Suncadia and Brown Sugar Bourbon Holiday Adventures

As Christmas Break begins, I really don’t think anyone is more excited than the kids…unless you’re a teacher! Or even a principal! And the December 2017 start of break found the Stoney Family giddy for winter vacation! We left bright and early the Thursday morning before Christmas to head over the mountains and through the woods, to Suncadia Resort we went! The Suncadia Resort is located in Cle Elum/Roslyn, Washington, just east of Snoqualmie Pass.

Originally, Josh had suggested we go to my favorite place in Washington, which some of you may know or remember, is Leavenworth. However, this time of the year, if you hadn’t made reservations months in advance, there is no where to stay! So, I brought up the idea of Suncadia since our family had not been there before, and it is similiar to Sun River Resort, Oregon (as both resorts are owned by destinationhotels), where we had vacationed (rented a house there) several years ago and loved it! We had agreed on just one night at Suncadia, but I sure wish we would have stayed longer! Quite the fun place and I highly recommend a trip there. Plus, seeing it all decorated for Christmas was just spectacular!

At the resort, there was PLENTY for the boys and us to do, from ice skating at the outdoor ice rink (Lane taught himself how to ice skate, with big brother Luke’s help, and that was a joy to watch!), to sledding (although the fun was short lived when Luke annihilated his sled in an ice patch!), swimming at the large and very nice swimming and gym center, (the boys and I enjoyed swimming, water slides, and most importantly, the awesome outdoor hot tub, while Josh took an opportunity to use the gym facilities to get a workout in!), to many different and delicious restaurants. There was even wine-tasting for the mommy and daddy at the Swiftwater Winery and Restaurant!

But, being this is the Whiskey Lovers Wife blog, I need to begin with the true intent of the blog. Roslyn, Washington is a mere 10 minute drive (less than that if it hadn’t been snowy and icy) from Suncadia. Roslyn may be small, but it’s history is rich and the town became a bit famous due to a television show in the early 90’s called Northern Exposure. As we walked about the cute little town, after enjoying a wonderful meal at “The World Famous Brick Saloon”, we crossed the street to the newly opened tasting room in Roslyn, The Heritage Distillery. 

If you head on over to The Whiskey Lovers latest blog, he shares this week about his experience, gives tasting notes to the newest Heritage Rye Whiskey in the collection, and pairs his tasting notes with Scripture from the bible. Absolutely fascinating read.  https://thewhiskeylover.com/2017/12/24/whiskey-and-his-word-self-discipline-part-2/

The moment our family stepped into this beautiful showroom, all four of us found so much to look at and be in awe of! Luke found a black and white historical book on the Coal Mining History of Roslyn, while Lane was drawn to the design of the building (he says he’s always taking notes for how he wants his brewery to be some day!), while Josh and I were drawn to the tasting area…Josh to order up some whiskey to taste and I couldn’t stop staring at, the first of it’s kind that I’m aware of, Spirits Growlers Filling Station! Isn’t it amazing???!!!

 

Josh and I both ordered up two whiskeys to taste and one cocktail to enjoy. I tried the Double Barrel Bourbon and my favorite, The Brown Sugar Bourbon for my tastings and the Hot Buttered BSB. Josh tried the Old Fashioned Bourbon and the Old Fashioned Rye (it’s this Rye that was his muse for his latest blog), and he enjoyed a cocktail called The Bohemian, that included Angostura aromatic bitters and ginger ale.

 

We thoroughly enjoyed our time spent at the Heritage Distillery in Roslyn, and left with many gifts for ourselves and others, definitely boosting the economy there!

Before leaving to come home on Friday, we took advantage of the snow that was falling and the well-marked hiking trails by snowshoeing down to the river to explore a bit. It was absolutely gorgeous!

