S3 2015 meeting defined

[Kegg_jam]

For some reason I have a desire to pour a drink and watch Planet of the Apes....

[S-Cackalacky]

Yep, that movie will never be the same for me.

[ga flatwoods]

woodshed wrote:
Flatwoods came across so well I can't find the bottle.

Imo the highlight of the event second only to MCH's ancient Clavados.
You humble me TP with such a fine compliment. I am proud to know it was well received! I hope the labeling was appreciated. I know it doesn't compare to Jimbo's labels but it is original and sincere as written.

[robb]

Maybe 3 days/70 bottles affected me more than I thought. Sidetracked in the Colorado wilds.

[RandyMarshCT]

RandyMarsh sent a very fine, and I mean fine two bottles. The Wheat Bourbon was a definite highlight.

Thank you so much for the compliment, Woodshed! It's an honor to be included in the experience. I only wish I could have joined. Next year I will be there, if there is another gathering.

[MichiganCornhusker]

And MCH, if I'm not being rude by asking, how did you get that bottle!!! Its just an awesome thing to me and I want to know more about it!

I got the bottle about 20 years ago on ebay. Someone was clearing out their grandfather's cellar and this was one of the items listed.
I don't remember why I bought it, I think there was a woman involved, and I don't remember how much I paid for it but it couldn't have been very much.
For years I traveled for work with it tucked in my checked luggage thinking that, as a crew, we would open it sometime at the end of a completed job installation. I just liked the novelty of opening something so old, and having that odd connection with the distant past. I always figured the contents would be somewhere vinegar and something actually toxic. We never got around to opening it, and for many more years it just sat on a shelf.

I posted a photo of the bottle on here last year and I think it was Jimbo that suggested bringing it to Woodshed's. It seemed like the perfect chance to open it with as many people as possible with a genuine interest in spirits.
It was sealed with a cork, then packed with clay, and then rolled in sand. We chipped off the clay and tried to pull out the cork but it just disintegrated. We got a hole through the cork and then strained it through a coffee filter.

Immediately the smell was amazing, and when we tasted it I was beyond surprised how good it was. It was a deep amber color, and still smelled of fresh apples, caramel, and rich brandy goodness. Jimbo remarked that it was a little oxidized from its many years in the bottle, but it was a humbling experience to open and taste something so old, and even more enjoyable for having had the opportunity to share it with so many other people with a common passion for spirits! I could not have ever been more pleased with how it all worked out. It is one of the miracles of this HD site that it led me to develop my own interest in spirits, meet all these people, and share a once in a lifetime experience. Cheers!

Edit: I certainly wasn't trying to suggest that Jimbo was looking the horse in the mouth with oxidation, he was raving about it just as we all were, just wanted to give an accurate critique of the genie in the bottle...

[Jimbo]

It was delicious! Truly. The oxidation came across as raisons. Not a bad thing.

Thanks again MC for bringing that and letting us experience it with you. Once in a lifetime chance to drink something made before Lincoln was president.

[StillLearning1]

That is truly awesome! Thank you for the rundown MCH. I just had to ask.

[robb]

Could not believe how awesome it was!!!

[Bigbob]

It was outstanding... Here's a few more pics:

Mr and mrs Midwestshiner, funny how husbands and wives look alike!

The monkey house moved to the brewery

A few of us on hike in Piedra canyon

[T-Pee]

I kin hardly wait to outfit the new stillin' room. A lot of these pics will be printed on good photo paper, framed and hung on the wall along with the monkey mask.
Should be damned good for creatin' conversation. Might do the same for the tee shirt. Too valuable to wear. Yep!

tp (and a daydream)

[Bigbob]

My sons already sporting his out with friends tonight.

[T-Pee]

I'm gonna voice something that someone else HAS to be thinking...
A big group like that out in public all wearing the same monkey mask (and t-shirts for that matter) is just a little unsettling.

There. I said it.

tp

[Bigbob]

Another picture, one of us enjoying the Cavaldos

[T-Pee]

I used to wonder what I'd look like with a shaved head.

