Beer, Beer, good by Beer...

Changes...

I tend to have a personality type that supports one of two personal logics.

1) If it works, leave it alone
or
2) If you are comfortable with something, make a change

This all goes back to a sermon I heard as a young man, where the Paster handed out rubber bands to the entire church. He went on to speak about how we get comfortable in our routine, and that if you don't stretch your self from time to time you will grow brittle, just like a rubber band will if it is not stretched and flexed from time to time.

Well time to stretch and flex, in a spirits kind of way. (no typo there)

Beer, how I love you, be free...for now

I love beer, I love beer so much when I drive past a wheat field I get dirty looks from the seed pods. Every time I even get close to hops you can hear it quivering with fear.

It could be said that I have become a Beer snob, drink good beer, imports, domestics, small batch, craft brew, home brew. I have had beer from every region of the world that makes beer. Some of them I drink often, for example Belgium ales. Some of them I will not drink ever again, African wheat. But I feel that I have not given the proper attention to other mediums of alcohol delivery.

Bring in the Spirits...

While I know a lot of beer, I know very little about spirits. I don't drink hard liquor much. Yea I will have some scotch from time to time, but I cant sit here and tell you that I only like single malt, barrel finished, and not to much peet. Well I can say that, cause I tend to embrace scotch, but what about vodka, bourbon, whiskey. While getting a cheeseburger last night my wife and I were sitting at the bar, and I relied that i did not even know what some of the bottles on the shelf are, let along what they taste like.

Soooooooooooo...

Good by beer, hello spirits.

For the next 6 months to a year, I will not drink a beer, my full attention will be placed on learning about, comparing, tasting and experiencing the full gambit of what the spirits world has to offer.

Now for some guide lines...

This goal will be accomplished by using the following rules.

Rule #1) No mixed drinks.
Reason: Men should never, EVER order an appitini, UNLESS they are ordering a vodka on ice with it, AND they better have a escort for the evening that dose not like vodka!

Rule #2) Taste everything in its purest form
The first time I order something, its going to be the same way I order scotch, in a glass, two ice cubes.

The reason for these two rules is how do you know what something tastes like, if you have only had it mixed up with something else.

Rule 3) Before or after drinking something new, learn of its history. Part of what I enjoy about beer is know what goes into the beer I like to drink, where it comes from, where its made, how its made, what its made from.

Update to follow as I move down this new exploratory road.

For the record, the last beer I drink. Chimay Ale, it was very nice.

I am also going to give my self two weeks to reset my taste buds and do some base resource on spirits, where they come from, how they are made, what they are made with, and what are the goods, the bads and the uglys.