Got to try some Johnny Walker Blue Label a while back. I know there's better stuff, but this stunned me with the way it just melted in my mouth. Still, too expensive IMHO.
First here was Bud Lite. I remember being struck with how badly it tasted, but just kept sipping it until I got used to it. You'll never believe this, but that one Bud Lite got me buzzed for the rest of the afternoon.
I'm with nakros. In fact, my favorite non-beer booze is 18-year-old Glen.
For blended, Black Label is nice but Blue Label is superb (fortunately, I wasn't the one who bought the bottle :D).
Still, gimme my beer. B vitamins ftw. :)
I looked at the prospect of bottling 2 zillion 12-oz bottles per batch, so I bought some 1L flip-top bottles. I can fill 13-16 really quickly and be done with it. Then I stash a couple in the fridge door for the weekends.
The homebrew / craftbrew is great and has really helped me appreciate beer. Sometimes, though, it's nice to just have a cold refreshing brew that I don't have to think about.
Darwin, that just sucks. I hope you guys bounce back quickly, and that the insurance covers more than just some of it. ... not sure RDWHAHB will help here... It's great you're close with the cops and the neighbors; maybe you all can learn one anothers' schedules and keep an eye out for this...
It's true, Carl Sagan's Cosmos series is one of my favorite shows.
Yes, we're just specks. But this speck of life is all I've got, so I'm going to max it out.
My thoughts, as a complete novice.
A beginner is someone like me, who can follow brew instructions but doesn't know everything about the mechanics (chemistry and microbiology) behind what's being done.
An intermediate person understands all of the instructions and why they're followed...