.dsaavedra.

3 weeks. I wanted to let everything settle out and clear it up a bit. It sure was hard to wait! It's going to be even harder waiting another 3 weeks for them to carbonate.

I've seen the whiskey stones before, even considered getting some. I've read reviews that say they don't really do much to cool your drink down because they don't get (and stay) all that cold. Have you ever had this experience?

Went ahead and got that bottle of Ezra Brooks 90 proof. I like it! It's 90 proof and you can definitely tell... it's a little rough around the edges, but it has a good taste. I've drank it neat and with one ice cube. It tasted good with the ice cube, definitely a little smoother, but it has some other flavors that are more apparent neat. I will probably drink it neat or with an ice cube depending on my mood... but I wouldn't feel bad about mixing it if I'm so inclined either, given the price.

I've had that urge too. May act on it now that I have (most) of the equipment. In other news, I bottled my first batch of beer today and I tasted the sample I took out for my hydrometer reading and it tasted great! A little sweet up front (likely due to the priming sugar... also the fact that its a honey brown ale) and kind of bitter on the finish. I am confident these flavors will mellow out a little as the beer ages in bottles. But it tasted good! I'm stoked for it to be carbonated and ready for proper consumption!

My favorite bargain-bourbon! I just saw a store close to me has Ezra Brooks 90 proof. At 22.99 for 1.75L I'm going to pick a bottle up to try out. Who knows, maybe it will replace ole EW as my go-to everyday drinker. This store also has Elijah Craig 12 year, which I haven't seen in any other stores around me. One day I will buy a bottle... one day.

Yep, instructions said primary for a week or so to ensure fermentation is complete. Didn't mention secondary. I'm planning on leaving mine in primary for 3 weeks to make sure its nice and clear and the yeast cake is nice and compact. From what I've gathered online secondary isn't really necessary for most beers, unless you are dry hopping or aging with wood or fruit or the like. I've just got one carboy for primary and no secondary. Maybe I'll get another carboy at some point and use it as a secondary, or just have two brews going in primary at the same time. Who knows! This is a pretty fun hobby so far, I think I will enjoy getting into it.

Yup, extract kit. Got it here: http://www.boomchugalug.com/product/oh-daddy-o-honey-brown-ale/ I have two more extract kits and will probably buy another until I really get the hang of brewing.

Does anybody here brew their own beer? I just started, my first batch is in the primary fermenter now (honey brown ale, been in the fermenter for a little over a week now). Going to bottle on the 20th of this month. Should be ready to drink by early-to-mid-February. All this waiting sucks!

I got a bottle of Knob Creek for Christmas from my cousin. I'd had a 50ml sample of it before but after having 2 glasses out of the bottle I got for Christmas, I really like it!

That was really really cool! Got me perfectly in the Baltimore/DC area, also threw in Richmond but that's pretty far away from me. My distinct answers were pronouncing "cot" and "caught" differently and calling a sale of unwanted junk a yardsale. It looks like they don't ask the same questions (I never got asked any questions that would have a possible answer of "sneakers").

Shoot! I haven't been on this forum in a looong time but I used to do these Christmas exchanges in previous years and they were a lot of fun. Wish I got in on it this year. Guess I'll just check out the loot thread.

I was a member for a few years. If you like the magazine and think it is worth $12 a year for the magazine, I say you should join. But don't be enticed by all of the other gimmicks they offer like field testing gear, free gifts, etc. You will most likely rarely be chosen to field test anything (I think I got to field test 2 things in the several years I was a member) and the stuff they send you is usually junk (I think I got a sample size bottle of sunscreen that claimed not to repel fish... they sent me this both times I field tested anything), yet they advertise that they send members kayaks and rod/reel combos to field test. Also be prepared for them to pester you about becoming a life member and all of the "benefits" you will receive. They kept sending me stuff for a good year or two after I stopped paying for my membership, asking me to renew my subscription and become a life member, etc. Bottom line: If you like the magazine and can put up with the gimmicky/annoying stuff they pull, then I think it would be worth $12 a year... seems reasonable for a subscription to a magazine that you will enjoy.

Any kind of paint will work so long as it is compatible with your top coat. I think most guys use acrylic latex paints which are water based and don't react with top coats. You can use solvent based paints but you need to be sure they won't react with your top coat or you're in for a mess.

Wow... I don't even know what to say! That is so generous, thank you so much.

That sounds pretty good. I found a recipe on Wild Turkey's website for a drink called Chasing Tail and its Wild Turkey, cherry Coke, and amaretto. I made it but I used regular Coke and grenadine (didn't have cherry Coke), it was really strong (following their recipe) and not very good. I think it would be better with cherry Coke.

Whatcha drinkin?

Oh man I would looooove to try it. Unfortunately I don't have the funds. May be by next year I will have come into some money, I will definitely keep this offer in mind. Who is Jeff?

We get it, you think all bourbon and all beer tastes the same. Move on if you don't have something more meaningful to contribute.

How does Woodford Reserve taste? I've seen it on the shelves of just about every liquor store around me and it's not too far out of my price range, I might end up getting a bottle to try.

I could definitely tell the difference between some light beers. Maybe not all of them though. But I could easily distinguish PBR from Bud Light or Milwaukee's Best. Others would probably be harder for me to distinguish like Natural Light or Coors Light. But even still, I could distinguish these from Bud Light (it has a very distinctive taste... I don't like Bud Light) or PBR (my go-to light beer, I am very familiar with the way it tastes). Milwaukee's Best also has a distinct tastes that I could distinguish from any other, though I do kind of like Milwaukee's Best (mainly because it's cheap as hell and 5.9%). As for bourbon, I'm still trying to refine my tastes so I would not be so good at a blind taste test. But I could definitely tell the difference between some top shelf stuff and something like Evan Williams or Old Crow. My girlfriend set up a blind taste test of all the bourbon bottles I currently have open (EW black label, Buffalo Trace, Eagle Rare, and Bulliet) and I got every single one of them right. Though that could be because I knew exactly what my options were and I am pretty familiar with all of them since I've had the bottles open for a while.

I was going to ask whether the fact that it is specifically sugar maple charcoal used in Tennessee whiskies made any difference as I figured that would probably be a point of argument for those who believe the two are actually different.

Filtering the whiskey through charcoal doesn't make it not bourbon. Evan Williams is charcoal-filtered and is labelled as a Kentucky straight bourbon. Choosing to call your product a Tennessee whiskey instead of a bourbon appears to be purely a marketing decision, the only difference is that Tennessee whiskey has to be made in Tennessee.

It meets all of the qualifications to be classified as bourbon, they just choose not to market their product as bourbon!

Fine, favorites?