Stop in for a drink.

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How about a little fun. Wheatley's Vodka on toasted oak chips. Each photo is another day. The Oak chips are just toasted and not charred so the color won't get too dark. It sure does like the sun.

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Nice to see how much you guys enjoy your hobby.
Me, when I used to drink it was just to get drunk, and the faster the better.
Wait a second. Sorry . That was usually the plan with the company I was entertaining .
 
Old man ray said:
Nice to see how much you guys enjoy your hobby.
Me, when I used to drink it was just to get drunk, and the faster the better.
Wait a second. Sorry . That was usually the plan with the company I was entertaining .
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That is one of the common misconceptions about a whiskey tasting event. One small pour in a small glass can last an hour easy as all the participants fiddle with it and experiment with how the nose is changing over time or the flavor changes as you warm it up with just the warmth of your hand. TMM has a super handy tasting wheel printed out and it really helps folks use the same language with their evaluations. Not to say folks don’t get trashed on occasion but ideally you only sample a few over the span of several hours. Last time I did six, and honestly I think it was two to many.
 
Sublime one said:
That is one of the common misconceptions about a whiskey tasting event. One small pour in a small glass can last an hour easy as all the participants fiddle with it and experiment with how the nose is changing over time or the flavor changes as you warm it up with just the warmth of your hand. TMM has a super handy tasting wheel printed out and it really helps folks use the same language with their evaluations. Not to say folks don’t get trashed on occasion but ideally you only sample a few over the span of several hours. Last time I did six, and honestly I think it was two to many.
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Got to let them hang out a bit.
 
toolmanmike said:
How about a little fun. Wheatley's Vodka on toasted oak chips. This is only the 3rd day.

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If you want to have a bit more fun, expand the experiment and try it with toasted cherry chips or (my favorite) toasted maple chips. Then try it with combinations of the 3 in different ratios once you taste each one individually.

When I did this years ago, I liked the 3 parts maple, one part cherry and 1/2 part oak best. I added them in reverse order every 3 days and ended the experiment at 21 days.

It was part of a study I was conducting for a friend with a boutique vodka business in K.C. looking to create different flavored vodka products. He took the test batches (concentrates) and diluted them in multiple ratios to get different subtly flavored vodkas that he could market.

I also did a cinnamon flavored one for him that had a touch of wintergreen that I called “fire and ice”. The mouth feel starts off hot with the cinnamon and then follows cool with the wintergreen...finished with the slow warmth of the alcohol.

It did well in limited test marketing, but he never pursued it further. They were too small to branch out into specialty products that far.

I even did a marketing image for him to go with it.

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Ddaddy said:
If you want to have a bit more fun, expand the experiment and try it with toasted cherry chips or (my favorite) toasted maple chips. Then try it with combinations of the 3 in different ratios once you taste each one individually.

When I did this years ago, I liked the 3 parts maple, one part cherry and 1/2 part oak best. I added them in reverse order every 3 days and ended the experiment at 21 days.

It was part of a study I was conducting for a friend with a boutique vodka business in K.C. looking to create different flavored vodka products. He took the test batches (concentrates) and diluted them in multiple ratios to get different subtly flavored vodkas that he could market.

I also did a cinnamon flavored one for him that had a touch of wintergreen that I called “fire and ice”. The mouth feel starts off hot with the cinnamon and then follows cool with the wintergreen...finished with the slow warmth of the alcohol.

It did well in limited test marketing, but he never pursued it further. They were too small to branch out into specialty products that far.

I even did a marketing image for him to go with it.

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Nice Dave! Great idea and a stellar image.
 
toolmanmike said:
I have been editing my original post with a photo progression for each day.
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Looking good Mike. I’m sure you know that the color change doesn’t necessarily indicate flavor change, but the thermal cycling in the sun does improve the flavor extraction as the alcohol moves in and out of the wood with temperature swings drawing out the richness of the charred wood.

The amber color is produced by low concentration “color bodies” that are visible in the parts-per-million concentration but produce vivid color at low concentrations.

You might also consider opening the cap every few days to allow the volatiles to escape and be replaced with fresh O2 that enhances the oxidative process that enhances flavor. Kinda like what happens in a barrel as the “Angel’s Share” evaporates and is replaced with O2 mellowing the whiskey as it ages.
 
Ddaddy said:
Looking good Mike. I’m sure you know that the color change doesn’t necessarily indicate flavor change, but the thermal cycling in the sun does improve the flavor extraction as the alcohol moves in and out of the wood with temperature swings drawing out the richness of the charred wood.

