Message in a bottle: the story continues!

[RandyMarshCT]

All,

Please refrain from responding to me unless it is by PM. Thanks.

[RandyMarshCT]

Well, the time has come. I was fortunate to have some other forum members over for an absinthe tasting a couple weeks ago and we compiled a package of samples that I shipped out today. Hopefully they make the journey. Here's what you have coming, my friend:

Rager, MichiganCornhusker, and ShinonCrazyDiamond, you guys are going to have to give Odin a heads-up on your recipes. I don't want to misrepresent any of your offerings. It's possible I may have even labeled some of them incorrectly. We should know by Wednesday (2nd Sept) if everything makes it. Fingers crossed!

[rager]

nice work my friend.

[MichiganCornhusker]

Ah yes, the rest of the absinthe party! Thanks for sharing Randy.

[rager]

Ah yes, the rest of the absinthe party! Thanks for sharing Randy.

man we really did sample quite a bit of alcohol that night lol

[ShineonCrazyDiamond]

Oh, wow. Randy, thank you so much! I love that I have a sample in this thread. And that it's going international. Thanks Randy. Now I wish I had left you more. I wasn't sure you would want a sugarhead with all that awesome all grain running around!

Odin, I will say that this is a better scale for the majority of my bottles. The one we sampled in Allentown together was a little off in the ferment. But this one is a smooth caramel-ly one. Hope you enjoy.

[jedneck]

Oh, wow. Randy, thank you so much! I love that I have a sample in this thread. And that it's going international. Thanks Randy. Now I wish I had left you more. I wasn't sure you would want a sugarhead with all that awesome all grain running around!

Odin, I will say that this is a better scale for the majority of my bottles. The one we sampled in Allentown together was a little off in the ferment. But this one is a smooth caramel-ly one. Hope you enjoy.

Shine, having sampled your wares you have nothing to be worried about. They can hold there own.

[RandyMarshCT]

Ah yes, the rest of the absinthe party! Thanks for sharing Randy.

Well... some of it. I killed off that awesome stout that Shine left, and there wasn't any more of the heady topper, haha. That went quick.

[Jimbo]

One of our brethren, The Alchemist, send me some jars to taste and give him my opinion. I thought Id post here, since it fits with what we're doing here in this thread.

He sent 3 jars, A, B, C, with no notes about what the hell im tasting. Talk about a test. Honestly, I failed. I was expecting a wheated bourbon or wheat single malt or something along those lines since thats what I do most, and have recipes here on. They werent any of those. I sipped through them over many days, scratching my head. All were cut really nice, exceptional cuts for drinking fairly young, very tight, no burn, no sinus, nothing. Just nice sippers, but the flavors were odd. I finally gave up and asked him what the hell I was drinking.

A was made with Agave. AHA, yes of course. Did have a Tequilla semblance, the same but quite different. b and c were peated. Funny I thought they were a bit scorched, until he said they were peated and i tasted again with that in my head and no longer get a scorch, just a subtle smoke. Funny what a little situational awareness will do for your cognition. Same thing happened with Husker here in this thread tasting my Bonfire, smoked with Peat and cherry smoked malts, he couldnt place it, but enjoyed it enough to kill the flask. HA, works for me.

Alchemist used 1098 yeast in these, a British Ale yeast. since these are flavor bumped drinks with the agave and peat, the estery British ale yeast is a good choice to bring over some more flavor, esters, fruit etc.

All 3 of these are very nice. MCH is coming over for an apple party next month, I will save the rest to taste togehter with him and with Windy city next time I see him.

Nice work John, these are very fine drinks.

[RandyMarshCT]

Jimbo, excellent idea. I don't think Odin will be back here, but we should keep the thread going.

[MichiganCornhusker]

MCH is coming over for an apple party next month, I will save the rest to taste togehter with him and with Windy city next time I see him. Nice work John, these are very fine drinks.

That sounds great, I'll look forward to the tasting!

[Antler24]

Jimbo, excellent idea. I don't think Odin will be back here, but we should keep the thread going.

Has Odin given up on these forums?

[bearriver]

Time will tell.

Here is a long overdue box that I'm packing for Flatwoods today. In it we have:

HDNB's Enzyme Sourmash Whiskey,
Woodshed's S3 and Smokeshine,
Pyewacket's Genever,
Cranky's Unicorn Sweat, Apple Brandy, and Mixed Fruit Brandy,
MichiganCornHusker's Froot Loops, Booner's, Wheat Barley Whiskey, S-3 on Cherry wood,
(Myself) Plum Vodka, Cherry Plum Brandy, Slivovitz, and cinnamon essence.

Thank you everyone that pitched in. You guys are a class act.

Merry Christmas!!!

[RandyMarshCT]

"Coffee aged oak?"

Whoa.... what is that?

