Message in a bottle: the story continues!

[Black Eye]

Oh shit!!!! There's no album. Damn it, I packaged that at work. I must have left it on my bench. I will post something when I get back into the office and I'll send it along to who ever has it. Damn I feel bad now. I want that to be back with it's bottle. I know it was in to box when I got it so it's my responsibility.

[ga flatwoods]

Well, I have finally arrived back home from my coast house where I spent New Years Eve cutting my grass and gathering leaves for the last time in 2013! As I havent been there much this year it was a nice retreat! Jimbo, the package DID ARRIVE just as you packed it and all intact. Great packing job! Had I been here I woild have had to toast HD last night but as it is, I am looking at them niw wondering which to try first. They all have beautiful color and spicey notes come through whenni smelt of each. I have two guys that help me in tasting of my stuff that I am trying to get together now for a sit down and whiskey tasting visit. I may have to wait until Saturday when the wife is better prepared to have company but today would have been fine with me! I am reluctant to taste before the others as I do not want to impart preconceived ideas into their responses. Hooefully I will be able to contain myself. I feel like a child at Christmas with a present he cant play with yet!
I hooe to get the package sent to Husker this week or maybe first of next. At any rate he will have it very shortly ifall goes well.
GA Flatwoods

[Husker]

I feel like a child at Christmas with a present he cant play with yet!

Santa never sent me booze when I was a child I feel cheated! Now when santa sends booze, I simply have to smile nicely, and when home put it in the back of the cabinet for when there is nothing better left to drink.

[Steam Drip]

What's the best way to ship a bottle that you all have found?

[Jimbo]

wrap it really well in bubble wrap. Flat rate packaging from USPS is nice for heavy stuff like liquid. $12 medium box, $16 large. Write Fragile-Glass and Liquid Non-Perishable on the box. I tell them its homemade pickles. Use a bogus return address, just in case, No trace to you and they cant go after the person you sent it to, who can just claim they have no idea about any liquor being mailed to them

[toast860]

from my younger days. I learned a trick for sending stuff thru the mail. leave your package with a bogus address on the table for a day with "return to sender" written on it. they DEA only has a small window of about 24 hours to bust a package. its not a written law but it has something to do with court. and lawyers. my room mate was sending and receiving dumb stuff thru the mail. and heard about it from a buddy. after he moved out and continued to do this for about a year. he got busted. sense he didn't open the box and had return to sender on it. they only got him for the stuff he had in the house . no charges were pressed for the box

[BoomTown]

What's the best way to ship a bottle that you all have found?

Good question. I'll plead the fifth on this one, but will be eagerly watching this thread to see how it gets answered.

Boom.

[Black Eye]

Well folks, I do have the album. I left it on my shop bench while I was packaging the bottles up. Must have got covered up and I missed it going in to the box.

How would you like me to get these parts back together. Last I knew GA Flatwoods had the bottle and it was. Scheduled to go to Husker. Should I send it along to to Husker ahead if the package? Send it to Flatwoods? Let me know and I'll get it in the mail.

[Jimbo]

Id kind of like to read it, and add my bit to it. Send it to me and Ill forward it on to flatwoods with another bottle of something.

[Black Eye]

You got it. I'll drop it in the mail on Monday.

[ga flatwoods]

That will be timely. I hope to write up my reviews this weekend and start getting Husker's package together for shipping. I can see a benefit to the two being detached from one another. What do you guys think?
GA Flatwoods

[Jimbo]

BlackEye, I still owe you a writeup and review of your hooches. Ill do that soon, promise. This week Im fighting a headcold and cant taste shit. Last night I was drinking my wheat whiskey and it could have been water for all I know. Could have slugged a glassful. Couldnt taste a damn thing.

I did taste through them all quick once when I got them, and gave a quick first impression below. They're all young, you warned me about that, which makes it hard to do any real judging. Judging a likker that was just made is like judging a beer while its still in the ferment bucket full of yeast. Damn near impossible. The sugarheads and rums both have some bite and edge to them that I dont think is part of the inherent character as much as the unaged nature of them. I'll do a writeup soon now, but come back and add new comments come summer when these babies will come into their own.

