From Home Swap to Bourbon Barrel: How Washington DC and Sydney Came Together
A Home Exchange That Sparked Something Bigger
It all began with the idea of a home exchange. Honestly, I wasn’t fully convinced at first. But Sabrina nudged me, and the chance to visit Washington DC — a long-time dream destination — sealed the deal.
We arranged an exchange with Troy and Toni in Mount Pleasant, a leafy, heritage-rich suburb of DC. Right away, we felt a connection: both our families lived in historic homes, loved vibrant neighborhoods, and shared the cosmopolitan energy of city life.
A Bourbon Welcome in Washington DC
When we arrived, jet-lagged after 36 hours of travel from Sydney, we were greeted with a surprise. Troy, who runs Mount Pleasant Club Whiskey, had prepared a bourbon tasting for us at their home.
I was blown away — I had never tasted bourbon that good in Australia!
Locked Out, Let In… and Inspired
A few days later, fate added another twist. We accidentally locked ourselves out, and Troy and Toni’s neighbor — who also happened to be their bourbon business partner — came to help. Over beers, we started talking about the lack of quality bourbon in Australia.
“Why not bring a barrel here?” someone said.
It sounded crazy… but also exciting.
From Idea to Collaboration
Back in Sydney, we researched what it would take to import bourbon from Washington DC to Australia. Licenses, approvals, logistics — we had to learn it all. Slowly but surely, the idea took shape.
Next came the name. Chatting with Troy, we noticed the similarities between Mount Pleasant and Hurlstone Park — both had a village feel, community spirit, and leafy green streets. Since Troy usually dedicates each barrel to a local street, we decided to dedicate one to Hurlstone Park instead.
We found the perfect artwork from a local Australian-Ukrainian artist and tied it to the history of Fernhill Station, Hurlstone Park’s original name. And so, the Fernhill Station Single Cask Bourbon was born.
Full Circle: From DC to Sydney
Almost two years later, Troy and Toni came to Sydney. They joined us for the official Australian launch of Fernhill Station Bourbon at my bar, HP Bowlo, in July 2025. It felt like a full-circle moment: what began as a simple home exchange between Washington DC and Sydney had grown into a story of friendship, trust, and community.
The Power of People Like Us
This project would never have happened without People Like Us Home Exchange. What started as swapping homes became an adventure of connection, culture, and collaboration across continents.
Thank you Drew, Kathy, and the PLU community for making stories like this possible. It’s proof that home exchanging is about so much more than travel — it’s about friendship, trust, and unexpected opportunities.
People Like Us is the world's most trusted home exchange community. We believe in sharing, trust, generosity, respect, communication, equality, cooperation, honesty, hospitality, friendship, flexibility and adventure. We take pride in our homes and we care about the environment in which we live: our village, city, country and our planet. We care about the ethos of home exchange and we do it because we love the experience and the friendships that it generates.
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