Whiskey based brine

fwiw here is what I did:

1 Gallon clean water
1 Cup dark brown sugar
1 Cup Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt
1 Cup Jeff's SMF Rib Rub
Sprigs of fresh thyme twisted and bruised

Heat water to a full boil. Add remaining pieces.

Cool to room temp, then overnight in the fridge. I do this to keep the heat down around other food in the fridge.

Just prior to adding meat to brine add 1 to 1 1/2 Cups of Whiskey. I did this once the brine was cold to prevent the alcohol from cooking off. Figure that the smoker will take care of that for me. I have what ever is left in the bottle to use for an injection.

Tomorrow morning I'll have 2 pork shoulders (~15 pounds total) and a chunk of corned-beef in the smoker. 1 shoulder is brined above and will end up as pulled pork. The other is going to be unbrined with chipolete mustard and rub then sliced. The CB is a piece of meat that was given to us when my wife picked up our Christmas ham.