At first I thought it was just me. After watching the video of St. George Spirits distiller Lance Winters talk about making Absinthe on the NBN partner site and always terrific Chow.com, I was stunned.

I wanted to be him. I wanted to work for work for him. I wanted to learn from him and, well, lets just leave the rest up to your imagination.

Here's a guy who gets to do what he loves, does it extraordinarily well, get heaps of praise for it and yet is so down to earth and unpretentious.

Having lived for many years in the San Francisco Bay area I've met more than a few foodie gods and goddesses and am not usually so impressed. I'll match my roasted leg of lamb with potatoes and golden beets against any restaurant in town.

So after watching this video over and over again, listening to this guy talking about his elixir, I wondered was it just me? Could be. Absinthe is right up my alley. I'm not a big drinker but liqueurs are my thing. I love Pernod and except for the occasional glass of scotch in honor of my dear deceased old dad, my drinks of choice are the odd ones, Grappa, Campari, Fernet, Sambuca, and any odd variety of Amaro I can get my sweaty, sipping hands on.

When I sent the video link to a hard to impress friend I knew I'd find out if it was just me. And after watching here's what he wrote:

Wow, this is awesome! The guy, Lance Winters, is GREAT! I love how powerful and straight he is in his communication. I love his passion and the extent to which he can clearly and quickly communicate artistry, business value, and pleasure. How cool would it be to work with a guy like that! Better yet, how great would it be to operate like that and have something so pure and successful. Awesome! I want some of that juice!

So it wasn't just me. It was Lance. And in case the cynical side of your brain is wondering, no, neither one of us was drinking. Our reaction was as pure as passion.

And if you agree don't wait around to get yourself a bottle. The production was limited. Get some and tell us what you think.

And if you like vodka, without all that added sugar and other stuff (you know what I mean you appletini lovers) check out St. George's vodka, Hangar One. It's terrific and frankly we don't normally give a damn for vodka.

Man we love it when people give us a reason to get excited and gush instead of complain.

Now how to get people to think that about this website? It's simple I think; keep doing what you love. That's the secret, for sure, and have a drink now and then, even better yet with some friends.

Salute.