Meet John Peters | Spouse, Father, Firefighter and Distiller

We had the good fortune of connecting with John Peters and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi John, what role has risk played in your life or career?
In my job as a firefighter risk is directly associated with benefit. “Risk alot to save alot,” is a guiding principle. Straight forward, and not hard to mess up. With the distillery business the risk was being accepted as worthy of putting a product into another human. Does it taste good, does it burn, is it worth it? Yes, no, and I think it is.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I have been able to rely on long and varied experiences. Hockey Referee 28 years, SailMaker 12 years, Firefighter 27 years, Married 33 years, Distiller 13 years, probably much more. But the upshot is there are rules that must be followed to keep things fair, there are processes and steps to follow start to finish to create something useful, keep yourself safe so you can get others to safety, a happy wife can lead to a happy life, bottle only what you are willing to call your own.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Day One, assuming they don’t live at altitude, arrive-recover-enjoy the back yard-hydrate and eat at our pace. Day Two, Sunrise at Red Rocks, light hiking around the mountain park, lunch in Golden, nap and cook dinner with friends that this friend should meet.
Day Three, up early and up the I70 corridor to Lake Dillon for a day of sailing. Genesee overpass framing the front range – Continental divide at Loveland Pass, sailing, Eisenhower and Johnson tunnel, dinner in Idaho Springs.
Day Four, sleep in Santiagos breakfast burrito, down to LoHi or RiNo for walking and hanging out.
Day Five, Whatever we decided last night.
Day Six, Daytime activities hydrating for travel with sunset at west steps of the natural history museum.
Day Seven, relax and review.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My family before I was married. My spouse Susan and the three boys we raised. The daughters in love that my Boyos have chosen to share our lives with and the baby grands. Many of the firefighters I have worked with, and the sailors I have raced with.

Website: www.conflagrationdistilling.com

Instagram: Conflagration Distilling Company

Image Credits
Photography by Randy Ruder