[BoomTown]

That will be timely. I hope to write up my reviews this weekend and start getting Husker's package together for shipping. I can see a benefit to the two being detached from one another. What do you guys think?
GA Flatwoods

Sending them separately means that if one gets interrupted in transit, the other might arrive safely. Ultimately, the journal has more value to the recipient than the bottles...knowledge never fades, and memories grow fonder....

So say I
Boom

[Jimbo]

That will be timely. I hope to write up my reviews this weekend and start getting Husker's package together for shipping. I can see a benefit to the two being detached from one another. What do you guys think?
GA Flatwoods

Sending them separately means that if one gets interrupted in transit, the other might arrive safely. Ultimately, the journal has more value to the recipient than the bottles...knowledge never fades, and memories grow fonder....

So say I
Boom

Agree. Over the years Ive had 2 packages of hooch never make it. Crackhead kids chuckin boxes at the post warehouses im sure, busting the bottles and throwing away soggy boxes is my guess.

[Odin]

I send in legit bottles. For instance a white drink in a used vodka bottle and a whiskey in a used ... whiskey bottle. I put tape around the tap and include a letter telling that I absolutely want him to try this or that drink ... as a birthday present.

It works well.

On the other side ... if I send more than a few bottles a year ... I would be lying.

Regards, Odin.

[RandyMarshCT]

What's the best way to ship a bottle that you all have found?

I've shipped bottles all over the US and to Europe. I never use USPS, only UPS or FedEx because it was illegal to ship liquor by USPS, but I heard they just changed that law (federally). It's not illegal to ship alcohol by UPS or FedEx, but you're supposed to have a license to do it (they never check). I've never lost a single bottle or had one broken, and I frequently put labels on the bottles that say "Vodka" or "Whiskey". I only use bottles made for alcohol with screw-top lids so I don't have to worry about leaking. I wrap the bottle in bubble wrap (or craft paper if I don't have bubble wrap) and put cardboard padding around the wrapped bottle inside a cardboard box. I almost always put my real name and address on the package. If I'm shipping more than 1 bottle (or if I'm shipping outside the US) I get one of those little Styrofoam coolers they use for shipping steaks or insulin with and put my wrapped bottles inside that, then put the cooler into a cardboard box. Maybe I'm lucky... or maybe they just don't care what you're shipping as long as it's not dangerous. I order bottles of whiskey from a website called drinkupny.com, and they arrive with a signature required. I list my shipments as "marinade" because technically marinade is allowed to have alcohol in it (many marinades do) and there is no "legal" limit to how much alcohol a marinade can have. I just make sure to never ship anything over 50% ABV because then you can get in trouble for unlisted hazardous materials (flammable). I shipped 14 bottles out for Christmas this year and every single one arrived perfectly.

[ga flatwoods]

Okay! It is time to try to put verbage to the flavors of products sent to me from Jimbo. First I would like to say that I feel extremely privileged to have been the tenth in this line and actually never expected to be in the loop at all! Jimbo and I have discussed yields on several occasions he brewing all grains and I modified verions of all grains with sugar added as well. I must say thst in general the all grains tasted cleaner and more pure than some of my whiskeys and rums and took several cessions of tasting and drinking to learn how I liked to drink the products sent. I am a connoisseur of food and women but not whiskeys . I know what I like, what is good in character, what I dont like, and what is not good in character. Until I made my first product, I never had a shine that I could drink. I have had some of what is the best and worst coming from KY, AL, NC, TN,and GA via living by a military base with national guard training facilities with locals who helped support the base. Some was better than other some was questionable if it had battery acid in it! Therefore it was commercial for me and that is what I was accustomed to taste and based known profiles upon. My work changed all that for me. How in the hell dad drank Canadian Mist with enough coke to be seen in the top of the glass is beyond me!
Jimbo was gracious in his exchange as I was with he. I will not elaborate on all the drinks here as he and I have talked numerous times exchanging ideas and elaborations regarding the particulars. I will attempt the ones I liked best.
The most favored and remaining here with me in its entirety is the ....Cherry Panty Dropper! The base alcohol was smooth and if flavored at all had a profile that fit in perfectly or was overwhelmed by the cherry. It has a beautiful cherry color and the aroma was great. As close to eating a distilled cherry as you can get! I drank it chilled from the fridge, no ice. I could lose a lot more than panties drinking a fifth of it and I dont wear panties, but while drinking that stuff, I might (at least on my head as a mask while role playing ! Nice stuff!
The next is the Wheat bourbon. I will be passing this along in the flask. I just looked at the bottle, maybe I will ! It took me a little to learn how to drink it. I can say it is chilled with no ice or water for this one. Again, like everything Jimbo sent it was smooth as silk to drink. It had a crispness I can only contribute to the all grain. It is bourbon for certain but nit with a harshness. I described this one earlier as "tender". Neat it holds it flavor profiles well and is balanced to be drank that way. It does not fare well on ice and loses its bouquet and flavors easily, probably due to extreme tight hearts cuts. Not a bourbin to cause heartburn like Jack or Jim! Drank neat Jimbo is the name to call for when wanting a bourbon for a slow fire and meditating stare into it while sippin a good pull of bourbon. Continued.......

