-
Continue reading →: Spirits Are About Community & Sharing: A Retrospective on Not Letting Bad People Change YouI stopped drinking all forms of alcohol mid-way through college and didn’t have a drop until just under two years ago. One of the best things for me about spirits are the communities built around them, most of whose members are good, generous folks who enjoy talking about spirits. I’m…
-
Continue reading →: SHORT REVIEW: Maker’s Mark – 2025, The Keepers ReleaseThe latest release from Maker’s Mark’s ongoing Wood Finishing Series, this bottle is dedicated to the distillery’s warehouse team. Bottled at 109.2 proof (54.6% ABV) cask strength, it uses Maker’s normal mash bill of 70% corn, 16% red winter wheat, and 14% malted barley. It is aged for 6-7 years…
-
Continue reading →: SHORT REVIEW: Tequila Ocho Reposado Barrel Proof – Las Raíces (2024 field)Produced at distillery Tequilera Los Alambiques (NOM 1474) in Arandas, Jalisco, by master distiller Carlos Camarena, this high proof reposado, like all of Tequila Ocho’s releases, is made with mature, 7-10-year-old Blue Weber agave cooked in stone/brick ovens (hornos) for 48 hours. The aguamiel is extracted using a roller mill…
-
Continue reading →: My Gift Bottles for a Graduate Student’s PromotionOne of my graduate students is being promoted soon, marking a major career and life achievement. His seminar group colleagues are getting him a very nice bottle of peated Islay scotch, the Kilchoman PX Sherry Cask Matured – 2023 Release, since he really enjoys peated scotches. I’ve grabbed him a…
-
Continue reading →: Picking Up a Gift Bottle to Mark a Graduate Student’s PromotionOne of my graduate students will soon be promoted and to mark this major achievement and career milestone, his colleagues-seminar classmates are getting him a gift. In coordination with them and after doing some of my own research and chatting with a couple of friends who are into and know…
-
Continue reading →: “Operation Beyond Beam White Label” – Samples Sharing Turns to Rye WhiskiesSample sharing with my buddy from work continues as part of “Operation Beyond Beam White Label,” named after one of his favorite easy sipping whiskies, the standard Jim Beam White Label. So far, he’s experimented with a variety of cask finishes, stave finishes, and double barrel/double oak bourbons and one…
-
Continue reading →: Don’t Be a Spirits SnobDon’t be a spirits snob. In short, don’t be an ******. Spirits are about craft & sharing with others, not about snobbery or gatekeeping. Like all other aspects of life, the best rule of thumb to follow is to be a polite human being & not a jerk. Judging others…
-
Continue reading →: The Spirits Community Is About Helping Each Other Out & Learning Life Lessons About Who To Spend Time & Energy Helping & Who To AvoidOne of the best things about the spirits enthusiast community (-ties) and particularly having colleagues and buddies who also enjoy spirits in moderation and nerding out about production details is being able to help one another out. Where this is easiest, so to speak, to do is keeping an eye…
-
Continue reading →: SHORT REVIEW: New Riff Kentucky Straight Bottled in Bond BourbonProduced by New Riff Distillery in Newport, Kentucky, this bottled in bond (100 proof/50% ABV) straight bourbon is aged in toasted and charred 53-gallon new American White Oak barrels for four years. It is made from a mash bill of 65% corn, 30% rye, and 5% malted barley (sour mash;…
-
Continue reading →: COCKTAIL SERIES: Experimenting with Gin MixologyI haven’t come up with a cool name for this experimental cocktail, but it’s delicious. Poured all of this over ice & stirred to mix with a bar spoon. Delicious! _______________
Documenting my journey into agave spirits along with a smattering of other spirits after many, many years away – This blog is meant to take note of this journey including tasting notes, bottle photography, and other related topics.
Agave Spirits+ Journey 