We acquired the #TaosDistillery from a Texas couple who owned it for a couple of years. They managed to paint all the walls a cool, sterile white and carpeted the hardwood floors with a light gray shade. It was not welcoming and took quite a bit of imagination to see the potential. As with many old Adobe homes, rooms were added on as the family grew & we had to walk through two middle bedrooms to reach the back bedroom. The shower was in the laundry room & the dropped ceilings made it feel terribly claustrophobic. But we were excited about it! The location in the valley, in a park-like setting under mature trees yet still walking distance to town, were all factors when we decided to buy.
We soon learned the history of the house from our neighbor, local acequero, Michael Medina. The house was built by Vincente Mares during prohibition to supply the speakeasy at La Fonda Hotel on Taos plaza (you can find a plaque in the old secret bar) He dug out a basement, which is rare for the area, to house the still that he used to craft the #bootleg liquor that he served to his patrons. Vincente owned the land all around the Distillery and was known to ride his black stallion into town to tend to his business there. Unfortunately, the still exploded, killing the caretaker and scarring his daughter. We found the 🔥 burnt beams in the laundry room when we removed the dropped ceiling.
One of his daughters later married into the Martinez family, and they lived there for decades. To this day, the house is referred to as the old Martinez house. We have been told that Vincente would be happy with what we’ve done with the property. He was an avid gardener and passionate acequero – we hope to honor the family that tended this ground & we chose to call the house “The Distillery” to acknowledge its past.
The first thing we did was rip out all the new gray carpet.
Then we started planning the transformation…slowly.
Note the flat lawn all the way to the back fence… the little Tuff Shed is where we built the Casita. Grandpa had a blast renting a front loader to grade the foundation and sculpt the hill that now separates the two structures.
VOICES 