Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicole Raymond.
Nicole, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I am a Distiller by trade. I began with Finger Lakes Distilling in upstate NY. Then I was the Head Distiller for Cayman Spirits Company in Grand Cayman before moving to Lee, NH to head the production at Flag Hill. I purchased the company from the founders in 2015 after working here for a few years and falling in love with the place and everything we do here.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Nothing worth doing is easy. At 27 years old, walking to a bank and asking for an incredibly large amount of money is never easy. I spent 9 months just trying to find financing to complete the transaction. There were a few times where I didn’t think it would happen, but I knew the potential of what we were building because I was already in the company and had already been making whiskey here for a few years.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
We are a very complex business. We have a catering company that performs between 40-60 weddings a year outdoors overlooking the vineyard. We also have a 110 acre farm that raises pigs, vegetables, chickens, grain for whiskey, and a 13.5 acre vineyard for our winery. We have the company broke down into the Winery, Distillery, and Catering Company. Each has its own specialization. The weddings at our farm are incredibly beautiful, we have the best staff in the world that makes sure every details is perfect. Our Distillery specializes in whiskey. We grow the grain right here on the farm in partnership with a neighbor farm, Coppal House Farm. In the Winery we make incredible semi-sweet and sweet aromatic white wines, think southern Germany. Our fruit is also perfect for making Prosecco style sparkling wines.
What were you like growing up?
I was a closet nerd. I played sports all year but secretly loved lord of the rings and physics. Interest wise, I think I had a new one every 15-30 days. My Father is very technically savvy, can build anything, from anything. He wanted to be a dairy farmer, most of my Mom’s side of the family were dairy farmers, but made a decision when I was young to stop farming because there was not a future in it.
I grew up working on a lot of technical projects with my Dad, like building a house, working on equipment, etc. However, I always hated the work. At one point he came to me, knowing I disliked that kind of thing and didn’t want to pay attention and made me a deal, that any beer I could make I could drink, knowing I didn’t have the money to buy equipment so I would have to learn how to solder, weld, etc. to make anything work. He had to go back on the deal pretty quickly because I really took to it. When I was 18-19 I knew that the only career that would ever work for me was something making wine, beer, or spirits.
Contact Info:
- Address: 297 N River Rd Lee, NH 03861.
- Website: flaghill.com
- Phone: 603 659 2949
Image Credit:
Kevin Ferguson
Rye Banner – Sid Ceasar
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