No longer.

tp

[Bigbob]

You know since the meeting my wife and I keep singing "old man", thanks a lot

[T-Pee]

She's prolly singing it for a different reason than you are, Bob.

tp

[Windy City]

I used to wonder what I'd look like with a shaved head.

No longer.

tp

Hey T-Pee
That would be copyright infringement I already have that franchise

[WooTeck]

that looks awesome guys. wish i could have been there. i haven't touched on this thread but im going to have to go from the start.

[Jimbo]

Here's a few more pictures. Cheers.

Our host with his dog Ringo in Piedre Canyon.

Turns out Steve is quite the climber, noted on climbing sites, and developed many climbing routes in this canyon (drilled and mounted bolts to clip into etc). Here he is giving some route guidance to some young climbers we passed on the trail.

Windy and I brought some kegs of homebrew that were chilled with this jockey box (coils of stainless tubing on ice to chill the beer enroute to your glass). And no, there was no crap on tap.

Steve and Holly's border collie Ringo is awesome. We became good buds during our stay there.

Colorado does not suck.

[Brutal]

No crap on tap is an understatement. Jimbo's Rye-PA was great. Hoppy without being over the top. Windy's Wheat beer literally changed my mind about wheat beers. I thought I didn't like them Turns out I just never had a good one before.

I changed my mind about a lot of things after tasting the 70 or so bottles of goodness. I found out I really can like a traditional bourbon too. The products I buy off the shelf just don't do it for me but it can be done right. I am just going to have to do it myself! I found out I like wheat beer too, just not blue moon or shock top. I got to first hand witness the difference between all grain and sugar based likker. My small bit of experience drinking my own wasn't enough to do a real comparison. I am not down on sugar heads, but even my buddy who does not distill could pick them out at the table. I plan to structure an aging program at my house so I can always have the good stuff ready.

There were so many priceless moments I could never pick a favorite. But I thought I'd share a simple highlight that meant a lot to me. Probably 10pm or so I walked up to the table for another drink and Jimbo was standing there surveying the bottles. I looked over at him, offered my glass, and said "Jimbo's choice?" He poured me a delicious drink from his bottle of 5 grain and handed me the glass. That drink tasted better than when I poured my own earlier in the night.

Thank you to everyone for the experience. Surreal is an understatement.

[woodshed]

At this time last week S3 was in full swing. Tonight as we sit on the back deck it is a rain softened evening abuzz with crickets, a scolding squirrel Ringo has up a tree and birdsong punctuated by the ringtone qualities of the red wing blackbirds down at the springs.
Last week was a highlight of my life. Way beyond expectations. Casa de shed was truly wrapped in love and energy only possible through the synergy created in a gathering of the like minded.
Been playing the S3 guitar trying it with the slide as this feels best. Hope to be able to play for you all next year.
These are some of my favorite pics taken for the most part by Mrs. Bigbob, one of the coolest people you hope to meet.

Me, robb, and my good friend Rob from down on the Blanco

[T-Pee]

Well, if I'm not divinely protected, I don't know who is.
I mentioned earlier in this thread that I felt fortunate that I made it home with what I thought was a bad idler pulley. Here's what the mechanic found today:

Yeah. There's a few pieces missing and I could almost lift the inner race out of the housing. It runs much quieter now.

tp (understated)

[Jimbo]

Looks like youre missing a couple balls there TP

Were you able to get the radio cranked loud enough to override that howl?

[Bigbob]

Only a couple, you could of made it.....

[T-Pee]

I felt myself go a little pale when the mechanic sez, "Hey. Wanna see what was makin' all the racket?"

Holy moly.

tp

[Bigbob]

You could just pack more grease.......you had seven left.

[T-Pee]

I'm glad you're a landscaper and not a mechanic, Bob.
"Welcome to Big Bob's Automotive. You got noise? We'll PACK IT"

Wonderful.

tp

[Bigbob]

Wattsa matter? You don't want to ride wit me?

[T-Pee]

Seems to me there may be a reason the boss gave you a remote control mower, slick.

tp