I come from the west coast of the US.
I've made and distilled a couple gallons of rum wash and am working on getting the right water to molasses ratio to avoid puking. And I just made my first batch of mead. Tasty! Unfortunately, I was doing a taste test to see how it was going and busted my airlock when I open the cupboard door into it. D'oh!
So I put it into the fridge and it's almost gone. So it can't be too bad. 
Decent alcohol content too, using RedStar's DADY.I currently only have a single 1-gallon carboy but that's about to increase, and a 1-gallon electric still. I figure 4 carboys should keep me busy enough. I also just learned about the different kinds of hydrometers so I can see what my SG and FG are.
Thanks for the forum and space to chat!