The amber color is produced by low concentration “color bodies” that are visible in the parts-per-million concentration but produce vivid color at low concentrations.

You might also consider opening the cap every few days to allow the volatiles to escape and be replaced with fresh O2 that enhances the oxidative process that enhances flavor. Kinda like what happens in a barrel as the “Angel’s Share” evaporates and is replaced with O2 mellowing the whiskey as it ages.
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I'm surprised you don't make your own beer David. Think yours would be better than store bought.
 
Fred Scigliano said:
I'm surprised you don't make your own beer David. Think yours would be better than store bought.
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Thanks Fred. I just don’t have the time with all of the work requirements. I am currently working for two companies and consulting for three others while getting my own company started. Don’t ask me why, it’s just what I do.

There are just not enough hours in the day to get into brewing as a serious hobby...and I rarely dive into something unless I intend to get serious about it.

But I do like sharing knowledge here (as I have time) to help others that do have the time to enjoy the hobby. I like seeing where they take the information and seeing what they do with it.
 
Ddaddy said:
Thanks Fred. I just don’t have the time with all of the work requirements. I am currently working for two companies and consulting for three others while getting my own company started. Don’t ask me why, it’s just what I do.

There are just not enough hours in the day to get into brewing as a serious hobby...and I rarely dive into something unless I intend to get serious about it.

But I do like sharing knowledge here (as I have time) to help others that do have the time to enjoy the hobby. I like seeing where they take the information and seeing what they do with it.
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Your lucky I'm not your neighbor I'd be pestering you every day with Ideas and questions. I'm not as smart as you in lots of ways but I try.
 
Fred Scigliano said:
Your lucky I'm not your neighbor I'd be pestering you every day with Ideas and questions. I'm not as smart as you in lots of ways but I try.
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I would consider myself lucky to have you as a neighbor. Your perspective and insight is something I would quite enjoy and I think you would find me pestering you for interaction!
 
Ddaddy said:
I would consider myself lucky to have you as a neighbor. Your perspective and insight is something I would quite enjoy and I think you would find me pestering you for interaction!
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Thanks David, as long as I don't let you eat my cooking we would be great neighbors. LOL
 
This is fun! It starts out sweet, sweet and nutty in the middle and rye spice and a little alcohol tingle on the end. The finish lasts a long time with sweet, nutty, and black pepper. Another '' less than $30 " bottle of fun.

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On today’s episode of curbside finds...

I was out on errands and spotted an old gate leg drop leaf table out on the curb with other junk for trash collection. It was really ratty. Hinges broken off, leaves barely hanging on, top half off, covered in crud and mildew. But it was all there.

So I pulled over and loaded it into the minivan. Brought it home and spent the afternoon taking all apart and putting it back together with new hinges, screws, bracing, etc. and then cleaned it up. Then I went at it with Old English and oiled it with lemon oil.

Turned out to be a nice antique piece. 41” x 61” with the leaves up. Circa 1900-1920. Worth about $500 now. It works nicely as a sideboard in our dinning room and fits in well with our other antique furniture.

Time for some cold beer and celebrate the fruits of my labor...Cheers!

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Bringing this old antique table back to usefullness stired something deep within me. I learned wood working and furniture restoration from my grandfather (my father’s father) decades ago. He taught me how to read wood and work it. He also taught me tricks and techniques to restore century old furniture and bring it back to life.

Today, as I was instinctively cutting hard wood “toothpicks” to fill in the old stripped screw holes and filling with wood glue before putting replacement vintage screws (that my grandfather taught me to collect and keep) in to replace the originals, I found that I was feeling centered and content. I was enjoying doing the things I learned so long ago from my grandfather and employing them with skill and focus...without realizing it until after I was doing it.

Today I rediscovered a center to my being that I had long forgotten about...and it was a profound experience to rediscover it again. I could feel the soul of the piece I was restoring, the soul of the craftsman that created it, and the connection to my soul restoring it. It was truly amazing to feel those connections.

This table has found a new extension of its life today...and so have I.
 
I finished up the tree trimming with the pole saw this afternoon and moved the brush pile out to the curb for pick up. This should be the last of it for the season unless we get weather damage that I have to clean up.

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Then I discovered a Robin’s nest in the rhododendron just outside the front window with a couple of eggs in it. Pretty cool!

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Now I need to finish up a report for one of my consulting clients and then I can go relax out on the back deck with a cold beer and enjoy the nice evening. Cheers!
 
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