The Talbot Spy | March 5, 2026
Women’s Wellness at the Rum Room
By: Val Cavalheri
If you thought the Golden Hour Rum Room was going to be all outstanding jazz and well-made cocktails, you might just not have thought broadly enough.
Jaime Windon, the owner and the brainchild behind the intimate venue tucked into The Mill at Windon Distilling Company, opened the doors on Thursday, February 19, for the first event in what she originally called a 2026 Wellness Series. By the end of the night, she was calling it something more specific.
“At first I saw this as a wellness series, but after the first one, I decided that this is for women,” Windon said. “I think that women’s health has been neglected for all of eternity.”
The kickoff program was titled *Matters of the Heart* and sold out quickly. Windon said people were already asking for the next one.
“I thought my first posting was very vague, but people were instantly on Instagram and Facebook, saying, ‘tell me more.’ They were intrigued. And then when I told them what it was going to be about, the response was, ‘I’m all in.’”
The featured speaker was Dr. Kulveen Virdee of Easton Integrative Health. Windon said they had “lots of ideas and wanted to talk about everything,” but Virdee pushed for a timely starting point. “She said February is Heart Health Month, and more women are disproportionately affected by heart disease,” Windon said. “
In an email sent to participants the day before, Windon laid out the format. Doors would open at 5:30 p.m., the program would begin at 6 p.m., it would be “presentation-style for the most part,” and there would be “herbal tastings & offerings throughout Dr. Virdee’s talk,” followed by time for Q&A and mingling.
On the night itself, Windon said the energy was immediate.
“People were in the parking lot waiting, and by 5:30 they started knocking on the door,” Windon said.
This was not a typical Lyon Rum night. Guests were met with surprises from the start. “We gave them a welcome drink—a cold-brewed Hawthorne berry tea decoction,” Windon said, describing it as a “very fragrant iced tea.”
The printed menu for the evening listed the herbal offerings, which (besides hawthorn) included avena sativa (extract), ginger and aloe (juice), and schisandra (berries). It also framed the drink menu around what Windon called “big names” tied to women’s health and heart health, including phytoestrogens, polyphenols, and adaptogens.
“Phytoestrogens help support our declining estrogen as women,” she said. “Polyphenols are great for your heart. They’re everything that’s full and vibrant in all your vegetables and fruits. And adaptogens are in this wide range. In this case, I’m into ginseng, so we had a ginseng and tonic drink.”
Windon opened the program by sharing a personal story that explained why she wanted to host a night like this.
It started overseas, she said. “I was in Morocco and experienced a severe headache, which led to a diagnosis of perimenopause.” In other words, a migraine is due to a hormonal imbalance. When she returned home, still experiencing symptoms, she went to another doctor, who, after a very minimal exam, gave her the same diagnosis. “I was dismissed by two neurologists in two different countries.”
That experience shaped how she thinks about women navigating the medical system. “As women, we are used to accepting what they are told. “And that’s what I got very angry about.”
“Women will put everyone’s needs first,” she said. “Everyone is more urgent. And by the time they do go to the doctor, they will accept what the doctor tells them.”
Then she drew a line around her own approach. “I am not like that,” Windon said. “I am a single woman, and I will not accept my body failing me without a damn good diagnosis and answer.”
Instead of searching for a third neurologist, Windon chose a different path—she called Virdee, who told her, “I hear you, but I don’t think this is menopause.” Virdee did a simple blood test, which confirmed that belief.
What it did turn out to be was a “non-cancerous pituitary tumor,” Windon said, who is now under care at Johns Hopkins, with Virdee remaining part of her support system. “I’m on full hormone support, but I also drink my teas and take adrenal supports along with the medicine.”
At this point in the program, Virdee took over, focusing on various herbs, their origins, uses, and benefits, while samples were brought around throughout the talk.
Windon said the tone in the room was less about debunking and more about women hearing information and wondering why they hadn’t heard it sooner. She also described the questions that came up, especially around sourcing and how to re-create the teas and herbal concoctions at home. Windon said she planned to follow up with participants by email with a document of notes.
“Everyone was talking and sharing stories,” Windon said. By the next day, her inbox was still carrying the night forward.
“One woman wrote me and said, not only was it a fantastic evening, but she thanked me for turning my pain into purpose,” Windon said. “And I thought that was just so exactly what I felt like I wanted to do.”
Virdee had a similar take on Windon’s timeline. “Only Jamie would nearly die. And two months later, plan an event to get the word out!”
Now, Windon is planning what comes next.
“I know so many women, married or single, who don’t feel comfortable going places alone,” she said. “So I want to create a welcoming space where everyone can feel at home.” She said that focusing on non-alcoholic offerings is part of that same intention. “It gives people who don’t choose alcohol to feel like they belong at the Golden Hour.”
“My commitment is to host these women’s wellness evenings at least once a month,” she said, adding that seating will remain limited, with the next one scheduled for March 19 at 6 p.m. It will be an“Intro to acupuncture with Caroline Wrightson, and will feature ear seeding. “A lot of people are scared of needles,” Windon said. “So ear seeding is like acupuncture without the needles. They stay in for a couple of days until they fall out.”
Windon also pointed out that ear seeds are having a cultural moment. “There was a big article in The New York Times about bougie ear seeds,” she said, “even being offered at weddings.”
April 9 is set for “Delicious and nutrition, diversifying your microbiome with Alice Lloyd,” Windon said. And she’s hoping to bring in Stefanie DeFiglia in June to talk about perimenopause.
Windon said she also wants the events to feel like “a mini retreat,” and she’s already talking with local yoga teachers about something seminar-style paired with herbal teas.
Alongside wellness programming, Windon has continued partnering with Shore Lit for author events. “That’s mental wellness, right?” she said. “It’s opening our minds.”
For Windon, it all folds back into what she believes the Golden Hour can be—whether it’s music, conversation, learning, or a room full of women hearing new information and testing it in real time with a cup of tea in hand.
“This was very different,” she said. “But also, to me, it’s exactly the same. “Bringing people together, putting them in a beautiful space. Connecting.”