What do Maple Syrup, Natural Gas, and Energy Leadership Have in Common?
Did you know that maple syrup inspired the first commercial natural gas well drilled in the world? [Note: While some point to the Fredonia, NY gas well of the 1820s as the “first commercial natural gas well,” it was actually dug by hand—not drilled. Moreover, the Fredonia well did not produce gas at the scale, volume, or pressure necessary for long-distance transport.]
Did you know that the Haymaker brothers who drilled the well were in search of oil, not gas?
Did you know that there are two cocktails inspired by natural gas that can serve as refreshing reminders of how you can be a more effective leader?
Did you know that attendees of the Women’s Energy Network Shale Insight 2024 Happy Hour had an opportunity to not only enjoy those two cocktails for free, but to also bring home bottles of maple syrup produced in Murrysville, PA—home of the Haymaker well?
Learn all about the connection between maple syrup, natural gas, and energy leadership by checking out Episode 93 of The Energy Detox on YouTube, your favorite podcast app, or right here at MarcellusCocktails.com.
Then keep on scrolling for the ingredients and instructions you can use to mix up a “Catalyst Cocktail” and a “Maple Bourbon Haymaker.”
“I again saw Josh Cooper and his pot of maple syrup on Turtle Creek, using free gas for his fire. The dream grew and I saw a whole nation, the world, cooking on stoves supplied by pipes coming out of the walls in kitchens; housing and buildings, theaters, and factories lighted by gas lamps suspended from ceilings; city lights brightening streets after nightfall.”
Marcellus cocktail recipes
The Catalyst
Similar to a French 75, The Catalyst swaps out simple syrup for maple syrup and introduces a small amount of Fireball Whisky. The maple syrup is a nod to the role that maple syrup played in the drilling of the first commercial gas well in Murrysville, PA in 1878. And the Fireball is a nod to the heat that the burning of natural gas generates…especially the heat emanating from the 100 foot flame that burned for 18 months when the Haymaker well was flowing 30 MMcf/d before it was eventually brought under control and piped to Pittsburgh. The Prosecco’s bubbles provide a visual reminder of the magical gas that lies below much of Pennsylvania.
The drink’s name is derived from a 2022 SHALE INSIGHT® presentation by Nick Deiuliis, CEO of CNX Resources. In his presentation, The Awakening of Shale 3.0: Natural Gas as a Catalyst Fuel, Not a Bridge Fuel, Nick asserts that natural gas is a “catalyst fuel,” not a “bridge fuel.”
That being said, you do not want to be known as a “bridge leader” who merely passes information, requests, priorities, and decisions back-and-forth between your management and your team. Rather, you want to be known as a “catalyst leader” who is viewed as a source of differentiated thinking and actions that yield transformative results—just as natural gas has catalyzed so much of our modern existence. That being said, this drink prompts the following question:
“Am I a ‘bridge’ leader or a ‘catalyst’ leader?”
Ingredients:
1.5 oz. gin
0.5 oz. maple syrup
0.5 oz. fresh lemon juice
0.25 oz. Fireball Whisky
3 oz. prosecco
ice
Instructions:
In a shaker, combine ice, gin, lemon juice, maple syrup, and Fireball Whisky
Shake well
Strain mixture into champagne flute or a similar tall, slender glass
Gently top with prosecco
Garnish with a twisted lemon peel
Maple Bourbon Haymaker
A close relative of the old-fashioned, the Maple Bourbon Haymaker doesn’t just pay homage to the Haymaker well, but also to the men and women of the natural gas industry who work in the field. How so? Well, “Haymaker’s Punch”—also known as switchel—is a non-alcoholic drink enjoyed by New England farmers starting in the 1600s. Think of it as an early version of Gatorade that kept field workers hydrated. Haymaker’s Punch was typically made with water, apple cider vinegar, ginger, and a sweetener (molasses or maple syrup).
As the name suggests, the Maple Bourbon Haymaker uses maple syrup—to honor the connection between maple syrup and the Haymaker well—and bourbon. Crown Royal Regal Apple replaces the apple cider vinegar found in Haymaker’s Punch; and bitters are added, giving the drink more of an old-fashioned feel.