[bearriver]

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=55563#p7310527" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Looks like in april I threw a couple of oak sticks freshly charred into a mason jar full of coffee beans. Today the coffee didn't taste like oak which is no surprise. However the oak took on a good deal of aroma from the beans.

Will be doing more.

[ga flatwoods]

Bear I sure have been trying to live a better life but I didn't realize I had been that good! Perhaps you could send one or two and some to some others. I havehad the bottle before remember? Shipping that much all the way here might be a challenge. I will honor the tradition with whatever sent by passing it along to another. Thanks brother, I look forward to the care package!
Ga Flatwoods

[ga flatwoods]

Bear I received the package today! Very nice packaging job dude! They all appear to be intact. I tried a couple sips of the first I pulled out. The first was the fruit loops and the second was the cherry plum. Both were smooth. The fruit loops tasted differently than I was expecting, unlike fruit loops. I will have to taste it again before commenting. The cherry plum had good carry over flavor and was smooth. It was leaking a little through the lid after the wax was removed. I need to try it on ice to cut the 120 proof down some. I liked it better than the fruit loops. The others remain sealed and unopened.
Thanks agai for the package. I will probably try the rest of them this weekend.
Ga Flatwoods

[bearriver]

I'm glad you like it as some time will round out my contributions considerably, if only a few months. They all were fermented using wild yeast this summer. My only real concern was about the box arriving to you intact.

I would get it out of that jenky bottle if you have another. Unfortunately, we didn't have anything on hand that was the right size and could accommodate an oak stick for continued aging. A minor setback, enjoy friend!

[Odin]

What a lousy job I have! Another tasting coming my way. This time it is SOCD's UJSSM. UJSSM? Yes, that's a sugar head "faux" whiskey made with corn adjunct for taste. Uncle Jessie made it up (hence UJ), it is simple to make (that explains the first S), and it derives a lot of its taste from sour mashing (SM, you got it).

Eyes:

Beautiful dark colour. Dark golden brown. Pretty long tears on the glass.

Nose:

Sweet vanilla. American white oak?

Eye ball test:

Tickles the eye. Some Heads present.

Taste:

Corn and wood. Pretty sure it aged on Am. white oak. Slight afterburn. Pretty intense taste for a sugar head. Some hotness on the tongue after it is downed.

Second try:

Taste lingers long. Characterful and balanced. Apart from Heads definately some Tails present. Hotness after swallowing stays. It is not overly sour. One of the top three UJ's I have tried so far. Oats? There is some mouth feel I really like ...

Thoughts:

- Great wood ageing;
- Heads and Tails present indicates a wider Hearts cut;
- Nicely balanced out ... so it has had some time to mellow out. Four to six months? Maybe double pot distilled? 1.5 in an LM wouldn't surprize me either;
- Quite high SG when fermentation started;
- Final ABV in the fermentation (well) above 9%?

Conclusion:
Nice drink. Well made, well aged, well oaked. Characterful.

Advice:

- The hotness that stays in the mouth after swallowing may be caused by a relatively high SG;
- I'd shoot for a fermentation ABV of no higher than 8% and you will have a winner.

Hope this does you any justice, SOCD!

Regards, Odin.

[RandyMarshCT]

Great to see you!

[Odin]

Fruit Loops, made my MCH ... didn't make my clock tick the first time I tried it at the PNW meeting. Why? Probably because I didn't know what fruit loops were. Well, that changed! On my last trip to the USA I found, bought, and tried them. And then I tried MCH's Fruit Loops again. Congrats Mich! Spot on!!!

Regards, Odin.

[raketemensch]

Strangest travel checklist ever....

"While I'm in the US I need to have some good BBQ, visit the space center, and what was the other thing? Oh, right, I need to meet Toucan Sam."

[MichiganCornhusker]

Fruit Loops, made my MCH ... didn't make my clock tick the first time I tried it at the PNW meeting. Why? Probably because I didn't know what fruit loops were. Well, that changed! On my last trip to the USA I found, bought, and tried them. And then I tried MCH's Fruit Loops again. Congrats Mich! Spot on!!!

Happy to see you're developing your palate, Odin!
I can't take much credit for the spirit though, the Froot Loops really did all the work. Splash a little 7-Up in there to really release the bouquet... Glad you got a chance to sample it.

[Odin]

Yeah, yeah, just don't be modest, MCH! Really, great drink, good find. But now onwards to another one of your bottles. Yam Juice? Really? What is it? What's a yam? Sort of a root vegetable? But which one?

Okay, I love the taste. It has a fruit brandy feel to it that's close to my Jerusalem Artichoke Vodka. My vodka has less taste (makes sense), but the same front/heads oriented taste and nose ... I like it. Peppermint all over the place. Early cut, left balanced, meaning that the drink leans quite heavily on Heads & Fruitiness and much less on Tails & Rootiness ...

