HollisHurlbut
Member
+51|5967
There's a wine thread and there's a beer thread, but there's no liquor thread.  What are your favorite liquors?  What are your favorite cocktails?  What cocktails have you invented?

I will kick it off.

I have become very friendly with whiskeys in the last couple years.  I am sipping on Cooper's Croze (a Jameson blend) as I type to accompany my viewing of a classic NHL game (MIN @ VAN in Rd 2, Game 7 of the 2003 playoffs -- SPOILER ALERT: WE WON!).  Other favorites of mine, in no particular order:
1: Blender's Dog (another Jameson blend)
2: Suntory Toki, a Japanese whisky
3: Tullamore D.E.W. Rum Cask
4: Tullamore D.E.W. 12-year
5: Heaven's Door Double Barrel (a super-smooth bourbon)

Honorable mentions:
Jameson Cask Mates (Stout Edition)
Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey (not recommended straight up, but surprisingly useful for mixing)
Jameson Black Barrel (can you see an Irish trend?)
Vicomte (who knew the French wouldn't fuck up whiskey?)
Knob Creek Maple Whiskey (initially good straight up but too sweet after a few tumblers; makes the list for being a versatile mixer)

I am trying out different whiskeys, figuring out what I like and what I don't.  I'm triangulating my way to my first three-figure bottle of whiskey.  Leading contenders are Tullamore D.E.W.'s 18-year offering (it's Irish, surprised?) and a Japanese whisky, Kaiyo Sherry Cask.  I'm leaning toward the Kaiyo, as it's a limited run.

YOUR TURN, DRUNKARDS!
SuperJail Warden
Gone Forever
+634|3689
I stay away from dark liquors like whiskey. Congeners found in dark liquor gives you hangover while clear liquors like vodka do not.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congener_(beverages)
https://i.imgur.com/xsoGn9X.jpg
HollisHurlbut
Member
+51|5967

SuperJail Warden wrote:

I stay away from dark liquors like whiskey. Congeners found in dark liquor gives you hangover while clear liquors like vodka do not.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congener_(beverages)
I'm too old to drink to get fucked up.  Now I do it because I enjoy the orchestra of volatiles playing their symphony on my tongue.

Not getting drunk greatly reduces hangover effects.

Last edited by HollisHurlbut (2020-04-27 00:32:43)

uziq
Member
+492|3422
i had an extremely nice limited edition sherry cask tallisker once. that was a memorable bottle. the japanese stuff is great in small quantities, too. i tend to favour single-malt overall, bushmills or the rarer welsh varieties if i can get them.

lagavulin 12/16 is my go to winter drink. occasionally when i’m out on a drinking spree with buddies, i’ll order one (or occasionally a double) neat, when i’m sure the tank is full of regular drinks/pints and don’t want to bloat any more. that’s usually a mistake because it just takes the drunkenness to an entirely different plateau or headspace. liquor is definitely staying-in drinks. getting soused on whiskey is very unpleasant. can taste it and smell it for days after, especially the islay stuff, like it’s coming out of every pore.

on that note, in summer months i love making my own old fashioneds. good cocktail to watch movies or read with, alone or in company. one of the few variants of whisk(e)y that girls will get along with. i just throw in a decent mid-range sweet bourbon like maker’s mark or woodford reserve (my two favourites).

Last edited by uziq (2020-04-27 06:57:47)

SuperJail Warden
Gone Forever
+634|3689
I ordered liquor online through the Drizly app. First order had free shipping. What I find interesting about the service is that it actually was cheaper to use than Uber Eats. $4.99 shipping + plus tip.

Meanwhile at Uber Eats
Service fees equal 15% of an orders subtotal. This fee does not apply to restaurants that deliver their own orders. - Small order fees apply when an order's subtotal is less than a certain amount. This fees varies by city, but is either $2 for subtotals less than $10 or $3 for subtotals less than $15.
https://i.imgur.com/xsoGn9X.jpg
KEN-JENNINGS
I am all that is MOD!
+2,973|6602|949

ubereats is beef garbaggio
HollisHurlbut
Member
+51|5967

uziq wrote:

i had an extremely nice limited edition sherry cask tallisker once. that was a memorable bottle. the japanese stuff is great in small quantities, too. i tend to favour single-malt overall, bushmills or the rarer welsh varieties if i can get them.