The garnishes are also significant, with a cinnamon stick reminding drinkers of the Haymaker wellbore; and a cherry (ideally on a skewer) honoring Obediah Haymaker, who was stabbed and shot to death by a mob disputing the sale of the well that he and his brother Michael drilled.
Notes: if you want to honor the oldest commercial natural gas well, swap out the Crown Royal Regal Apple with Laird’s Applejack, which is produced by America’s Oldest Distiller; and for your bourbon, go with Buffalo Trace, which is produced by the oldest continuously operating distillery in America. Using both Laird’s and Buffalo trace—and their nuanced “oldest distillery” distinctions—is also a great way to acknowledge the nuanced distinctions between the “oldest commercial natural gas wells” found in Fredonia, NY and Murrysville, PA (and elsewhere).
Considering the harm that can emerge when disconnects occur between office-based and field-based employees (especially when field folks are dropped into an office setting without adequate preparation for the culture, politics, and expectations they now face), this drink prompts the following question:
“What harm are the gaps between office and field causing?”
Ingredients:
2 oz. Buffalo Trace (or a bourbon of your choosing)
0.5 oz. Laird’s Applejack (or Crown Royal Regal Apple)
0.5 oz. maple syrup
2 dashes of bitters
ice
Instructions:
In a shaker, combine ice, bourbon, Applejack (or Crown Royal Apple), maple syrup, and bitters
Shake well
Strain mixture into rocks glass filled with ice
Garnish with a cinnamon stick and a single cherry (on a skewer)
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
“Maple Syrup & Natural Gas” (by Roseum Maple Syrup of Murrysville, PA)
“Haymaker: The Origin of Big Natural Gas” (“Scarce Whales” blog by Morgan Downey)
“Kenneth J. Broadbent, David Callahan and Jim Snell: Pa. natural gas and labor, forging a reliable, sustainable energy future” (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, September 4, 2022)
“What's That: Murrysville marks site of natural gas discovery” (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, April 5, 2022)
* “Murrysville's gas well site denied historic status” (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, July 14, 2012 - This article covers the dispute over whether the Haymaker well is indeed the first commercial natural gas well in the world)
RELATED CONTENT
“How Do We Make Nat Gas Stickier?” (The Energy Detox, Episode 94)
At the conclusion of SHALE INSIGHT®, this episode poses the following questions:
What can we do to create a Natural Gas epidemic?
What small steps can we take to boost the stickiness of our industry's message?
And how can you—as an individual leader—overcome the natural immunity of your stakeholders so that they infect countless others with knowledge of the differentiated value you generate?
“Decoding the Leadership Lessons of S.H.A.L.E. I.N.S.I.G.H.T. 2023” (The Energy Detox, Episode 85)
Ever wonder why SHALE INSIGHT® is always written in ALL CAPS?
Could it be that the Marcellus Shale Coalition has cleverly concealed a 12-word acronym within the name of its flagship event?
Either way, this post-conference episode of The Energy Detox podcast attempts to unearth S.H.A.L.E. I.N.S.I.G.H.T. leadership themes letter-by-letter, leaving you with 12 questions inspired by the 2023 slate of speakers.
“(Shale) Insight to (Leadership) Action” (The Energy Detox, Episode 71)
“Insight without action is worthless.” - Marie Forleo
Inspired by the 2022 SHALE INSIGHT® conference, this episode of The Energy Detox translates a theme from each of the conference keynotes into proven and practical leadership steps you can take today to go from “insight to action.”
Transcript
(AI training in progress; please excuse any errors)
What do maple syrup, natural gas, and leadership have in common? Well, the answer to that unusual question lies right here in Murrysville, Pennsylvania, where I, Joe Sinnott, am standing next to one of those historical roadside markers, with this one being next to Route 22 eastbound at the peak of the afternoon rush hour; and over the next couple of minutes, as we kick off a new season of The Energy Detox, we will explain the historical connection between maple syrup and natural gas. And as always, we will leave you with a series of questions that you can ask of yourself to become a better, more impactful, more conscious leader in the energy industry.
