Meet Joshua Whelan (he/him), Director of Sales and Marketing for Nine Pin Cider, New York's First Farm Cidery located in Albany, NY. Nine Pin is a staple of Albany for many and completely sourced from their community using Upstate NY apples.
When I first moved to Albany in 2018, Nine Pin had stuck out to me. I’d worked for a company down the road and it’s bright signage and stylish space caught my eye every time I’d walk or drive by. It wasn’t until Earth Day of 2018 I had my first interaction. Nine Pin and other local businesses were sponsoring an Earth Day Clean up in downtown Albany, and handing out free drink vouchers for whomever of age that participated. Never being a big cider man growing up, but being adventurous, I gave them a try. Their crisp and refreshing beverages on that hot day hit my pallet and from then on, I liked cider. My taste buds aren’t what ultimately sold me on Nine Pin though. What made the interaction was how much of a community business they were, and how their staff made you feel while in their establishment. Over the years it’s been promising to see them participate in so many community events, such as Pride where last year they had released a cider with a rainbow can. That being said, small and local businesses need our support more than ever. Therefore in doing this project, I had no doubts I wanted to speak with Nine Pin. With their history of giving back to the community, it’s time the community gave back to them. Josh expressed his gratitude to us in his interview. “(I) Thank everyone who has come out and supported Nine Pin during this time! Every order means the world to us. Not only financially, but it motivates us too.”
The community Nine Pin created, runs deeper than people who work together - they are family. “I got involved with Nine Pin when I was still in college. My older cousin Alejandro del Peral had the idea for the business and told me about it while I was visiting him for a ski weekend. After tasting one of his cider test batches, I instantly fell in love with the product and told him I'd like to be involved!” Joshua has been with Nine Pin most of his adult life, and has seen the company grow in many different directions over the years, but this pandemic is unlike anything else and as a result has changed the way businesses like Nine Pin operate. “I am trying to stay in touch with our customers constantly to let them know when new and exciting ciders are available. As a marketing guy, it's actually been a fun challenge. “
Josh is very much so an extrovert, who like many of the individuals we have interviewed, has had a personal problem with the lack of human contact. “ Zoom and FaceTime are nice, but nothing beats being in the presence of your loved ones.” There is no damper in spirit though, and Josh has been successful in adapting by ”trying to stay as active as possible.” He and his fiancee are local to Albany, he tells us. “My fiancee and I get out to Washington Park at least twice a day to walk our dog Nala.” Nala is such a sweet, beautiful lab mix and the “unnofficial” cider dog of Nine Pin. (I encourage you to follow all of her adventures at @nalaoveralbany on Instagram, by the way.)
Being an extrovert professionally as well, Josh has a hand in planning activities the business participates in. “My biggest struggle is not being able to plan fun, social activities for people to attend at the cidery. Coming up with event ideas is one of my favorite parts of my job, so being unable to do this has been hard.” On the other side of that, you can bet Nine Pin will be having many incredible events once the Pause on the state is over. The fun ways they’re connecting with consumers during this time is concocting and bringing back various flavors of ciders as well as promoting Cider Cocktail recipes available on their website . Try your hand at bartending at home! Right now is the perfect time to try something new, and supporting your local favorites in the meantime is a win-win.
“The pandemic has taught me not to take things for granted…..It also has taught me to take things day by day. Every day, new challenges await so you have to be ready for them and flexible when things don't go as planned.” That message alone is extremely important for people to remember. At the of the day, we are all human and we are all trying to survive the best way we can. Some days, you’re not going to be as flexible when things take a turn, and that’s okay. It’s okay to do nothing. It’s okay to do everything you can think of (within being safe per CDC guidelines right now.) No way of dealing right now is the “right” way. We have to just continue to uplift and champion other humans. Businesses are working hard to be creative for their consumers, ensure sanitation guidelines are adhered to, and bringing you the best product possible
In the Faiella household, we try and eat dinner from local restaurants once a week. We opt for supporting local shops for what we need as well, that includes liquor stores, or from their online shops.
“My most important message to people is that if you have the means to do so, please support local companies right now. This goes for local restaurants, breweries, cideries, gift shops, even corner stores. I know that the impulse right now is to go to the big box stores and to stock up on toilet paper and other supplies, but don't forget to also try and spend money at all of our independently owned businesses. We need it now more than ever.”
Support, shop, and enjoy small and local - like Josh said, if you have the means to, do so. These businesses are here for you to share in their passions year round. By joining forces when the world is vulnerable, we emerge stronger together.
You can find most of what Nine Pin has to offer right at the tips of your fingers. Their website has a map of their farm sources, along with the cocktail recipes, and a complete list of their product available for pickup at the tasting room, or local delivery.
You can find more information at ninepincider.com , or @ninepincider on Instagram - see you in the tasting room!
// Please note all quoted statements above are those of Mr. Whelan and not reflective of Faiella Studios.