 

I even caught a picture of my husband taking a video of himself, which may or may not have ended up on his  Aquavitae Facebook site  https://www.facebook.com/aquavitae.tasting.1 or his twitter site  https://twitter.com/aquavitaetaste 

He cracks me up! We had such a great time as a family, as we normally do on all our trips, no matter how big or small they are or where in the world these trips take us! As we returned home, tired from all the fun we had, but ready for Christmas to begin, we all agreed that this was a well spent two days. And, even though the boys were sad to leave the snow, the next after getting home, the clouds opened up and gave us a White Christmas Eve and Christmas! And, as I sit sipping my newest favorite drink (the Hot Buttered BSB, that my husband so lovingly figured out how to make for me and when we ran out of BSB, headed to our nearest store carrying Heritage’s BSB and bought THE VERY LAST BOTTLE!!!) I am reminded at how very blessed we are. Thank-you for allowing me to share with you!

If you get the chance, please try to get a trip in to Suncadia and Roslyn. Make sure to head over to the Heritage Distillery for a one-of-a-kind experience! And may your Winter Holidays bring you the joy of being with your family, love for all you do, and always, a little adventure! Join me again soon, as you never know what or where the Whiskey Lovers Wife will travel to or review next! Life is a journey, not a destination, so embrace it!

***The Whiskey Lovers Wife does not receive any contributions or commissions for any of the products or places she reviews. In fact, she is pretty sure they are pretty unaware of the blogs that are written! But if any of the reviews, stories, or words that are written helps any other families out there, because you really can find a lot of fun adventures with your family while still allowing your husbands passion for whiskey to be pursued, well then, she is one happy Whiskey Lovers Wife! Sláinte!***

Travels to Italy!

Okay, okay…I haven’t even blogged about all our days in Scotland, and now here I am, talking about being in Italy! And by the way, I’ve been home from Italy for a couple weeks. Then again, I haven’t finished telling you about Scotland, and we’ve been home from that trip for 5 months! Obviously I am not too committed to being timely in my writing! Sorry about that! But to tell you about Italy…

It was AMAZING! This was my second time there. Both times I was very fortunate to travel to Italy on a Missions Team through my church. Both times were to serve a missionary there that our church supports, and our main job was to help prepare and cook Thanksgiving meals and teach in Italian schools, talking about the American Thanksgiving. They are just fascinated with our Thanksgiving, and the idea of sitting around a table together, giving thanks while eating a turkey that was prepared WHOLE in the oven is mind-blowing!

But you can hop over to my staciestoneycoaching blog to read more about the missions trip. And hear me go on and on about Luke, my 14 year old, that had the opportunity to go serve in Italy with me. Here at The Whiskey Lover’s Wife, today, I am going to briefly tell you about my two favorite places in Italy. Next time I talk about Italy, I’ll take you on a food tour (because my son really ate his way through the trip!)

No, there was no drinking on our missions trip, other than the complimentary Prosecco and Limoncello at a restaurant we went to. Someday, I would really love to go to Italy and do a Prosecco and wine tour. Perhaps someone would LOVE for me to write about it and give my recommendations, therefore financing my trip??? Any takers??? Hmmmm…ANYWAY…The Whiskey Lover’s Wife enjoyed

FLORENCE

and

VENICE

Having been to both of these cities before, I was once again captivated by the beauty, but this time, I enjoyed seeing both cities through my sons eyes. I was very sad that we only had three hours in Venice. There is SO MUCH to see and do! Same with Florence…I was sad that by the time we got there, the Duomo (the major cathedral and dome) had just closed for the evening! Luke, being the ever-so-resilient kid he is, said, “That’s okay mom! We’ll just have to come back on vacation!” Yes, Luke, AGREED!

My drink of choice while in Italy, was of course, cappuccino! I had one, or THREE!, daily! I even bought a Moka pot and the ever popular Mokador coffee to bring home to get my fix!

And the last little bit of info I’ll give you today, is to tell you about my MOST FAVORITE CANDY EVER IN THE WHOLE WORLD! Pocket Coffee!!! Seriously, best invention EVER!

So, that’s it for today. Pretty short and sweet. Really, you can call me a “tease”, I won’t be offended! I’m just giving you a quicky. Just enough to make you wanting to come back for the full meal deal, because you’ll be given a lot to enjoy, as long as you’re patient! haha!

Join me next time where I’ll either be telling you more details about Scotland, or Italy, or a Washington Distillery, or HECK, my latest trip to Total Wine and More! Regardless, you’ll be entertained!

Saluti!