00:46
But before we do that, I want to offer a bit of a PSA, a bit of an invitation, a bit of an advertisement. Because if you're watching this prior to the evening of September 25, 2024, I want to invite you to a happy hour up in Erie, Pennsylvania with the Women's Energy Network of Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, because they will be putting on a happy hour that is during the Shale Insight Conference up there.
And during that happy hour you can enjoy not just free drinks, free food and all kinds of solid networking opportunities, but also two specific cocktails that are inspired by natural gas.
01:26
And those two cocktails, we're going to dive into in a little bit more detail over the next couple of minutes, and explain their significance, explain their ingredients, and, most importantly, explain, again, how they can inspire you to be a more intentional and more effective leader.
01:43
But before we do that, I'm actually going to change locations to a spot that's a little bit quieter and, more importantly, a little bit closer to the actual location of the Haymaker well referenced on this sign behind me.
01:55
Well, as promised, we are now in a much quieter setting than standing next to Route 22; although, if we were standing here on November 3, 1878 it would have been anything but quiet. In fact, you would have heard the roar of a natural gas well producing 30 million cubic feet a day; because on that date, Michael and Obediah Haymaker, who were drilling a well that they hoped would lead to an oil discovery, in fact, led to a prolific natural gas well, a natural gas well that ultimately became the first commercial natural gas well in the world.
02:32
But it wasn't commercial initially. In fact, for four years it flowed uncontrollably, with 18 months of those four years having it not just flowing to atmosphere, but also being on fire: 100 foot flame, 100 foot flare, if you will, up into the sky, which I suppose is better than releasing 30 million cubic feet of methane directly into the atmosphere.
Image courtesy of Murrysville, PA
But setting that aside, and setting aside the excitement of anybody who's in the methane mitigation business at the prospect of being able to mitigate 30 million cubic feet a day of methane going into the air, let's focus on what precipitated that event, because the inspiration for the drilling of that well was maple syrup.
03:15
Yes, maple syrup led to the first commercial natural gas well; and that's because in this area here along Turtle Creek, there was a man named Josh Cooper, and he was boiling down sap to create maple syrup. And if you know anything about the production of maple syrup, you know it takes a lot of sap that needs to be boiled down to produce a little bit of maple syrup. In fact, it's on the order of a 40 to 1 ratio in terms of the number of gallons of sap you need to the number of gallons of maple syrup that you actually produce.
03:47
But Josh Cooper had a way of boiling things down that really nobody else had access to, because he was using a natural gas seep, a natural seep coming out of the ground that was lit on fire that he was using to boil his sap. And seeing this, the Haymaker brothers said, Hmm, if there's natural gas coming out of the ground, there's a very good chance that there's oil below our feet. And so they decided to build a derrick and get to drilling in the hopes of finding oil, which, again, they did not find, because they found a whole bunch of natural gas. And so there's all kinds of history surrounding that well, that discovery, the Haymaker brothers, that you can read about behind me thanks to a Boy Scout project from a number of years ago.
And you can come here, and you can check out a plaque and a big stone there that's about 100 yards behind me there—you might be able to see through the trees.
…along with a model derrick that was also placed there a number of years ago.
04:38
But again, the moral of the story today is, how does that maple syrup to natural gas connection help you become a better leader? Well, the simple answer is that the Haymaker brothers saw something that led to initiative that led to them saying, huh, how could we take advantage of something that's theoretically already below our feet? How can we turn this into a major find? Now, again, this isn't much different from any other wildcatter that's going out there, either on a hunch or with a little bit of data; but what's really significant about this is the insight that Michael Haymaker had once he realized that natural gas had the power to impact people in much the same way that it impacted Josh Cooper: that is doing something in a much cleaner, more efficient and much easier manner than he had ever done before.
05:31
And that insight led to this quote here that you can find attached to these bottles--which, if you are going to the Shale Insight happy hour, brought to you by the Women's Energy Network, be sure to pick up one of these bottles of maple syrup, which is produced right here in Murrysville, Pennsylvania by Roseum Maple Syrup.
Roseum Maple Syrup of Murrysville, PA uses natural gas to produce the maple syrup that you can take home with you after the Women's Energy Network Shale Insight Happy Hour on September 25, 2024 in Erie, PA.
