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If you've never tried it, you should muddle a fresh serrano pepper and introduce some of the juice into your margarita. It's not for everybody, but I love the way the spiciness counters the sweetness / tartness.

Haha yep that's the same set I bought under Prime - free shipping and had 'em in 2 days. Only problem is that I'm using the new glasses as an excuse for drinking more whiskey!

I bought the pair for $17.50, which seemed reasonable, but then again, I've never shopped for glassware before. Every other glass we own came in the form of a gift, except for a few promotional beer glasses I've picked up at festivals and such.

Been drinking whiskey neat now for many months, and finally got around to getting some proper Glencairn glasses. Tonight I'm tapping a couple of sister products - Russel Reserve Single Barrel Rye and WT Rare Breed Rye. Slight nod to the Rare Breed Rye, but both are damn good IMO.

Been enjoying this Blonde out of Brenham. On the light side at 5.5% - not that there's anything wrong with that.

Damn does it really have to be this complicated? If you're thirsty ... drink. If you're not thirsty ... don't drink. If your piss is dark yellow ... drink. If your piss is clear ... don't drink.

Diggin' the Union Jack as I wind down the work week!

Is one of those two remaining drops shown in the pic called "Basket"? I go off of both of those routinely but have never figured out if they have names (not that I really care - just curious). By the way, big thanks to whoever cleared that low hanging branch beneath the exit on that first one (easternmost). I recall they even created a bit of a log roll from the cut lumber. Just noticed that this past weekend.

I had the Rare Breed Bourbon before but this is the first time trying the RB Rye, based on @Barry's suggestion. Sipping on some now and it is really smooth and tasty. The 112 proof is a bit low for a barrel proof, but it packs plenty of heat. The nose is fabulous, and the combination of flavors on the palate is indescribably good to me. Just enough spice on the finish to let you know you're drinking a Rye vs. Bourbon. I was tempted by the WhistlePig 10-yr, but for now I'm trying to stay at or under $60 per bottle given how much I've enjoyed what's available in the $45-$60 range. Suppose that will change over time. The guy at TW tried real hard to convince me that I should get this one. Let me know if anybody's tried it. For now I'm really pleased with the RB Rye and glad I picked it up.

Trip to TW today!

Holy shit! This is the sort of line at 14:21 that truly separates pros from joes.

Should this be added to the argument for clips vs. flats, i.e. "you'll never have to go searching for your crank arm when it falls off while riding"?

Sunday morning between 8:30 - 10 conditions for riding were really as good as they can get for Central Texas summer. I had no problem giving it 100% given the mild morning temps and steady breezes. Saw plenty of folks on Picnic and 1/4, but it was mostly quiet on DD, Rim, and Snail. Didn't encounter a single chain link issue the entire ride! 😏

Rode for an hour-and-a-half tonight and it was nice. Didn't see anybody out on the trail at all, which made it even nicer.

It's baaaack!!!!

Sounds like you need to keep your bikes in front of the liquor cabinet as decoys, so that would be thieves will take those instead of your costly stash!

I wouldn't say even that I was a mountain biker at the time, but here is me with my first mountain bike, which I purchased online for $499 in 2008 I think. Had rode a mountain bike once before in upstate NY, and after moving to Austin decided that I wanted to take up the sport. Once I had the bike I checked out ARR's website and decided I should head right over to City Park. Nearly killed myself that day and then decided Walnut Creek was a better place for me to get started.

For something that special, how long do you generally try to make it last? When you do eventually tap into it, will it be a special occasion where you end up drinking half the bottle with friends, or will it be a one-and-done moment where you're just savoring something that is top notch? If when drinking something special like this you end up drinking other stuff at the same time, do you prefer to start with the best stuff or end with the best stuff? Sorry for all of the questions, but I'm just not sure even how I would incorporate something like this into my stash (assuming even that I could get over the initial sticker shock).

Seems we've lost our chief advocate on this topic, but maybe the rest of us can pitch in and raise awareness. I had been on blood thinners for a year after suffering a PE in 2020. After finally stopping the blood thinners, I started having two new symptoms, heart palpitations and pulsating in my ears (called pulsatile tinnitus). After a week of continuous remote monitoring via a device that patches onto your chest, my doctor informed me that the palpitations are something called premature ventricular contractions. While apparently common and mostly benign, in my case the severity and frequency of them led my cardiologist to prescribe a beta blocker, which she said will also help with my rising blood pressure. In fact, it could be higher blood pressure that is triggering both of these symptoms, even though I don't think it's high enough to be labeled hypertension. I feel that I'm at a crossroads now between feeling invincible and feeling vulnerable. I've been on statins for twenty years to keep my cholesterol under control and now I'm going to be taking a beta blocker to control arrhythmia and blood pressure. Past tests have shown some evidence of calcium deposits in my arteries and also indications of mild LVH, but I've never had any signs of slowing down. To the contrary, at 62 I've felt stronger on the bike than I ever have before. Now though I'm having to rethink things. Since I've been monitoring, it's clear that the palpitations start and persist during post-exercise recovery, which according to some papers I've read is not a good sign in terms of cardiovascular mortality. I really don't want to be one of those guys who folks end up saying "died doing what he loved". Conversely though, going down the rabbit hole of trying to figure out all the different cardiovascular related things that can kill you and why, just adds stress and anxiety, which are proven to themselves be contributors toward poor heart health. Suppose I'll spend some time figuring out if there's a happy place in the middle of taking care of yourself and trying to figure out if some inner killer might be lurking. Anyway it goes I believe some more tests will be needed, including an MRA to see if something is going on with the blood vessels in my head to cause the pulsating in my ears. Hope all is going well with the rest of you heart-conscious individuals.

Because of that unfamiliar smokiness of that Hickory Hill Texas Rye, it's essentially sat idle while I finished off most of the rest of my stash. I'm sipping on it neat now though, and it's actually not bad at all - just different. Like so many other things, I suppose you just have to acquire a taste for it. That's not to say I'll rush out to get another bottle, as right now my favorite Rye is the Russel's Reserve Single Barrel. However, I won't turn down the Hickory Hill if offered to me, and may even eventually purchase it again. What's your favorite Rye these days @Barry ?

Starting off the weekend right with this gem from BB. No slouch either at 11.8%!

Seems we were just posting about Oktoberfest brews, but it's already that time of year again! This is one of the best I've had for sure.

This works with AT&T TV streaming service as well. Use it all the time with basketball games so that I don't have to watch all of the commercials. Of course that means jumping in an hour in vs. just 20 min in.