After grilling burgers there was barely any fuel left so I figured I'd just open up the vents and let the rest of it burn. Egg is now at 610F.

After grilling burgers there was barely any fuel left so I figured I'd just open up the vents and let the rest of it burn. Egg is now at 610F.

Sounds good! I like mine all the way with mustard...I will be expecting it shortly..

Gave your portion to the dogs

Gave your portion to the dogs

  

F2.8 is the key. Should have a 17-50 and 70-200 option. Combination is basically what you need.

Speaking of Matt, I shot a wedding with my body and a 70-200 2.8 II USM IS. Now I fucking need one, you bastard.

What was the first statement related to? Lol so random.

I told you man. I used every 70-200 they had and the 2.8 USMii is not just an upgrade. It's a huge leap ahead.

Surly Furious beef stew today. I'm excited.

Making a lamb stew Monday or Tuesday.

My 24-70 is the Tamron with VC. I love that lens.

The 16-24 is great too, but I use it only when I have to.

If I wasn't going to ever have FF I would have this lens on hand at all times.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/967344-REG/sigma_18_35mm_f1_8_dc_hsm.html

Double that if I'm going to shoot video. Having some IS would be fantastic but that lens is hot shit.

Our defense is dominant, but our offense does fuck all in the red zone. This fucking game shouldn't even be close, but here we are in a 3 point game in the 4th.

My liquor store needs to figure out their shot and get me my Sonoma Masters bottles!

Aaron if you're interested in a machine being built, cyber Monday May have some good deals......

My liquor store needs to figure out their shot and get me my Sonoma Masters bottles!

 

 

 

Every year, Chris Morris releases a special edition of Woodford Reserve called the Master’s Collection. This November will see the ninth release of the Master’s Collection, and yours truly was the very first person outside of Brown-Forman to sample it.

 

I sat down with Master Distiller Morris last night in advance of this bourbon’s formal previewing in San Francisco for a sample and chat. The appearance of Sonoma-Cutrer in the name may have tipped you off already that this is a wine barrel-finished bourbon, and that’s indeed the case. But part of the promise of the Master’s Collection is, in Morris’s own words, that Woodford will never repeat a whiskey. Every year, the company will focus on a different grain, barrel, fermentation process, aging regimen, or other facet of whiskeymaking, but once a Master’s Collection release is sold out, it’s gone.

 

 

The second release of the Master’s Collection way back in 2007 involved a Sonoma-Cutrer Chardonnay finish, and it was a huge hit. The whiskey is now a bit of a cult favorite and sells for a pretty penny at auction. According to Morris, people still ask him regularly when he’s going to do it again… but given the restrictions of the Master’s Collection promise, the answer has always been “Never.”

 

Well, not quite. Now Woodford has put out a new Sonoma-Cutrer-finished whiskey, only this time Morris is using Pinot Noir barrels instead of Chardonnay to polish off the spirit.

 

The production process is straightforward: Fully matured, cask strength Woodford Reserve (roughly seven years old) is moved from its new oak barrel home to French oak Pinot Noir barrels, where it spends another 10 months. These barrels have seen three vintages of Sonoma-Cutrer (the winery is owned by Woodford parent Brown-Forman), so they’re about at the end of their life for wine barrels. Once the finishing is done, the final product is brought down to 90 proof (the same as standard Woodford) and bottled.

 

I tasted the whiskey with Morris alongside a glass of standard Woodford Reserve for comparison. And man, what an amazing spirit it is.

 

There’s a lot of DNA shared between these two whiskies, as well there should be. The standard Woodford offers strong notes of cherry, walnuts, and cinnamon, and the Pinot Noir finished whiskey builds on that. Butterscotch is the (surprising) initial rush, but over time – I worked my way through two glasses while Morris regaled me with tales of whiskeymaking – you pick up other notes, including dark chocolate, and fun licorice kick on the back end. The Sonoma-Cutrer bottling picks up more fruit as it aerates, while the standard bottling of Woodford sticks close to its nutty, woody core.

 

Amazingly balanced and so much fun to explore, this is one of the finest – if not the finest — Master’s Collection bottling I’ve encountered to date. It’s a whiskey that smartly starts with an already strong base, then builds upon it with a savvy finish. With 24,000 bottles produced (vs. 11,300 of the prior Sonoma-Cutrer bottling), you should be able to track some down if you give it a bit of effort, but you will have to wait until November before you start hounding your local liquor store.

 

What’s up next for these Woodford releases? Morris plays his cards close to the vest but he does reveal that this will be the last Master’s Collection release to feature a special finishing treatment for quite a while. In fact, the Master’s Collection releases have been fully planned out and are now aging in barrels which will cover the distillery’s annual releases through 2021(!) – so any finishing treatments will have to come after that… at which point Morris claims he’ll be preparing for his planned retirement in 2023. Why not start planning a Retirement Edition Bourbon now, I asked Morris. “I hadn’t thought of that,” he replied, looking off into space with a bit of a twinkle in his eye.

