We have a beer thread but I don't think we have a thread for spirits.
Spirits! I'm talking hooch, baby. Sauce. Booze, boy I say I said
liquor!
For instance tonight I decided to try this
High West's Double Rye. 2 year blend at 92 proof.
I'm not usually a rye drinker and this seemed like a reasonable starting point. Nose is sort of a grassy pepper. Palate is mild mild vanilla, honey with maybe like, cinnamon? Some sort of spice. I know ryes tend to be "hotter" than bourbon or whiskeys and this is pretty well spicy. I enjoy it well enough but probably not quite enough to buy a bottle.
So which spirits are visiting
you and showing you terrible visions this Christmas?
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I don't know shit for shit about that stuff, but I know what kinds of flavors I like and don't like, and he's really good about picking stuff out based on that. I suspect we will both be getting pretty drunk and going through his old vintage record collection, just like the last two times I was over there.
Which as we all know is Jameson.
That said the black label Jameson I remember actually being very good Irish whiskey for a reasonable price. Very nutty, woody flavor.
It's very nice, using a pretty standard spiced captain morgan, and it's still so good.
I had to ask my uncle to stop telling me the prices of the liquor he gives me because I feel bad when he's like "okay this is an $80 barrel-aged yada yada" and my reaction is "sweet, this doesn't taste like dirt/damn, this tastes like dirt"
The Selct is bizarre. It's got the iodine and peat smokiness right on the nose just like the 10 year and the Cairdeas but the bourbon barrel aging completely cuts out the heat. The 10 year hits you with the spice and then Cairdeas rachets it up to 11 and adds in the wine sweetness on top.
If I had to pick I'd say I still prefer the 10 year, especially with just a touch of water to open it up.
A fun thing to do when you get a big selection of liquors (or friends, relatives with such) is to do blind taste tests with them and then rank your favorites and see if you can match them.
You might be surprised!
The next thing on my list when I feel like I've got a good handle on whiskeys and such is rum because I love spiced rum. The problem is I discovered Diplomatico Venezuelan rum early on and I just don't see anybody really topping it.
It’s been a very grassy journey so far
I feel like gin may be the easiest to try and replicate? But also I don't know shit about gin.
This is bullshit. It's supposed to be Christmas!
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I actually wanted Lagavulin (I'm at a bourbon bar) and they, too were out!
That happens a lot when I try to order Lagavulin for some reason. My guess is it's one of the more popular Islays because of its association with Ron Swanson of Parks and Rec.
Or its just really good and kinda hard to get I dunno.
Benedictine
to make Milk and Honeys
They are Christmas: the cocktail, and I want one.
Smokey! One of the smokier single malts I've had. Got some fruitiness in there too. If you let it sit you get some real rich caramel or toffee flavor. I think I still prefer the Glenmorangie 13 year single malt but this is a very good scotch all told.
I got on the Lagavulin bandwagon just before the Swanson bump or whatever you want to call it
Ideally I could get another bottle of Laphroaig 18 Year but ever since I moved to a state that has a monopoly on liquor store operations I have been unable to acquire that as well.
It's not as though I exclusively drink Islay single malts, it's definitely a "special time" sort of treat for me to sip and enjoy. But I do like to have a variety of whiskeys to choose from, and the lone Lagavluin I have is getting dangerously low.
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I quite like High West's Double Rye but when it comes down to it here in Singapore I usually default to a few other American rye whiskeys - Uncle Nearest 1856 is my new A #1 fave, although I keep Colonel E.H. Taylor around if I can find it. Old Forester is my default bourbon but can be tricky to get here, weirdly.
That said, this holiday season I was given a box set of 12 whiskies by Drinks by the Dram, so I've been having those as my nightcaps. Real standouts on that so far have been Smooth Ambler Old Scout American Whiskey and Darkness 8 Year Old Single Malt.
I also picked up a bottle of Procera Green Dot gin from Kenya which is extremely good by itself or in martinis. Would probably be nice in G&T's if I like those.
And I've been making a fair number of noelgronis, which are negronis with a tablespoon of my homemade double cranberry dried cherry compote at the bottom.
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95/5 rye mash, 3 years, 95 proof.
Nose is spice, oak, and something sweet like vanilla or chocolate. Much less heat due to the port barrel aging but still has some pepper there. That said, a rye is a peppery alcohol and it seems a little counterintuitive to reduce it but the result is a very smooth rye whiskey.
I got discharged from the hospital on my 21st birthday with strict instructions that I couldn't drink for six months after the surgery, except that I was going back for another surgery at the end of that so it was another six months to wait for that.
Anyway what I'm getting at is that I never really got around to having an alcoholic drink until a while later, and it wasn't until I discovered social drinking that it really took off for me.
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I've been eying the various Ardbeg offerings for a bit now, but the price that a bottle runs for made me a bit hesitant to pick one up totally blind, so the three-pack sampler was a nice little end-of-year treat for me. The next time I'm out at the liquor store I'll have to see if the Uigeadail is one of the varieties they have, otherwise I think it's a bottle of The Oa for me... unless they've finally got more Lagavulin back in stock.
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For the time being, some quick opinions:
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If its just Cuba Libre time I just grab a local rum. Its amazing how much better a rum and coke tastes with a glass bottle coke and a squeeze of lime.
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Gin: The Botanist, opens up nicely with fizzy water. Roku, neat.
In New Zealand: so much local booze, and tasty!
Imagination BB1201 tastes like a smooth light whiskey, so I have a bottle for my beau who is Celiac and misses his whiskeys; their Reikorangi dry is far too easy to drink neat. They've also got several fruit-infused gins that just work; I did not like the seaweed gin, but I respect it. The Bond Store Kawakawa Gin is sipping gin, lovely -- "the good gin."
Whisk(e)y, bourbon, and scotch: Laphroaig, Oban, and EH Taylor Barrel Proof are great but not everyday affairs -- Colonel EH Taylor Small Batch is still highly indulgent, but was more affordable at our liquor store. Between my beau's diagnosis in 2019 and my sister likely also being Celiac, I haven't explored much recently; given my parents seem to do better sans gluten, I'm just now rethinking the tiny souvenir bottle of NZ whiskey I got for Dad...
Vodka: The White Sheep Co. Sheep Milk vodka: surprisingly drinkable, as a non vodka fan; tastes pleasantly of chevre. We killed one bottle, and I've picked up another to share some with my pa. So keep an eye out for that kinda thing, if that appeals. I initially bought it because I liked the label, and I'm intrigued by novelty; it had an illustration of stockinette stitch fabric, yes, I am an obsessed knitter and a complete sucker for cool liquor labels. I bought yet more gin the other day because it has a lucky cat on it (and also it sounded delicious, bc despite my proclivities, I'm not purely buying for looks -- National Distillery's Meow Lucky.)
Liqueurs: Amarula, yum. I had a shake with it a couple days ago, but it's not overly rich, just a nice sweet, light, creamy dessert digestif from South Africa. Treat it like an ever so slightly fruity Bailey's.
I'm currently leaning toward martinis paired with a movie with my gf, but I need to nail down the details of drink and movie.
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I want to buy a bottle of maraschino because I learned that aviations are tasty, but no go.
I need to steal the recipe from a local place that makes an old fashioned with pear simple syrup and cardamom and put a dried pear or apple slice in the drink. It was amazing.
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