Spirits & Liquor

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Pick your poison

  • Total voters
    124
Randall Fragg said:
Eli is great. Highly recommend it as a fairly affordable bourbon. If you can get it, Buffalo Trace and Henry McKenna Bonded are similarly priced and excellent bourbons.
Haven't heard anything about Roku, but I've been interested in giving it a try.
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Seconding Buffalo Trace, in quality it tastes like some bourbons priced $10 higher.
 
Man vs persistent rat said:
Seconding Buffalo Trace, in quality it tastes like some bourbons priced $10 higher.
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Would these be a good choice for a person starting out with quality Bourbon?

I have a friend who favors 'retail' bourbons and whiskies. He mostly drinks Jack Daniels or Jim Beam. His entire booze supply was recently wiped out and I want to get him something a little better then his usual fare. I'm happy to spend the money, but I want to make sure it's something compatible with his and my pedestrian tastes.
 
Imago said:
Would these be a good choice for a person starting out with quality Bourbon?

I have a friend who favors 'retail' bourbons and whiskies. He mostly drinks Jack Daniels or Jim Beam. His entire booze supply was recently wiped out and I want to get him something a little better then his usual fare. I'm happy to spend the money, but I want to make sure it's something compatible with his and my pedestrian tastes.
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I am definitely not an expert, but Buffalo Trace I think is a price-performance product in the US and considered fairly cheap/affordable. It's also rather mellow, similar to the cheapest Woodford although IMO with a bit more flavour. For something a little fancier Jefferson's is reliable, as is Four Roses (though not their entry one - Small Batch/Single Barrel are both good if you can find them on sale), or Baker's. For something a little less standard, Kentucky Vintage has a great sour mash flavour. Prices are a little hard to judge due to international variance, KV is pretty good value where I live, but may not be elsewhere.
 
I would second Buffalo Trace as a good bourbon to branch out to from Jack and Jim Beam. I also really like Old Forester, Elijah Craig, and Bulliet around that price point. Honestly if you're an American there are so many great options at reasonable prices. The bourbon distinction is almost always a marker of quality, even cheap stuff like Evan Williams is drinkable neat.
 
Blini Cat said:
I would second Buffalo Trace as a good bourbon to branch out to from Jack and Jim Beam. I also really like Old Forester, Elijah Craig, and Bulliet around that price point. Honestly if you're an American there are so many great options at reasonable prices. The bourbon distinction is almost always a marker of quality, even cheap stuff like Evan Williams is drinkable neat.
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Evan Williams Single Barrel is actually pretty good if you like your bourbon more dry and less sweet. It makes a great Manhattan.
 
What about weeb shit? I've had suntory toki for a while now and I want to know how it ranks.
 
Shadfan666xxx000 said:
What about weeb shit? I've had suntory toki for a while now and I want to know how it ranks.
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I think I tried that once. Very smooth over ice. I liked it. The guy who bought it was used to doing shots, and he didn't like it until I showed him it was a sipping whiskey.
 
Suntory Toki Blended NAS 43%. Mellow grain nose, sweet flavour, grape, banana, lacking malted/biscuit flavour of the milder malted Scotch/Irish whiskies. Fragrant and mellow but not perfumed, with a very subtle sourness that is not pronounced, but helps negate blandness (2019/05) 85/100
It's comparable to grain Scotches in flavour, but even at the low age, it's better than a lot of those.
 
I haven't really bought much booze since I moved to Alabama - we've got one of those shit systems where it all has to go through a board, which limits what you can buy, where you buy it, etc.

In college I used to be a scotch man, but as I aged my ability to tolerate my booze tasting like the inside of a chimney diminished. I drink very little whiskey at all any more, as a result.

These days I'm mostly about the nicer brandies, like armagnac or calvados, both of which I'm particularly fond of. Although I'm not a purist; I'm working through a bottle of Laird's 7 1/2 Year apple brandy right now.

I don't mind a rum now and again, but most rum is kinda shite to just drink. It's good to make deserts with, though.

And I'm not ashamed to admit I like some of the softer things, too. Irish creme (St. Brendan's, by preference, not Bailey's), and some Italian liqueurs, particularly amaretto... Saliza if I can get it, which isn't fucking often, and Disaronno if not. I used to always keep a bottle of the neon green shit around (Midori), which I liked mixed with some sodas, but I haven't bought one in a couple of years now.

