the
tasting room. Her
impressive attention to
detail is showcased
throughout. The period
accurate furnishings date
back to mid-last century,
and include seating,
lighting, even the trash
receptacles are a
throwback. The
impressive cocktail
station includes ornate
carvings and a marble
top. On offer are all
products produced in
house, including a
monthly cocktail
selection, “(Lana) is the
wizard behind that…we
are owner operators here.
We do everything
together. I am on the
production side, and she
handles the front end,
design, and cocktails.”
Heist Spirits offers tours
via their website
heistspirits.com.
