Aging Alcohol At Home With American Oak Wood Barrel

So a couple of posts ago I talked about my favorite thing my husband and I do to stay connected. Every night right after we get the kids to bed we go out to the garden, water the plants, sip a glass of whiskey and coke, and we vent or talk about anything on our minds. Kids been extra stressful? Hard day at work? Have one of us done something to bother the other? Great, have a glass of whiskey and talk about it!

No we are not drunks. We aren't alcoholics. We simply both enjoy the taste of a good whiskey and this gives us "together time". This makes us a better couple, not because of the alcohol, but because of the communication. However we both really like the alcohol part! So we started what is getting called the 'Whiskey collection'. I started buying things for my husband related to whiskey. It started with a decanter, then some special whiskey glasses. The collection has grown, and now I have added this Oak Wood Barrel.

Curing and Using Your Oak Barrel

When we first got the barrel we cured it. Curing helps prevent leaks, but it also keeps the wood from drinking your liquor! Yes I said the wood would drink your alcohol! If not cured, the alcohol will absorb into the wood.

So rinse the barrel well. Then fill it with hot water. Let it sit for 2-4 days. This will seal it, and make sure that the wood expands with water instead of absorbing your alcohol.

Once you have cured your barrel get yourself a funnel. Use the funnel to fill with any liquor. You can use this just to store your liquor in, or you can use it to age your alcohol.

My husband filled his Oak Barrel with a bottle of Bullet Bourbon and we agreed that it will stay there until next year on my birthday in June.

We love it!

Get one for yourself here!

Drink Coasters + Holder + Ice Ball Mold Maker

I took a couple days to determine which of my blogs I wanted to put this review on. I know that coasters or ice balls don't exactly fit in with the garden or homesteading.

What I do know though is my husband and I have a little habit that helps keep our marriage great. Life with 3 kids, work, child events, and homesteading is stressful! There aren't enough hours in the day.

Neither my husband or I consume large amount of alcohol anymore. What we do enjoy is a nice glass of whiskey and coke. Every night after we get all the kids to bed we each pour a glass. Then we go out back, water our plants, drink our whiskey, and talk about life. This is our time to talk about our future, things that may be bothering us, things we are looking forward to, or just complaining about the mosquitoes.

No matter what we talk about in that time, it still gives us a nice 30 minutes, uninterrupted by children to communicate. When we are done we come back in and watch some tv while my hubby (if it's the weekend) has another drink.

Because of our Whiskey tradition we have started collecting Whiskey related items. Decanters, whiskey glasses, that sort of thing. So when I got an opportunity from Wise Palace to review this coaster and ice ball kit my husband and I were happy to add to the collection.

Wise Palace Coasters and Ice Mold

So far we are really liking these. They look nice. We love the silicone coasters for several reasons:

• We don't have to worry about them getting broke by us. 
• We don't have to worry about the kids messing them up. 
• They are super easy to clean. 
• They are large enough that even if very tipsy you can still land the average glass on them.
• They grip the table very well unlike some coasters we have tried that slide around a lot. 

So these are a big hit in our house! They are super functional.

I have to admit, my husband and I have a corny pervy relationship. Double entendres are like a second language in our home. So my husband has really enjoyed these ice molds for many reasons! The common night time terms lately are "Can you grab my cold balls out the freezer" "Do you need an icy nipple in your glass" and "You want to take more pictures of my whiskey balls". Lol
My husband gives these as high a rating as he can!

Overall I have nothing but positives to say about these! Absolutely great product! Get yours here!