And attached to this is a little tag here with a little description I'm going to read. This is straight from Michael Haymaker.
Michael Haymaker
And again, this speaks to the leadership mindset that you need to have if you want to be a visionary leader, a differentiated leader, and a leader who again leans on the existing strengths of yourself, of your team, of your organization. And so listen to this. He said:
06:07
"I again saw Josh Cooper and his pot of maple syrup on Turtle Creek using free gas for his fire. The dream grew, and I saw a whole nation, the world cooking on stoves supplied by pipes coming out of walls and kitchens, housing and buildings, theaters and factories lighted by gas lamps suspended from ceilings; city lights brightening streets after nightfall."
06:29
Think about that. Think about how Michael Haymaker saw a guy boiling some syrup down, and saw how that could be translated into something beyond the mere boiling of syrup. That's what effective, efficient leadership is, recognizing something that's already there and asking yourself, "Hey, how can I take full advantage of it?" Because many leaders that I encounter want to see themselves as a visionary, but they spend a lot of time looking beyond what's right in front of them; beyond what is, in this case, literally below their feet.
So ask yourself: What are you doing to take advantage of existing strengths, existing resources that are already below your feet?
07:10
I promise you, if you ask that question, you're going to uncover ideas, visions, thoughts that are going to allow you to make an impact much sooner than if you spend your time moving beyond and ignoring what's already at your disposal. So that is the first question to ask yourself, inspired by Michael Haymaker and Josh Cooper: how can you take advantage of that figurative natural gas seep and ask yourself,
07:34
"Hey, how can I translate my existing strengths and the strengths of my team and my organization into something much bigger, much grander?" as the story of the world's first commercial gas well shows us.
07:48
That being said, and as you ponder that question, we're going to shift locations once again and step into one of those two drinks that I mentioned in the opening and give you some more insights; and more importantly, another question that you can ask yourself to become a more effective leader.
08:04
For the next part of our conversation, I've moved about 30 yards away from where I was standing before, and I am now standing right next to the Westmoreland Heritage Trail, which you can read all about in this handy little pamphlet here.
Haymaker sign along the Westmoreland Heritage Trail
And on this trail, there are plenty of people biking past, jogging past, walking past, which is a reminder of what we all strive for: to get outside, to enjoy life, to do those healthy things and balance the realities of work and survival, if you will.
08:31
And that, in turn, reminds us of the power of having reliable, affordable, accessible energy, because energy allows us to do those things. And good example of that, of course, is natural gas. Natural gas can be called, should be called a catalyst fuel, because, again, it allows us to do other things. It is a building block. It is foundational. And these aren't my words. These are the words of Nick Deiuliius, who delivered a presentation two years ago at Shale Insight.
[See “The Awakening of Shale 3.0: Natural Gas as a Catalyst Fuel, Not a Bridge Fuel”]
And he said just that: he said natural gas is not a bridge fuel. It's not just getting us from point A to point B. It's a catalyst fuel.
09:07
It's allowing us to do all kinds of tremendous things. And that message, right there, is something that should remind you, as a leader, that you want to be seen as a catalyst leader, not a bridge leader. You don't want to be seen as somebody who's just passing things back and forth, getting messages from your superiors and passing them down to your team and vice versa. No, you want to be seen as a difference maker. You want to be seen as somebody who is empowering those around you to build, to do greater things with the resources that are at your disposal, just like we talked about before.
09:38
So a similar question to what we asked about earlier, regarding whether or not you're building on strengths, is, "Are you a catalyst leader, or are you a bridge leader?"
09:48
Are you somebody that is truly helping people grow and develop; or are you just there as a cog, shuffling things back and forth and in survival mode, not taking full advantage of what's at your disposal? So again, another variation on our previous question, but one that hits home the fact that this natural gas—these magical, miraculous methane molecules, are truly catalytic to us as human beings, especially here in western Pennsylvania.
