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Liquor, liqueor and cocktails
DouglasDanger
PennsylvaniaRegistered User regular
PennsylvaniaRegistered User regular
I'm looking to start making cocktails or whatever
I know I need one of those shaker things and some other stuff...
like this kit, maybe?
But what sorts of booze should I have on hand and how long do things keep?
Like I had people over last week, and it was either coffee, beer or tap water, you know
I try to keep an easy pilsner around and something else, usually some variety of IPA...
But there's this whole world of liquor and liqueor? What's liqueor anyway? And why is my phone fighting with me? And cocktails!
Here we go, many thanks @Lost Salient
What are people's favorite cocktails?
I know I need one of those shaker things and some other stuff...
like this kit, maybe?
But what sorts of booze should I have on hand and how long do things keep?
Like I had people over last week, and it was either coffee, beer or tap water, you know
I try to keep an easy pilsner around and something else, usually some variety of IPA...
But there's this whole world of liquor and liqueor? What's liqueor anyway? And why is my phone fighting with me? And cocktails!
Lost Salient wrote: »
You should make a thread for hard liquor. I like hard liquor.
It depends on how extensive you want your collection to be. You can google "wet bar must-have" lists, but they range from barebones to LUDICROUSLY expensive, so. I guess my question is, do you want to start seriously crafting cocktails, or just be able to throw together a martini or a manhattan if someone wants one? If you are only looking to do the latter, here's what I would consider the very basic basics:
Bourbon (or rye, but bourbon is in general more affordable and unless you're getting finicky you can sub them for one another)
Vodka
Gin
Tequila
Vermouth (both sweet and dry, or if you're only going to do one I'd say dry)
Angostura bitters
Tonic water
Now that said here's a slightly expanded list, that lets you do a little more and fancier drinks:
Bourbon
Rye
Tequila
Rum (your choice - I have spiced on hand because I tend to like drinks involving it more, but like, there's zero point for me to own multiple types of rum because I am not allowed to drink it myself, and I just don't use it that much)
Vodka
Gin
Sweet Vermouth
Dry Vermouth
Cognac or brandy or both
An orange liqueur of some kind
An anise liquor (I have Pernod cause I kinda like it)
Campari
Peychaud's
Angostura
Tonic water
Club soda
I don't list scotch on that because unless you are a scotch drinker, it's kind of an expensive thing to buy and keep around. I don't believe anyone will think less of you for not stocking scotch if you don't drink it. Annd... I think that honestly a good rule of thumb to stocking a wet bar for yourself is to buy the true staples in the first list (give or take for personal preferences), and then expand them as you come up with drinks you like and want to try your hand at. Right now I'm looking to buy Benedictine, because I love Vieux Carrés.
Here we go, many thanks @Lost Salient
What are people's favorite cocktails?
DouglasDanger on
+4
Posts
Steam ID - VeldrinD
So my favourite cocktail is the perfect manhattan.
"Sandra has a good solid anti-murderer vibe. My skin felt very secure and sufficiently attached to my body when I met her. Also my organs." HAIL SATAN
Liquor in the rear.
Most hard liquor will keep pretty much indefinitely, especially if it's in a temperature controlled, not-hot place. Snobs recommend decanting to keep air out. I am not a snob and am not that worried.
Liqueurs and fortified wines and such you need to be aware will lose deliciousness over time... or so I'm told... I've never had a liqueur go off on me, and as inveterate Manhattan drinkers we power through vermouth too quickly for it to turn. It'll last a good couple months though, I'd expect. Mine are a few (like three or four I think?) months old and they're fine.
Also that kit is a good starter in terms of what it includes - you'll want a jigger and a shaker - but the long spoon isn't super necessary unless you're getting really complicated or making pitchers of mixed drinks, in my opinion. My friends who are bartenders use it at the bar but not at home. I own one and use it when I'm making batches of Manhattans (see above). What's more useful in my opinion is a muddler and/or a strainer. And it's nice to have proper glassware... (She says, because she longs for sets of proper glassware in her home.)
"Sandra has a good solid anti-murderer vibe. My skin felt very secure and sufficiently attached to my body when I met her. Also my organs." HAIL SATAN
E: I started watching that video and the way Jamie Oliver said "negroni" the first time made me very uncomfortable
"Sandra has a good solid anti-murderer vibe. My skin felt very secure and sufficiently attached to my body when I met her. Also my organs." HAIL SATAN
If I'm at a cocktail bar or a decent restaurant I'll usually get something involving whiskey, tequila, or rum. I like a good old fashioned a lot, and tend toward something like that if I'm at like a steakhouse or something.