One other question: did you purposeful not go into tails? I want to learn more. This drink has an almost macerated / herbs distilled flavour to it.

So ... if you could tell me more, I'd be in your debth!

Regards, Odin.

[ShineonCrazyDiamond]

What a lousy job I have! Another tasting coming my way. This time it is SOCD's UJSSM. UJSSM? Yes, that's a sugar head "faux" whiskey made with corn adjunct for taste. Uncle Jessie made it up (hence UJ), it is simple to make (that explains the first S), and it derives a lot of its taste from sour mashing (SM, you got it).

Eyes:

Beautiful dark colour. Dark golden brown. Pretty long tears on the glass.

Nose:

Sweet vanilla. American white oak?

Eye ball test:

Tickles the eye. Some Heads present.

Taste:

Corn and wood. Pretty sure it aged on Am. white oak. Slight afterburn. Pretty intense taste for a sugar head. Some hotness on the tongue after it is downed.

Second try:

Taste lingers long. Characterful and balanced. Apart from Heads definately some Tails present. Hotness after swallowing stays. It is not overly sour. One of the top three UJ's I have tried so far. Oats? There is some mouth feel I really like ...

Thoughts:

- Great wood ageing;
- Heads and Tails present indicates a wider Hearts cut;
- Nicely balanced out ... so it has had some time to mellow out. Four to six months? Maybe double pot distilled? 1.5 in an LM wouldn't surprize me either;
- Quite high SG when fermentation started;
- Final ABV in the fermentation (well) above 9%?

Conclusion:
Nice drink. Well made, well aged, well oaked. Characterful.

Advice:

- The hotness that stays in the mouth after swallowing may be caused by a relatively high SG;
- I'd shoot for a fermentation ABV of no higher than 8% and you will have a winner.

Hope this does you any justice, SOCD!

Regards, Odin.

Hey Odin! Good to see you around. Not the same when you're not

I just realized the write up was on my uncle Jesse! Glad you liked it.

Yes, it is approaching a year now. Double pot stilled, Pennsylvania American white oak.

I love the color, too. And the vanilla/caramel nose. Mmmmmmm....

This review echoes the one you gave over drinks a few months ago. I really appreciate your honesty. Since then, I have been doing all grain, and those recipes naturally call for 8%. I haven't had any aged come off, but between the lower AbV and the no sugar, it has to be smooth. I'm oaking it the same way, so I have high hopes for it.

If I ever do uj again, I will definitely do 8% on your advice. Overall though, I like my drink, and I'm glad you enjoyed it so. And I hope it found you well.

See you in December,

SCD

[MichiganCornhusker]

Odin, I jumped in on a thread with member hanon a couple years ago when I did the yams.
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... hilit=YAms
I'll admit it was a mistake, I meant to do sweet potatoes but got yams thinking they were the same thing.
It was back in my days of making spirits from the most unproductive items, potatoes, yams, corn stalks, pumpkins...
I remember that run not really having a tails flavor, it just dropped off and got cloudy. Cuts were difficult and hot, definitely drifted into late heads for flavor. Was very strange to me at first but as it has aged and my palate has evolved I think it's actually kinda interesting now. Definitely fruity. Tough drop though, something like a couple fifths from 100 pounds yams.

[Jimbo]

It was back in my days of making spirits from the most unproductive items, potatoes, yams, corn stalks, pumpkins...

Was very strange to me at first but as it has aged and my palate has evolved I think it's actually kinda interesting now.

Them little bottles of oddities you left me are among my most treasured likkers. "Kinda interesting" is an understatement. They are a testament to a madmans certifiability. Rare treasures in the monotonous predictability of all things grain or fruit. Charge on man! I dont see anyone else around here burying potatoes or stuffing 100 lbs of yams in their oven.

[MichiganCornhusker]

Ha, it was a bit of madness. But I think I just scored 400# of jumbo sweet potatoes. And I think I gotta know what this banana thing is all about... Ya just never know, I've never tasted anything like Odin's walnut recipe, and it was a hit at Jed's. Nice thing about this sport is you can make whatever the heck you want.

[Odin]

If it is madness, it is the kind of madness I like! Keep up the good work, Mich!

Regards, Odin.

PS: I will be shipping some of my Rye Bread Whiskey and Topinambour Eau de Vie to some members soon. Curious to find out how you like it!

[bitter]

You guys are amazing this is great!

So many that look very interesting.

I have a question on shipping? What methods are you all using and were are you shipping from. I'm in Canada and wondering about sending a small bottle to someone who used to take part.. sorta a xmas cheer for them. Anyone send anything in Canada? I was thinking get a stainless mickey as a gift and fill it so if they open... just see the mickey/flask. Thoughts?

B