[ga flatwoods]

Next in review of Jimbo's drinks is the Bonfire. It is a smoked whiskey, very smooth with a rich flavor profile I can closest compare to scorch, oh sorry, I mean scotch. I dont like scotch! However, this drink left me wanting for a cigar in a plush leather chair while wearing a smoking jacket in a library of a well to do. I could learn to drink this often with friends that tilt the kilt way, but alas I dont have any that will admit they like scotch. The smokes were not peaty but came across very well as... well..smoke! As I didnt have a cigar, a cigarette fit the bill nicely and took about two burnings to complete two fingers, which were on ice. It has nice color and smokey aroma. You could almost taste it by the smell but it was even better than it smelt. A nice change for a darker side of me. It would be a special event to reach for this one, not a go to drink for me.

The apple brandy is another of my favorites. Twenty six pounds of apples per 750 ml is a labor of love. It had an excellent carry over of apple both in flavor and aroma. It personified the profiles of brandy both in color, flavor and warm burn of a straight shot. Not a bad aftertaste or reflux type burn to be found in this one. Cant say the same for Christisn Bros or E&J! I enjoyed it both chilled and on ice, but again preferred the ice. How about a couple hundred pounds for me next year Jimbo?
The next was labled smokey head. At first tasting, I couldnt pick up on the smoke. Not to be drank after Bonfire! Lighter in color and aroma than the others this one was silky smooth as well. It too was best drank neat. No heavy bite and a good drink. It would be good with or without the smoke. It is the closest to whst I consider the flavors of a canadian whiskey, even with the smoke, minus the heads and burn. I could drink this on ice regularly and would serve to someone wanting a drink but not really favoring a heavy profile.
The final of Jimbos samples was an Absinthe. Now I am just an old redneck by breeding and circumstances. Not well traveled or cosmopolitan to say the least. We dont drink, make, or ask for absinthe at the bar nor liquor stores round here! This was my virgin sampling of the stuff. I can tell you, it was well crafted, smooth to the extreme, very fragrant, had a delightful light green/yellowish color and distinct flavorings inherent to the name. Problem for me is I hate liquorice! I must say that I could drink it and appreciate it for what it was. The liquorice was not so overwhelming as to be offensive and fit well with the base blend as well. It was prepared with care and delicacy that is instilled into the corked bottle. I cant say that it may be the best I will ever come across but for Absinthe, it damn sure wasnt bad. Especially, if you like liquorice!
Continued.....