I also am a fan of getting sweet fruity tropical drinks because fuck it, they're delicious.
Can't speak to a Manhattan with dry as well as sweet but high West is some good shit.
I've been drinking Willett lately, on the rocks for the most part, smells real nice.
If i'm out and feeling fancy I'll go for an Old Fashioned or a Whiskey Sour.
Steam
If you like manhattans I recommend giving the perfect version a shot. It's a bit less sweet.
Another good go-to home cocktail is an Old Pal:
"Sandra has a good solid anti-murderer vibe. My skin felt very secure and sufficiently attached to my body when I met her. Also my organs." HAIL SATAN
Also I've got that bad ice.
Short answer: buy it.
Long answer: Ice needs to be frozen unidirectionally to force our air bubbles and impurities. The white cloudiness in the ice you make in the freezer is because it freezes from all directions at once and stores bubbles in the center. Those bubbles contain all of the funky air from frozen pizzas and old leftovers inside your freezer making the ice taste meaty or like onions.
You can watch a whole episode of TV about making good ice on Going Deep with David Rees which is a show everyone should watch because it's amazing.
Need some stuff designed or printed? I can help with that.
I've been wanting a Sazerac like woah
they're still just like normal ice cube trays. They trap those air bubbles too.
I mean, it's not a big deal, but clear ice is definitely better tasting and longer lasting.
Need some stuff designed or printed? I can help with that.
I really like tiki style cocktails with rum and fruit juice so that helps.
I also recently got into Caipirinhas in a big bad way. They're like the Brazilian Mojito which I like way better because I don't really like fresh mint.
Need some stuff designed or printed? I can help with that.
I mostly just make Bloody Marys if I'm making a mixed drink at home because they're my absolute favorite, but I need to broaden my drink making skills.
Or at least I need to get a bottle of gin so I can mix gin and Sprite because I am trasssshhhhhh.
I kinda want to try more cocktails myself but, mixing equipment is a barrier for me right now.
Dude honestly, mixing equipment is almost entirely unnecessary. If you can find a shot glass, even a plastic one at the dollar store, that's pretty much all you need. You don't need to shake the vast majority of cocktails, you can get away with building or stirring pretty much anything that isn't blended.
Need some stuff designed or printed? I can help with that.
Maybe some vodka? I've never had a decent vodka actually, I know I like it more than gin though.
2 oz gin
2 oz lemon juice
1 oz simple syrup
stir, top with sparkling water
we also talk about other random shit and clown upon each other
Replace that sparkling water with champagne and I'm interested
Oh, a cocktail? I guess squeeze a lemon in there too or something
Zubrowka.
It is Bison Grass flavoured vodka. It has a really amazing subtle flavour that just turns fruit juices into this multi layered, refreshing, complex delicious experience
A tall glass packed with crushed ice, a slug of Zubrowka, fill it with regular old apple juice, maybe a sprinkle of cinnamon on top
Shit tastes like apple pie.
Need some stuff designed or printed? I can help with that.
But now...
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
It's three fingers of whiskey or bourbon in a cup. Served neat.
"Readers who prefer tension and romance, Maledictions: The Offering, delivers... As serious YA fiction, I’ll give it five stars out of five. As a novel? Four and a half." - Liz Ellor
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Outside of a few drops of water, messing with good bourbon is heresy.
Wrong
Drink your drink however you like it
If you like to mix single malt scotch with chocolate milk then go for it. It's your scotch and your mouth.
Need some stuff designed or printed? I can help with that.
it's me, I'm the garbage bourbon boy
As a result, I'm pretty well stocked right now. Let's see, I have (in no particular order):
Bourbon/rye/other whisk(e)y:
- Johnny Drum bourbon
- James E. Pepper 1776 rye
- Old Scout Smooth Ambler 7 year old bourbon
- Bulleit bourbon
- Buffalo Trace
- Woodford Reserve bourbon
- Booker's small batch (barrel strength)
- James Dickel rye
- Old Overholt rye
- Crown Royal (wound up with in a white elephant gift exchange because I wanted the glasses that came with it)
- Macallan 12
- Jamenson's
- Some awful version of the Costco bourbon I bought a long time ago
Rum:Liqueurs: yellow and green Chartreuse, Pierre Ferrand dry curacao, Campari, Dolin rogue vermouth
Other stuff: a bottle of Laird's apple brandy I bought a while ago and have never used, and a bottle of soju given to me by a very enthusiastic bar owner in Seoul.
I also have a fez (though I'm not in that picture, which was taken before I became a Guardian).
There's bottled Cowboy shots you can buy here. A bottle of Cowboy.
So I have... 3 shots worth in a glass topped off with some milk.
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