Hot Seat Sunday AMA: Spdrjrslm Edition

The thread that's Still Going™! This is an AMA thread with a twist – the 'victim' gets to name who is next up in the rotation.

There are some rules:

• Try picking someone who hasn't gone yet
• It has to be someone who actively posts here
• No dead people (i.e. notcharlesmanson isn't eligible)
• Preferably a name that people recognize, 'regular poster' means someone who is a) alive and b) has posted in the last three months
• Complete the FAQ before posting

If you do the hot seat, you can add up to three names to the list of people who are potential victims.

Possible: u/AlfredPudding, u/Apexified, u/enyawreklaw, u/shyndo, u/NaCHeF, u/duncanyoyo1, u/mixman0g, u/kuri_sanTou, u/QueenBuzyBee, u/StardustCoyote, u/SteveTC, u/Nstewart, u/EyeMSam, u/Zany1337, u/glasschalice

Already Done: u/juthinc, u/isuamadog, u/humanpuck, u/eyemakepizza, u/ID10-T, u/vApe_Escape, u/mlNikon, u/EdibleMalfunction, u/Foment_Life, u/Kittybit8, u/Vishousness, u/staybert, u/TeslaDelMar, u/UnappreciatedRobot, u/modivin, u/Max-Savage, u/FieldGreens, u/T-a-r-a-x, u/wolfwheeler, u/SpiderJRusalem, u/hesherette

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

How'd you get your handle?

One of my favorite comic characters of all time is Spider Jerusalem from Transmetropolitan. He's pretty much Hunter S. Thompson living in a sort of distopian future. If you're into that kind of thing, check it out. It's great.

How long have you been mixing for?

I started my DIY journey quite a long time ago when recipes like Mustard Milk were king. Back then I never really produced anything all that great, but it was cheaper than commercial and I could supply myself and my friends with what they needed to get them by. After a while I gave up on creating my own recipes and just made what I found on the subreddit or on ATF.

I only really started to attempt my own recipes again in February of 2021 after being invited to participate in the Mixers Club. This really got me back into things and I learned a lot in a very short period of time there, as well as the Discord which I found sometime in 2020.

MTL or DTL?

As much as I've tried to enjoy MTL I'm a DTL kind of guy that pretty much only runs dual coil atties on mechs anymore. The reception to that is finding that I occasionally enjoy a boro mod or a single coiler that's more RDL.

Current flavor or profile obsession?

Oof. That's quite the question. I love a little bit of everything, but lately I've been pretty obsessed with black licorice. Wolf and I have been bouncing a lot of ideas around about ice creams that have yielded done pretty cool results. Other than that I really like messing around with cocktail type recipes or odd flavor combinations, but I don't really have a specific thing that I'm after until a silly idea pops into my head.

Most/Least disappointing flavors that was/not as expected? Secret Weapon?

I can't really think of anything that disappointed me too greatly. That being said I have a lot of flavors I haven't really touched yet. I tend to do a lot of research when digging into what flavors to buy so I've mostly stayed away from the common offenders. If I had to come up with the most disappointing flavors I have used it tasted in a recipe I would have to say LA Lemonade and INW Cactus. LA Lemonade makes everything taste like watered down lemon water to me. INW Cactus has its place, but I can generally pick it out in just about anything and I'm not a huge fan.

I'm not really sure I have a secret weapon. There are flavors I have used repeatedly, but that's because they worked with what I was trying to accomplish. I am really digging the ice cream base I've been using lately that you can find in my CVMICC - A Creamy Vanilla Mint Ice Cream Cone. The cone layer in that has also been something I've enjoyed throwing in other recipes. The ice cream base was something Wolf and I talked about and the cone base is based on a layer in Wolf's Hisoka recipe.

Mixing Milestone?

I think the first real one was getting positive feedback in Mixers Club that led to me publishing my first recipes on ATF. That was a pretty big moment for me and it's really what got me going. The other big thing was being nominated for recipe of the year for two of my recipes. I've also had a couple of my recipes talked about on Noted, which is always a nice surprise.

Recipes you admire/love?

That's a tough one, because there have been so many since I really started diving deep since 2020. I think it's easier for me to name mixers that have really inspired me with their recipes. Some of my absolute favorite mixers have been Fomentlife, Wolfwheeler, Isuamadog, and Kittybit. There are others, but if I was going to talk about everything and everyone this would be a mile long post.

Fomentlife is incredibly thoughtful with his mixing and what I've tried from him is ridiculously accurate. A couple favorites are Irish Coffee and Campfire Nights.

Wolfwheeler was the guy that always made really interesting looking stuff with flavors I never had. So I fixed that and have really been enjoying what he's been putting out there. Even though my flavor stash has now become almost unmanageable. Thanks, Wolf.

Isuamadog does all the cool things I wish I could pull off with tobaccos.

Kittybit has some really great recipes, but I'm particularly fond of his work in the realm of black licorice.

White whale?

I have yet to come up with a cheesecake that makes me happy. I'm not really sure I'd call it a white whale as I'm not usually chasing that one down. I just revisit it from time to time. I had always wanted a perfect White Russian recipe, but I think I've found that in recipes from others now, so I don't feel the need to chase that down.

How would you describe your mixing style?

My v1 mixes are almost exclusively using what I'd call the kitchen sink method. I get an idea and try to flesh it out in a recipe on ATF with what I think will work. If it's close enough I'll tweak it until I'm happy. If it isn't I usually make a "lite" version, paring down the flavors to get a better idea of what is going on in the mix and then adding back in from there.

Advice for new mixers?

Use the resources available to you to assist you in your mixing. For a new mixer, start simple. Try other people's recipes, as I find that it really helps me understand how certain things work together. Lean on the other mixers in the community, especially the more experienced ones. You can learn a lot that will help you on your own DIY journey. Don't take things too seriously, just get weird with it and have fun.