[ga flatwoods]

Now to the flasks.
The Jim Beam flask contained Blackeyes Corn Whiskey. It had the essances and flavorings of corn in a white dog style. I sampled this one with a friend that I shouldnt have. He had already been drinking an damn near took all of it fore I got to pour me a shot! He liked it, I did not. I do not prefer my liquor straight out the still. Without oaking and aging, I wouldnt drink the stuff. It was smoother than store bought and lacked flavors of overly excessive heads or tails so good cuts were made.
The Wild Turkey flask contained Blackeyes Silver rum. Sorry to say here again that I did not favor this rum. It too was clean cut with rum profiles evident. No harsh heads or tails here. It did have a flavor profile that I just didnt like. Sorry but being honest.
Blackeye, I have to ask what you ferment, store, and age in. It took a minute but I picked out a flavor of a plastic compound. If that is not what it is then maybe it is the water you are using. But, it was in both samples and consistent in flavoring. Sorry but I had rather be honest than not.

well, there you go folks. I hope I did not upset and gave good descriptions easy for folks to relate to. I GREATLY APPRECIATE the opportunity given and will be sending Husker a package before weeks end. An exchange is a great idea. Thanks for getting it going guys!

With humble adoration to the forum and group,
GA Flatwoods

[Jimbo]

Thank you for the very kind words Flatwoods. Some 'splanations on a couple. That smoke in teh Bonfire, but different from peat, is cherry wood smoked barley, which I used sparingly as its quite strong, along with some peat smoked barley, and some rye and wheat in a base of ....sweetfeed, done up all grain style, mashed with 6 row. Its basically a kitchen sink all grain, 2 row, 6 row, wheat, rye, oats, corn, barley, peat smoked and cherry smoked barleys and whatever touch of molasses is in sf. When I pour it for scotch drinkers they look at me crooked for a second and then proceed to putting a good dent in the bottle.

The smokeyhead is my gumballhead sugarhead done with left over bourbon grains (at the end of the bourbon recipe in my sig). But then I steeped 2 pounds of peat smoked malt in the low wines for a week before doing the spirit run, Its subtle but serves its purpose of hiding the sugar

This opportunity for you to try my stuff was very much a learning experience for me. When you first said my bourbon was 'tender' I laughed. But then i thought on it for a few days long and hard. And then I got a little upset, thinking 'I dont want to make pussy bourbon' And then a light went off in my head. I have always drank whiskey neat. Room temperature, no water or ice. Its just how I like it. My whiskey is tailored for me, as it should be. I like to think it smooth and warm, without needing water to cut, and just enough oak to get some sweet caramel but not too much to cover the base grains. That was my goal. I guess I succeeded, if you drink it neat, not so much for ice users. Im ok with that. I cut it to 90 proof.

Thank you my friend for the detailed analysis , Im glad you and Joyce enjoy the cherry panty dropper so much. Might has to send ya more of that with the log book when I get it from Blackeye. I forgot to send you my single malt wheat, Ill fix you up with that too. That one, for some reason really blooms with 1 cube, no more.

[Odin]

Just got 4 bottles in from my good friend Henk Stuurman, master distiller at and owner of Nes Distillery. Anyone have any connections to likker importers to the US? Believe me, these drinks are going to be making a difference! Taste assessment in full? This weekend. Sumary as for now? Awesome ...

http://wp.me/p3pXcR-eL" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

Regards, Odin.

[ga flatwoods]

Ok Husker, I am packaging it up today. You should have it by the middle of next week. Looking forward to your turn in the barrel! LOL

[Prairiepiss]

I can't even see that pic with a magnifying glass? LOL
I mite have to make a run north. So I can talk H into letting me try some of that. LOL

[ga flatwoods]

Sorry was resizing 80x80 instead 800x800! LOL yea, I was sampling while bottling!

[Jimbo]

Looks familiar Flatwoods No pic of the stash I sent ya?

Black Eye, I owe you a review, deepest appologies for taking so long. Im blaming this head cold, been 2 weeks with my head clogged like the shitter in Oprah's dressing room. Im coming out of it now and can taste again. So I lined em up. Here goes, favorite first....

Jim Beam Flask - Corn Whiskey on Toasted Hungarian Oak 94 proof - This is real nice! it takes some thought and retasting to realize its a sugarhead. Seriously. Nicely oaked, caramelly, sweet. The grain flavors come through, and there's enough of a kick to know its a whiskey, but not in an obnoxious way. On a cube it mellowed and some candy flavors came through. I enjoyed this thoroughly and could drink this regularly, happily! It seems the least young of any of them. Drinkable now but will be better with proper age.

