I've been reading some of the posts here as a lurker for a few months now. I'm basically a foodie, cooking every night, roasting my own coffee, and even my espresso machine is a manual lever. I love to read cooks/chefs and others who know their craft. I'm from the South and still live here, under 40 and living in a city, and I never felt as rooted as when I recently saw parts of Kentucky's Bourbon Trail.
I love Woodford Reserve, the Rip Winkles, and unaged agricole rums that practically exude the smell of the island where they were made.
So, this is basically part of my getting to know the grains, the yeasts, etc. and how to impart enough flavor to make it all very, very worthwhile. However, I'll still be making vodka (Ciroc's a fave) at a 2-to-1 ratio over other spirits. I guess I'll be learning who all the veterans are and taking mental notes of their wisdom.
I don't have a still of my own yet, but I've got one in mind (pot/reflux). Household realities and politics preclude my building my own for now. No, really.
At the moment, I know a little bit about aspects of distiller's beer, minus the peripherals, and less than half of not nearly enough about distilling. All textbook so far.
"A farmer can turn his corn to hogs, but cooking it can get him into a lot of trouble depending on the recipe."--paraphrase from The Social History of Bourbon.
