RWBadley
05-22-2008, 10:37
I found this site recently and have really enjoyed having a look around. I'm impressed by the breadth and depth of knowledge here.
My own history: I grew up in WA state. My dad made wine at home and remember some of it tasting OK. My own first batches were in the late '70's and were made from cherries and honey. Pretty good stuff. I've lived in Reno NV since '81.
In '84 I started making beer and became involved later in judging beer competitions. I have been judging since '86 and am now an American Homebrew Association national ranked judge. We just finished judging the first round AHA competion in Lodi CA and at the end of the month will travel to San Francisco to judge the Samuel Adams Longshot competition. I find the evaluation of beer and spirits to overlap somewhat, but with some different descriptors.
During the early nineties I acquired a taste for all things distilled and have made it a challenge to sample as many as possible. My beer judging partners and I found that after a 'hard' day swilling beer and evaluating drink (or drinking beer and evaluating swill) we were ready for something different afterwards. I'm open to all forms of spirit and discriminate against none. I favor Bourbon, Mezcal, Rum, Scotch, Tequila, Gin, Cognac, but find vodka and most sweet liquore less interesting.
I seem to remember quite a while back doing some experimentation with distillation, but my memory sometimes plays tricks on me especially as that sort of thing is illegal. I know a buddy that made quite a mess a few times when the kettle blew it's stopper and shot wash all over, yuck. Obviously poor temperature control.
In the late nineties I won two consecutive awards as Meadmaker of the year. These were for a key lime-red pepper mead and a chipotle mead. I enlisted my then teenage son to help with the addition of the red pepper spices, as I have an iron palate for heat and could easily overdo it. I told him to let me know when it started to get 'spicy', I figured that was a good threshold level, and it seemed to work. I'm not sure my wife was keen on me plying the kid with samples, but hey, gotta break some eggs to make an omelette...
My experience with Bourbon is not quite as extensive as with Scotch, but I'm getting there. I think many of our American whiskeys are world class and we are fortunate to have them available. I feel bourbon deserves higher recognition for character and quality, and I am happy to see a site like this where it get's paid due respect.
I'd appreciate a tip or two on a favored Bourbon you might have. I'll share a couple of my best (other beverage) values here: Seek out Appleton Extra Rum. 12 yo and under $30. Great for sipping or put a small bit in your split winter squash with raisins and a pat of butter and bit of brown sugar then bake. Deelish
Another tip (and I'm hesitant to let this cat out of the bag) is Del Maguey Mezcals. In the $75 range and incredible complex and mouth watering flavors. A real treat.
Cheers,
RW
My own history: I grew up in WA state. My dad made wine at home and remember some of it tasting OK. My own first batches were in the late '70's and were made from cherries and honey. Pretty good stuff. I've lived in Reno NV since '81.
In '84 I started making beer and became involved later in judging beer competitions. I have been judging since '86 and am now an American Homebrew Association national ranked judge. We just finished judging the first round AHA competion in Lodi CA and at the end of the month will travel to San Francisco to judge the Samuel Adams Longshot competition. I find the evaluation of beer and spirits to overlap somewhat, but with some different descriptors.
During the early nineties I acquired a taste for all things distilled and have made it a challenge to sample as many as possible. My beer judging partners and I found that after a 'hard' day swilling beer and evaluating drink (or drinking beer and evaluating swill) we were ready for something different afterwards. I'm open to all forms of spirit and discriminate against none. I favor Bourbon, Mezcal, Rum, Scotch, Tequila, Gin, Cognac, but find vodka and most sweet liquore less interesting.
I seem to remember quite a while back doing some experimentation with distillation, but my memory sometimes plays tricks on me especially as that sort of thing is illegal. I know a buddy that made quite a mess a few times when the kettle blew it's stopper and shot wash all over, yuck. Obviously poor temperature control.
In the late nineties I won two consecutive awards as Meadmaker of the year. These were for a key lime-red pepper mead and a chipotle mead. I enlisted my then teenage son to help with the addition of the red pepper spices, as I have an iron palate for heat and could easily overdo it. I told him to let me know when it started to get 'spicy', I figured that was a good threshold level, and it seemed to work. I'm not sure my wife was keen on me plying the kid with samples, but hey, gotta break some eggs to make an omelette...
My experience with Bourbon is not quite as extensive as with Scotch, but I'm getting there. I think many of our American whiskeys are world class and we are fortunate to have them available. I feel bourbon deserves higher recognition for character and quality, and I am happy to see a site like this where it get's paid due respect.
I'd appreciate a tip or two on a favored Bourbon you might have. I'll share a couple of my best (other beverage) values here: Seek out Appleton Extra Rum. 12 yo and under $30. Great for sipping or put a small bit in your split winter squash with raisins and a pat of butter and bit of brown sugar then bake. Deelish
Another tip (and I'm hesitant to let this cat out of the bag) is Del Maguey Mezcals. In the $75 range and incredible complex and mouth watering flavors. A real treat.
Cheers,
RW