GentDaily

Reblog: Wired's How to Taste Whisky

Image from HERE

We recently stumbled upon Wired's How to forum and saw a complete breakdown that's all about the proper way to taste whisky. Despite the whisky drinkin' shenanigans that went on during your collegiate years, this gentlemanly beverage of choice isn't supposed to be tossed back with the quickness. Nope, it's a sip and savor technique that you need to know. Click HERE for the complete article or see our cliff notes version below!

1. Choose a glass: Look for something that has a stem and is tulip shaped (sherry or snifter will do)

2. Prepare the glass: Pour a bit of whisky into the glass and swirl it to cover the entire inside then toss the whisky.

3. Pour: Holding only the stem from now on, pour one ounce into glass.

4. Sniff: Sniffing your whisky is a pertinent part of the process, really inhale and smell all the undertones.

5. Add water: Only add a splash of distilled water to open up your whisky.

6. Finally, taste it: Slowly sip and roll every sip around in your mouth.

7. Finish it off: After two or three long, slow tastes...you can go ahead and throw it back, partner!

Sweet Site: How to Keep Track of Your Finances - Mint.com

Maybe you're already a Mint devotee or maybe you've just heard about the site but are still skeptical. There's also a possibility that you've never heard of Mint and we're about to introduce you to your newest financial obsession. So what the heck is Mint? It's a FREE online site that helps you track, manage, create and understand your budget and spending. The setup is totally easy (less than 5 minutes) and it's safe and secure. 

When you're all finished setting up, you'll be able to see your accounts (everything from your home loan to student loans to investment accounts) ALL together on one screen. Really, it's a beautiful thing...so get on board with Mint and get those finances completely under control.

How to: Build Your Own Backyard Games

Football season is upon us and with that comes backyard bbq's, cold beers, enjoying fall weather and non-stop laughter with good friends. It's also a great time to try your hand at building a backyard game so when we stumbled up THIS link, we knew we had to share. We already featured how to make a cornhole game right HERE so today's post highlights four other great backyard games, below. Straight from the This Old House website, each link below includes step-by-step instructions and a video tutorial. 

1. Shishkaball Drop Ball Game - How to build it for $73 HERE

2. Ladder Golf Game - How to build it for $48 HERE

3. Pipe Ball Lawn Game - How to build it for $46 HERE

4. Kubb (Viking Chess) Game - How to build it for $40 HERE

How to: Bait a Hook

Beckett and I were raised by a father that loved to fish and taught all four of his children how to fish, from a very young age. This is still one of my favorite pastimes...fishin' with Dad. Right before dawn my Dad and all four kids would pile into our minivan, pulling the boat behind, ready for the days adventure. Although you might think the highlight of our numerous trips were the amazing fish we reeled in (and we did) but it was actually that fact that while Mom was home relaxing, we scarfed down Little Debbie's and sipped on Diet Cokes. Ahhhh, the good ol' days.

Well, flash forward 20+ years and I still love to fish and will never take for granted the fact that I can bait a hook with the best of 'em. Not kidding, you give me any sort of live bait and I actually know where the hook should go. I'm not saying I won't let out a squeal if it moves too much or feel bad about hurting this sweet animal, but I surely know how to do it. Proof: the hook is threaded on a worm, tail hooked on a bigger mullet and most likely thorax/tail hooked on shrimp. 

Gents...if I could complete this task even as a squirmy 8 year old girl, then I think this is a skill that every discerning fellow should at least know a thing or two about. So without further ado, we spotted THIS great PDF tutorial/tip sheet on all things baiting a hook. You can also download the tutorial straight from our site right HERE. So there you have it, baiting a hook 101.