 

Update 10/2014: I tried this again in its near-shipping condition and had nearly identical tasting notes. Big cherry character up front, silky chocolate/caramel sauce on the back end, with a kind of funky licorice kick. Great stuff.

 

 

Haven't seen it here yet, either. I wish it was at 94 proof, though.

 

My liquor store needs to figure out their shot and get me my Sonoma Masters bottles!

 

 

 

Every year, Chris Morris releases a special edition of Woodford Reserve called the Master’s Collection. This November will see the ninth release of the Master’s Collection, and yours truly was the very first person outside of Brown-Forman to sample it.

 

I sat down with Master Distiller Morris last night in advance of this bourbon’s formal previewing in San Francisco for a sample and chat. The appearance of Sonoma-Cutrer in the name may have tipped you off already that this is a wine barrel-finished bourbon, and that’s indeed the case. But part of the promise of the Master’s Collection is, in Morris’s own words, that Woodford will never repeat a whiskey. Every year, the company will focus on a different grain, barrel, fermentation process, aging regimen, or other facet of whiskeymaking, but once a Master’s Collection release is sold out, it’s gone.

 

 

The second release of the Master’s Collection way back in 2007 involved a Sonoma-Cutrer Chardonnay finish, and it was a huge hit. The whiskey is now a bit of a cult favorite and sells for a pretty penny at auction. According to Morris, people still ask him regularly when he’s going to do it again… but given the restrictions of the Master’s Collection promise, the answer has always been “Never.”

 

Well, not quite. Now Woodford has put out a new Sonoma-Cutrer-finished whiskey, only this time Morris is using Pinot Noir barrels instead of Chardonnay to polish off the spirit.

 

The production process is straightforward: Fully matured, cask strength Woodford Reserve (roughly seven years old) is moved from its new oak barrel home to French oak Pinot Noir barrels, where it spends another 10 months. These barrels have seen three vintages of Sonoma-Cutrer (the winery is owned by Woodford parent Brown-Forman), so they’re about at the end of their life for wine barrels. Once the finishing is done, the final product is brought down to 90 proof (the same as standard Woodford) and bottled.

 

I tasted the whiskey with Morris alongside a glass of standard Woodford Reserve for comparison. And man, what an amazing spirit it is.

There’s a lot of DNA shared between these two whiskies, as well there should be. The standard Woodford offers strong notes of cherry, walnuts, and cinnamon, and the Pinot Noir finished whiskey builds on that. Butterscotch is the (surprising) initial rush, but over time – I worked my way through two glasses while Morris regaled me with tales of whiskeymaking – you pick up other notes, including dark chocolate, and fun licorice kick on the back end. The Sonoma-Cutrer bottling picks up more fruit as it aerates, while the standard bottling of Woodford sticks close to its nutty, woody core.

 

Amazingly balanced and so much fun to explore, this is one of the finest – if not the finest — Master’s Collection bottling I’ve encountered to date. It’s a whiskey that smartly starts with an already strong base, then builds upon it with a savvy finish. With 24,000 bottles produced (vs. 11,300 of the prior Sonoma-Cutrer bottling), you should be able to track some down if you give it a bit of effort, but you will have to wait until November before you start hounding your local liquor store.

 

What’s up next for these Woodford releases? Morris plays his cards close to the vest but he does reveal that this will be the last Master’s Collection release to feature a special finishing treatment for quite a while. In fact, the Master’s Collection releases have been fully planned out and are now aging in barrels which will cover the distillery’s annual releases through 2021(!) – so any finishing treatments will have to come after that… at which point Morris claims he’ll be preparing for his planned retirement in 2023. Why not start planning a Retirement Edition Bourbon now, I asked Morris. “I hadn’t thought of that,” he replied, looking off into space with a bit of a twinkle in his eye.

 

Update 10/2014: I tried this again in its near-shipping condition and had nearly identical tasting notes. Big cherry character up front, silky chocolate/caramel sauce on the back end, with a kind of funky licorice kick. Great stuff.

 

 

Haven't seen it here yet, either. I wish it was at 94 proof, though.

 

I done drank to much ..lol will be buzzin at work in the morning!!!

Gonna start with my first old fashioned right now.

Gonna start with my first old fashioned right now.

I'll take one!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LOL, my liquor shelf houses 2 fifths of Woodford Reserve Double Oaked, a pint of Woodford Distillers Select, a fifth of Knob Creek, a fifth of Jameson Limited Reserve (18 year), a fifth of Jameson, a fifth of Red Breast, a pint of 180 Everclear (I use it to clean my vaping gear) and 2 fifths of Pastiglie Leone Artemisia Ansinthium (Absinthe, 180 proof imported from Italy). What do you think I like to drink?