---

All that having been said, I've seen too many family members become alcoholics. My mother struggled with drinking all her life - never quite to the point of being an alcoholic, exactly, but she would buy cheap shit behind our backs and hide the bottles, and she would go through cycles of this, then she'd dry out for a period, then repeat. We don't really know how bad it was, for sure. Most of my uncles and aunts were worse than she was. Most of my family on her side also smoke(d) like chimneys their entire lives. I recognize that my bloodline is not a good one to tempt fate with - I never drink more than a single drink a day, it's a rule I've only broken a handful of times, all while I was in college. And I've never tempted the Tobaccocubus, either.

And even at that - the handful of times I've drank more than I allow myself now, I hated the feeling of intoxication immensely. There's nothing remotely attractive about "getting my drunk on", or whatever. Quite the opposite.

Long story short, "I can appreciate booze, but, even at my drinkiest, I don't drink much." Which means I tend to favor things that I enjoy the taste of, and don't give much consideration to how much it costs - I don't go through enough of it to really worry too much. I'm not rich; I'm not buying two-hundred-dollar bottles or anything, but if I spend fifty or sixty bucks on a bottle, well, it's going to last me a year or two, probably, minimum. I've got at least one bottle that's been with me through at least two moves now.
 
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I retrospect, I really miss navy strength rum. I never thought I'd feel alone without a drink before, but god that was the good stuff. Liquor laws are shit.
 
I’m really into root beer floats right now, I just love them.

1 ounce root beer schnapps
1/2 ounce vanilla vodka
Heavy cream

Pour over ice
 
MembersSchoolPizza said:
In college I used to be a scotch man, but as I aged my ability to tolerate my booze tasting like the inside of a chimney diminished. I drink very little whiskey at all any more, as a result.
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I definitely could not afford scotch in college! I wish I could but I don't think my palate was ready for it yet anyways. I would drink a lot of budget vodka and whiskies between keg stands in those days. I'll still find value blended scotches like Monkey Shoulder etc. On special occasions I'll get Lagavulin and pair it with a nice cigar. Just curious what were your preferred scotches?
 
Revel said:
I definitely could not afford scotch in college! I wish I could but I don't think my palate was ready for it yet anyways. I would drink a lot of budget vodka and whiskies between keg stands in those days. I'll still find value blended scotches like Monkey Shoulder etc. On special occasions I'll get Lagavulin and pair it with a nice cigar. Just curious what were your preferred scotches?
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Cheaper stuff, I wasn't rich either. Chivas Regal was my go-to, most of the time. Glenfiddich, if I had a few more dollars to spend that trip to the store. I was given a bottle of Laphroig, wasn't particularly fond of it (Too peaty, I had already started to loose my appreciation for the peat by that point).

A friend was given a bottle of JW Blue by his phd advisor when he finished, I got to taste that. Was wonderful, but I'm not spending 200 a bottle.

I was by no sense of the word a connoisseur, I fear.
 
I drink quite a bit of shitty blended scotch - there's plenty out there. Inver House is drinkable for something that comes in a plastic bottle. Cutty is pretty good imo. Famous Grouse even better. I love a scotch soda so all of these are fine.
Pineapple Fox said:
I’m really into root beer floats right now, I just love them.

1 ounce root beer schnapps
1/2 ounce vanilla vodka
Heavy cream

Pour over ice
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I once found a bottle of a very nice herbal liqueur simply called "Root" by a company called Art in the Age which made limited edition spirits. Its a very delicious spirit, apparently based on an early American root beer recipe. It was really great for stuff like this but it was so good and expensive I felt bad mixing it. Unfortunately the company seems to have discontinued their products. They also made a product called "Sage" which was a lot like a gin with juniper replaced by other botanicals. Made an awesome martini.
 
Blini Cat said:
I drink quite a bit of shitty blended scotch - there's plenty out there. Inver House is drinkable for something that comes in a plastic bottle. Cutty is pretty good imo. Famous Grouse even better. I love a scotch soda so all of these are fine.

I once found a bottle of a very nice herbal liqueur simply called "Root" by a company called Art in the Age which made limited edition spirits. Its a very delicious spirit, apparently based on an early American root beer recipe. It was really great for stuff like this but it was so good and expensive I felt bad mixing it. Unfortunately the company seems to have discontinued their products. They also made a product called "Sage" which was a lot like a gin with juniper replaced by other botanicals. Made an awesome martini.
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This sounds like something I need to try! Thank you for the for recommendation 🍻
 
Blini Cat said:
I once found a bottle of a very nice herbal liqueur simply called "Root" by a company called Art in the Age which made limited edition spirits. Its a very delicious spirit, apparently based on an early American root beer recipe.
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that sounds interesting, how does it taste? Jägermeister? Amaretto?
 
Well this is a thing
IMG_20190922_110444.jpg
 
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