Jar #1 - CinnaSnatch proof ????? 80's- 90 - WOW! This is a kick in the nuts, in a good way. Lots of cinnamon for sure, but sweetened too, so its just a full tilt bar room punch in the face. I love it. Nothin wrong with a good scrap time and again, keeps us young. I sipped this a couple times during my cold, and it turned on the drain. LOL.

Jar #3 - 1st Gen Corn whiskey that I dug out of the cabinet. I forgot what I oaked this on.96 proof - I like this. Its lightly oaked, and young, but those things bring out the flavors to chew on more, now, it will be interesting to come back to this summer. Im gonna drop a small chunk of oak in it to keep it aging nice and developing. Its got some light elements bouncing around in there that I like. Flavor elements that I cant pin down, but they're intriguing.

What recipes do you use for these corn whiskies? Theyre nice, and the flavor is interesting and appealing. Fruity candy something I guess is the best way to describe it. I dont drink a lot of sugarheads, but I know the sugarhead character well and what Im describing is not that, its more, something in your grocery list that came through nicely! Nice work!

The Rums - Ok first a disclaimer. Im a whiskey guy and dont drink a lot of rums, but I have some bottles of topshelf for tasting and comparing against mine, and I have some of Windy Citys and tried a few others. I know enough to be dangerous, thats about it. So take my review with a grain of salt. The silver rum has rum overtone, but something going on thats not rum. Tastes medicinal, chemically? Not sure what or why. maybe just needs more time. My rums starting getting good in nearly a year. Maybe they just gotta sit? The gold spiced rum is an improvement for sure. It has a nice blend of sweet and spice. I can taste the silver rum thing I mentioned under it, but its subdued, pushed down with the nice blend of flavorings. The black spiced rum is rough, sorry. over spiced, not sweet enough to balance.

I like rum and coke so I made up a rum and coke with each. Here's what happened.
The Black Spiced rum got crazy good with coke. The sweetness of the coke allowed the insane spice to balance with the sweetness in the coke. And it tasted great. the gold was my least fav with coke. It was like a rum and coke with somethign wrong? The silver and coke is nice, Rum and coke with a kick, hid the medicinal character I mentioned and tasted like a spiked coke, in a nice way.

Well thats that, like I said Im not a rum guy so i hope I didnt totally misrepresent those? But I wanted to just lay it out there what I tasted. They certainly are beautiful... silver, gold, spiced dark L to R.

Your whiskies are nice! Keep making them, make enough to age up and leave alone for a year on oak. Everythings a little young like mentioned in my earlier first pass notes, but with time these will mellow, bloom and take on that sweet caramelly vanilla oak grain character just fine.

Now that I worked through them all I filled my glass back up with the Hungarian aged corn whiskey. Good stuff! Thank you Mike for allowing me to sample through your efforts. Its nerve racking to open the kimono wide on your hard work for others to scrutinize, I know, I do it as often as i can, because I really cherish the feedback. Its hard to be objective on your own stuff since thats what you drink all the time. Sometimes I wonder if you could make paint thinner and develop a taste for it, I know someone, not on HD, who may be there. he tauts his stuff proudly, and its brutal! Anyway, I hope you take my feedback for what it is, my taste buds. You make nice stuff, the whiskies especially from a whiskey bias'd tongue)

Thanks again, it was an honor.

Jimbo

[BoomTown]

Looks familiar Flatwoods No pic of the stash I sent ya?

Black Eye, I owe you a review, deepest appologies for taking so long. ....

Now that I worked through them all I filled my glass back up with the Hungarian aged corn whiskey. Good stuff! Thank you Mike for allowing me to sample through your efforts. Anyway, I hope you take my feedback for what it is, my taste buds. You make nice stuff, the whiskies especially from a whiskey bias'd tongue)

Thanks again, it was an honor.

Jimbo

Nice job Jimbo...kind, but candid. I liked your review.
Boom

[ga flatwoods]

Sorry Jimbo I forgot but here you go.

[Black Eye]

Jimbo,

I got to read your review the other night but I just got around to finding time to repsond. I appreciate the honest review.