 

Gonna start with my first old fashioned right now.

I'll take one!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

Stop on by.

lol..last time i been that way was the casino in cherokee.. 

LOL, my liquor shelf houses 2 fifths of Woodford Reserve Double Oaked, a pint of Woodford Distillers Select, a fifth of Knob Creek, a fifth of Jameson Limited Reserve (18 year), a fifth of Jameson, a fifth of Red Breast, a pint of 180 Everclear (I use it to clean my vaping gear) and 2 fifths of Pastiglie Leone Artemisia Ansinthium (Absinthe, 180 proof imported from Italy). What do you think I like to drink?

Apple pie moonshine...Brewed here in the hills of TN

So Sean, when I muddle my sugar and orange bitters, do I muddle until there is no grain left of my sugar? I forgot to grab the Agave nectar when I was at the store yesterday, so I am stuck using sugar in the raw granules.

 

Admittedly for muddling I am using a spoon on the side of the glass. I know, not the right tool, but it seems easier than using a rounded wooden muddler in the bottom of the glass. Even with the spoon, I wind up with a lot of granules left. They are very fine, but you can see them rolling under my cubes. I thought about using my mortar and pestle, but didn't want to lose any ingredients in the bottom of my mortar. My pestle is too short to use in my rock glass *waits for smartass comments*.

 

LOL, my liquor shelf houses 2 fifths of Woodford Reserve Double Oaked, a pint of Woodford Distillers Select, a fifth of Knob Creek, a fifth of Jameson Limited Reserve (18 year), a fifth of Jameson, a fifth of Red Breast, a pint of 180 Everclear (I use it to clean my vaping gear) and 2 fifths of Pastiglie Leone Artemisia Ansinthium (Absinthe, 180 proof imported from Italy). What do you think I like to drink?

Apple pie moonshine...Brewed here in the hills of TN

 

 

 

The last batch of apple pie I had less than 2 months ago made me sick as hell. I had the shits for 5 days. I'm steering clear of any white for a while.

 

Generally I am a huge fan, but the old man that made the best around here passed in the spring. His grandson is selling off what is left, and that is what I bought.

 

 

LOL, my liquor shelf houses 2 fifths of Woodford Reserve Double Oaked, a pint of Woodford Distillers Select, a fifth of Knob Creek, a fifth of Jameson Limited Reserve (18 year), a fifth of Jameson, a fifth of Red Breast, a pint of 180 Everclear (I use it to clean my vaping gear) and 2 fifths of Pastiglie Leone Artemisia Ansinthium (Absinthe, 180 proof imported from Italy). What do you think I like to drink?

Apple pie moonshine...Brewed here in the hills of TN

 

 

 

The last batch of apple pie I had less than 2 months ago made me sick as hell. I had the shits for 5 days. I'm steering clear of any white for a while.

 

 I get some great apple pie..and peach also never made me sick, and it's smooth and will hit you in the head like a brick out of the blue!

 

 

 

LOL, my liquor shelf houses 2 fifths of Woodford Reserve Double Oaked, a pint of Woodford Distillers Select, a fifth of Knob Creek, a fifth of Jameson Limited Reserve (18 year), a fifth of Jameson, a fifth of Red Breast, a pint of 180 Everclear (I use it to clean my vaping gear) and 2 fifths of Pastiglie Leone Artemisia Ansinthium (Absinthe, 180 proof imported from Italy). What do you think I like to drink?

Apple pie moonshine...Brewed here in the hills of TN

 

 

 

The last batch of apple pie I had less than 2 months ago made me sick as hell. I had the shits for 5 days. I'm steering clear of any white for a while.

 

 I get some great apple pie..and peach also never made me sick, and it's smooth and will hit you in the head like a brick out of the blue!

 

 

Not really a fan of peach. I do like some good persimmons though. An old neighbor of mine made persimmons from my old tree, and muskodine from his vines. I need to get in touch with him, but it has been 7 years, and my old house has been foreclosed on twice, so I am not sure if he still has access to my old tree.

Mmmm... my first 10 ounce old fashioned is officially down. Got a nice buzz.

 

I like using the Knob Creek for it. I can't say it tastes as good as the Double Oaked, as the sweet fruity flavor of the DO compliments the orange bitters very nicely, but I fell soooo much better using $25 9 year old bourbon to mix. DO is too damn good with just a couple cubes to waste in a mixer. Sometimes I wish I didn't go through my period of trying high end whiskeys just to see what I could get from them. It was so much easier on my wallet when Gentleman Jack was "high end".