lagavulin 12/16 is my go to winter drink. occasionally when i’m out on a drinking spree with buddies, i’ll order one (or occasionally a double) neat, when i’m sure the tank is full of regular drinks/pints and don’t want to bloat any more. that’s usually a mistake because it just takes the drunkenness to an entirely different plateau or headspace. liquor is definitely staying-in drinks. getting soused on whiskey is very unpleasant. can taste it and smell it for days after, especially the islay stuff, like it’s coming out of every pore.

on that note, in summer months i love making my own old fashioneds. good cocktail to watch movies or read with, alone or in company. one of the few variants of whisk(e)y that girls will get along with. i just throw in a decent mid-range sweet bourbon like maker’s mark or woodford reserve (my two favourites).
I learned quickly I am not a fan of the Scotch variety of whisky.  While I don't think I've ever tried a Welsh whisky, I suspect it has a similar production method to Scotch.
uziq
Member
+492|3422
irish and welsh tend to be double or triple distilled, whereas lots of scotch is single-malt. can make it very marmite and hard-going as a result. when you find one you like, you really like it.
Dilbert_X
The X stands for
+1,810|6076|eXtreme to the maX
I like some cocktails, don't care about spirits.

A friend of mine ran through his whisky collection, I can sort of see the point but then I'd rather drink vodka followed by coffee to 'appreciate the complex flavours' or whatever it is people drink whisky for.
He's one of these people who likes to think he has expensive tastes, he always buys well into the point where the price has gone exponential but the value is pretty well flat.
Русский военный корабль, иди на хуй!
uziq
Member
+492|3422
anecdotally it seems people keep expensive whiskey or spirits for special occasions or sentimental value. people don't really invest in whiskey as a commodity/stock, do they? i thought that sort of speculation was confined to the wine world. mind you, i lived over the road from a whiskey bar for a few years and it had bottles there well into the $20,000+ category. like anything, people can take it too far. it doesn't hinder your enjoyment of whatever else, though. the only whiskeys i avoid are the jack daniels and jim beams and what have you. they are really hard to drink without a mixer or sweetener hiding the taste.

as far as spirits go, whiskey is one of those ones where you have to invest a certain amount to get acceptable-tasting stuff. wine and gin are way more forgiving.

Last edited by uziq (2020-04-27 15:36:58)

Dilbert_X
The X stands for
+1,810|6076|eXtreme to the maX
Penfolds are just up the road from me, there's a chinese restaurant in town which has every bottle from every batch from about the last twenty years available for a huge price.
At the other end there are the people who have bottles of Jack Daniels 'ageing nicely in the basement'.

Its all something I don't care about.

Last edited by Dilbert_X (2020-04-27 15:53:21)

Русский военный корабль, иди на хуй!
uziq
Member
+492|3422
nice to see you can be as dismissive of fellow alcohol drinkers as other chemical connoisseurs.

'i don't like it so it must be stupid/a fuss about nothing' - dilbert about everything.

were you breastfed into your 20s perchance? i've seen your psychological type before.
Dilbert_X
The X stands for
+1,810|6076|eXtreme to the maX
I said I could see the point, I just don't care. I'm more interested in trying different coffees.
Actually just finding a decent coffee would be an achievement.

Last edited by Dilbert_X (2020-04-27 16:46:40)

Русский военный корабль, иди на хуй!
KEN-JENNINGS
I am all that is MOD!
+2,973|6602|949

I was in Taipei for work and i sat down at the hotel bar after cabbing back from my meetings for the day. I always have a nightcap or two at the hotel bar when i'm traveling for work - when I'm overseas, it helps me sleep through the night, and it's a nice change from staring into the TV abyss or jerking off to make time go by. If you've never been to Taiwan or China, their hospitality game is pretty fucking top notch. I have many stories about being very well taken care of by hotel hospitality people when traveling there. This one is relevant to this thread.

I decide to order a Macallan 18 year (I think). Here I am, excited to be spending my per diem on a nice glass of whisky, when I notice the bartender struggling to open the bottle. Nothing out of the ordinary, I suppose. Maybe I'm basking in the glow of the Taiwan Beer I just consumed (Gold Medal, a really good lager!), but alarm bells did not go off until i saw bits of a cork in the fresh bottle. No matter, the incredibly capable bartender will come up with some ingenious solution heretofore hidden away in the taiwanese bartending culture. Then i see the bartender go to the dishwasher and pull out a freshly cleaned glass- a nice touch, I thought. Nothing but the best for the American traveler ordering top shelf whisky at the hotel bar. I see the bartender pour the cork-diseased liquid in to the sparkling clean glass. I'm no snob when it comes to alcohol, but even in my slightly inebriated state I started fidgeting with the salty peanut and cracker menagerie in front of me. The bartender lays the glass down, and I grab it suspiciously. The glass is noticeably warm! It was straight out of the dry-cycle! I had just been served a $25 glass of cork whisky in a hot glass!

