It takes a visionary to look at a bunch of withering black-eyed peas and wonder what they would taste like if you could bottle them up. Trey Nickels did just that as he surveyed his drought-stricken crop four years ago.
After researching the plausibility of such an enterprise, validating the formula and distilling process, Nickels along with his mother, Deborah, owner of Unhinged Productions, found out that black-eyed peas can, indeed, be distilled into vodka. "Nobody else is doing it," Deborah said.
The next step was to decide where to set up shop. Austin, San Antonio and Dallas were all contenders, but Paul Paine and Megan Henderson of Fort Worth South, Inc., welcomed TreyMark Vodka with open arms.
Fire Station No. 5, which had been sold to a developer some 15 years ago, was slated to become office space. "Fran McCarthy, construction supervisor, had restored the building - retaining all of its historic elements, and we just loved it instantly," said Deborah.
Founder Trey had served for some 14 years as a volunteer fireman in Parmer County and had a deep respect for both the profession and the building. It had the perfect interior and volume needed to install the copper still. Finding the building cemented the Nickels" desire to plant TreyMark on Fort Worth's Southside.
TreyMark Black-Eyed Vodka will be the company's flagship offering and should be in the bottle by sometime this spring. It boasts a clean, nutty flavor, minus the burn of other brands. A premium vodka named Nickel Plated Number Five will pay homage to its birth in the historic fire station and will be part of Phase II of the operation. "TreyMark was born out of drought and circumstance, and we can't wait to introduce our product to the community." Deborah said
If the launch of Fort Worth's first hometown whiskey - TX Blended Whiskey by Firestone & Robertson - is any indication, TreyMark Black-Eyed Vodka will be a hot commodity around town very soon.
by Courtney Dabney