09:51
And so that being said when you head up to Erie, or if you've been to Erie for that cocktail hour that we've already talked about now a couple of times, I hope you enjoyed or will enjoy a Catalyst Cocktail; and that cocktail is inspired by the French 75 cocktail, a gin-based drink. But this particular cocktail includes maple syrup instead of simple syrup, and a bit of Fireball Whisky, of course, to remind you of the fireball that was aflame for 18 months here in Murryssville when the Haymaker well was on fire.
10:49
So again, I hope you enjoy that Catalyst Cocktail and allow it to remind yourself of the need to be a catalyst leader, not merely a bridge leader.
10:58
That being said for the final part of our conversation, I'm going to make one more stop here in Murrysville, talk about that one final drink, and leave you with one final question to help make you a more effective leader.
11:09
So for the final stop on our Murrysville, Pennsylvania inspired episode of The Energy Detox, I'm here at Haymaker Park.
Haymaker Park in Murrysville, PA
And this is significant, because behind me is a baseball field, and the last drink that we're going to talk about is a field-based drink. And that's because the name of the drink, the Maple Bourbon Haymaker, doesn't just come from the Haymaker brothers, who, of course, drilled the Haymaker well that we've been talking about. And it doesn't just come from the fact that the drink has maple syrup and bourbon in it, but it's because there was a drink called Haymaker's punch, sometimes called switchel, that farmers in colonial times drank to stay hydrated.
11:48
It was essentially the Gatorade of colonial farmers; and that drink included water, apple cider vinegar, usually molasses and ginger, and it was a non-alcoholic drink, but it was refreshing, it was hydrating, and again, it supported the people who were out there in the field doing hard work. And that serves as a good reminder to us of the people on the front lines in the energy industry who are out there doing hard work, and more significantly, the disconnect sometimes between them out in the field and those who are in office settings, who are doing a different kind of work.
12:22
And it's important to remember as leaders that sometimes those disconnects can lead to very real harm. And as a leadership coach, I've seen that harm manifested in lots of different ways, most significantly when people in the field who have had success are brought in to an office environment after maybe a decade or two of success, and they're not set up for success in the office, because as you know, the office has different culture, different politics, different expectations.
12:48
And far too often, those people are brought in for a new role, a "growth opportunity," if you will. But they're not given the tools, they're not given the resources, they're not given the time that's necessary to help them thrive. And so many times they find themselves hurt (or at least figuratively hurt).
13:04
Because one of the other things to keep in mind with this is that our industry can lead to some dangerous situations. Now, again, we've done a great job as an industry mitigating those situations, but one situation that was somewhat unique occurred four years after the Haymaker well was drilled, and that's when Obediah Haymaker died. He was killed because the brothers decided to sell the well. There were some people who didn't agree with the sale of that well. They showed up. There was a bit of a riot, if you will. And poor old Obediah was killed.
13:34
Again, (there are a) lot more details on that story. The moral of the story for you is, how do you avoid that figurative death, that figurative injury to your career, and how do you avoid having other people suffer such injuries? And the answer, of course, is to ask yourself the question:
"In what ways are disconnects between the field and the office setting you and those around you up for injury?"
14:01
And as you ponder that question, I hope you will enjoy, or perhaps you have already enjoyed, a Maple Bourbon Haymaker…
…which, as the name might suggest, contains maple syrup, of course; contains bourbon, of course; also contains some Crown Royal Apple as a nod to the apple cider vinegar that was in the non-alcoholic version of the Haymaker, and includes a red cherry to remind you of the blood that was shed by Obediah Haymaker [Note: since Obe was stabbed multiple times before being shot, the cherry is ideally placed on a skewer].
Skewered cherries for Maple Bourbon Haymakers at Pier 6 in Erie, PA on September 25, 2024
And finally, a cinnamon stick, which you can use to remind you of the wellbore that was drilled here in Murrysville, Pennsylvania back in 1878.
As you enter Murrysville, Pennsylvania, note the references to the 1878 discovery of natural gas.
14:37
And so with that, I hope these questions that we've posed help you become a more effective, intentional leader. And again, I hope that you join me. Joe Sinnott, up in Erie for the Shale Insight Happy hour, brought to you by the Women's Energy Network.
And I hope that you have a safe, enjoyable, happy rest of the day.