I said nothing, afraid the obvious language barrier would lead to more caricatures of The American Traveler.

I also book everything to the room, because the hotels just add a line item "food and beverage" for each day instead of itemizing each purchase. That way my work has no idea that i'm spending my per diem on poorly made hotel bar quesadillas and hot 18 year olds.
Dilbert_X
The X stands for
+1,810|6076|eXtreme to the maX
If a stripper says I need to buy $100 shots then I buy $100 shots, obviously.
Apart from that I don't think I've ever bought spirits by the glass.
I did polish off a bottle of merlot by myself once, Ford used to put us up here and didn't care what we put on expenses.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/Abbaye_Notre-Dame_des_Sept-Fontaines_Fagnon_Ardennes_France_V1.JPG
Русский военный корабль, иди на хуй!
HollisHurlbut
Member
+51|5967

uziq wrote:

anecdotally it seems people keep expensive whiskey or spirits for special occasions or sentimental value. people don't really invest in whiskey as a commodity/stock, do they?
It may be a smaller population, but it's out there.  I ran across a rare whisky auction/consignment website a few months ago where bottles of many spirituous beverages were available for purchase, including whiskys.  Some of them looked as if they'd been hauled up from shipwreck after being submerged for a century.  In fact, I'm pretty sure some had been.  Vintages at least as old as the mid-1700's were available.

I suspect it's a rather niche market.
unnamednewbie13
Moderator
+2,053|6742|PNW

My unexciting experience with liquor extends to rum & coke (though I couldn't say what kind of rum) I enjoyed, and some of a Fireball that was like drinking liquefied cinnamon candies. Blech.

Pretty much a novice.
uziq
Member
+492|3422
rum and ginger beer was a staple of my student days, especially the hazier nights spent south of the river in london among what dilbert would no doubt find a frighteningly multi-cultural milieu. those nefarious caribs are really onto something!
Dilbert_X
The X stands for
+1,810|6076|eXtreme to the maX
Captain Morgan and Coke was our thing, but of course the rich kids were all on Pimms - basically Moscato for toffs.
Русский военный корабль, иди на хуй!
uziq
Member
+492|3422
to drink pimms you need a cricket pavilion, a university quad or a slow bend in the river with a meadow. pimms on a night out? at a party? absolutely not.

i spent many a summer day idling away reading pooehms with a pitcher of pimms here. i see your french chateau and raise you an english one.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/Founder%27s_Building%2C_Royal_Holloway%2C_south_quad.jpg
Dilbert_X
The X stands for
+1,810|6076|eXtreme to the maX
Thats one odd hotel.
Русский военный корабль, иди на хуй!
uziq
Member
+492|3422
if only i'd shelled kids in the middle-east for a few years, i could have been there on someone else's dime or tab, as well.
Dilbert_X
The X stands for
+1,810|6076|eXtreme to the maX
Anyway.

Beer and cider always seemed like more social drinks, if a bit gassy, than spirits.
I really can't recall anyone I've known drinking shorts socially, except at that time of night when most people go home but the last few want to go unconscious and wake up in a park.
Русский военный корабль, иди на хуй!
uziq
Member
+492|3422
well cocktails are a very obvious exception, there. girls don't drink pints, really. and an increasing number of my male friends (increasingly portly, increasingly balding, increasingly middle-aged) opt for mixers over pints. it's not the gas that's the problem, it's the copious calories. lots of my friends who want to lose weight or get in shape without stopping the party-train switch to gin/vodka/rum.

i generally start my evenings/social occasions with a few pints but then switch to something else. being drunk and extremely full of liquid is not a good sensation. it's even worse on a hot sunny day.
KEN-JENNINGS
I am all that is MOD!
+2,973|6602|949

I'm not a big liquor fan, but I enjoy the odd scotch or whisky from time to time. I'll order a moscow mule at the bar every once in a while, and if i'm at a gathering, i'll be nice and try a homemade cocktail or two.

I made this for a summer pool party two years ago. I didn't have any but I heard it was good. It was a fucking mess to make. It also ended up being around $200 all said and done. Cool party favor, would not do again.

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