I'm on your page with the Rum and Whiskey drinking. I like to drink whiskey straight but I do not enjoy rum straight. I do however enjoy Rum mixed with Cola or Ginger.... Silver I enjoy in fruit juice or Mojito's. I was really diappointed that the rum was overspiced. I usually spice it in single 750ml jars, but this time I thought I'd up my scale since I had quite a bit more. Not exactly the results I was looking for and it is pretty strong. As for the flavor that you are picking up, I'm not sure I'm tasting the same thing. The first time I made rum I picked a section of the rum to keep as drinking stash. It definitely had a raw oily taste to it. I enjoyed my labor, but I could taste that room for improvement. Every Rum was after, I ran a striping run and then finally a spirit run and I noticed that it help reduce that flavor. I thought the Silver tasted better after it aired out from the disitilling process. It seemed to get that oily taste back after it sat around in the bottle for a while. when I went to bottle up the samples I almost didn't send that, but I said what the hell. I think the Silver and Gold could benefit from a 2nd spirit run, but I've been enjoying them in the cola.

As for the whiskeys, that stright corn whiskey was my variation of a first generation UJSSM. Without the backset it picks up this crazy sweet corn flavor that I like, white but even more with some age. I aged it on charred Hungarian Oak that I picked up at my Local Brew store. its a heavy toast that I apply a solid char from the torch. That was my first attempt at aging over oak... up till that point anything I made I considered "moonshine" and kept it white and harsh. I tucked that bottle away and saved it for my birthday, so it had been on the shelf for a year. I was afraid of over oaking and to be perfectly honest, I like it but I think it could have used a longer rest on that oak.

The sample I labeled as Toasted Oak that you enjoyed was a 3rd or 4th generation of the same UJSSM recipe I work with. That was made the same as the above whiskey, but it has been mashed with backset and distilled as a 1.5 run. I had thrown in all the feints from the previous run in as well. Made my cuts and aged it straight up heavy toasted hungarian oak with no char at all. This time it spent a significant longer time on oak and I tucked it away. This one is really my favorite in the cabinet. I think the lack of char carried over some different flavors

The cinnasnatch.... that was all just an experiment because I saved a jar that I found to be far too heady. I got a little impatient with the oak... or maybe it was the fear of over oaking, so I added a few Cinnamon sticks to it, hoping I'd get something like Fireball. That also failed.... because it became ultra dry and took your breath away. I decided to make one more attempt to salvage it by back sweetening it, after a night of Fireball drinking with some boys. I figured it would get a little syrup vibe going with it but I made a simple syrup to go with it. That spent a few more months in the fridge and it was actually pretty A.O.K it's definitely nothing like fireball, but I thought it was kinda interesting in its own way. It's kinda like Drunken Christmas Eve

Anyway.... thanks for sharing your thoughts.... I'm going to go back and sample more of that rum and see what I pick up. Come summer time I'll take a look at how I make my run.

Cheers.

[BoomTown]

Jimbo,

I got to read your review the other night but I just got around to finding time to repsond. I appreciate the honest review.
...
Anyway.... thanks for sharing your thoughts.... I'm going to go back and sample more of that rum and see what I pick up. Come summer time I'll take a look at how I make my run.

Cheers.

Reading how Black Eye and Jimbo review a bottle is very educational. Make's my mouth water, and it's only 10:am! What I'm seeing is that some guys make different recipes, while I've spent a year tinkering with one. Motivates me to want to branch out. It's just that I seem to be able to make my one recipe taste differently by doing it with little variations in the mashing, or the fermenting, or the aging....I use the same grain bill each time, cause I don't have a wide variety, and getting grains here in the city isn't as easy as one might think, not an excuse - a consideration.

Anyway, this thread is one of my favorites on the board, mostly because the ol' timers take the time to explain and extrapolate on what they are doing....nice job guys! Keep it up.

a fan,
Boom

[Husker]

Its like Christmas in January here!! Now I need to get Dianna over here to help sample some. Probably will not be before Tues nite, and with this much to sample, it will probably take more than one day.

Good stuff!! H.