The Good Stuff
By RC Dean
I can tell this crowd has its fair share of folks who like their liquor straight up, with none of that faggy “mixology” or “artisanal” bullshit [mental note: must Google to see if “Artisanal Bullshit” is a cocktail already]. So, this week’s post is for you lot.
Liquor that’s enjoyable straight out of the bottle is the Good Stuff; at some level, cocktails are what you do to make liquor that isn’t as palatable more drinkable. You can use the Good Stuff in cocktails and it will often make a better cocktail – although we use Casa Noble for margaritas due to Mrs. Dean’s unfortunate reaction to other tequilas, it is plenty good enough to drink straight up.
For me, mixed drinks are more social – I just associate them and generally drink them in groups when there is a lot of chatter and whatnot. Drinking liquor neat is more contemplative for me – I’ve done some of my best thinking with a glass of Scotch, a cigar, and a sunset. As Timothy Leary taught us way back in the day, set and setting are important when monkeying with your brain chemistry, and those are the sets and settings I use/associate with different kinds of drinking.
Ice? Water? Hey, de gustibus. I don’t drink the Good Stuff on the rocks, but I put a splash of water in my Scotch. Do what thou wilt, I say.
Things about the Good Stuff to keep in mind:
There is a deliriously huge number of brands and varieties. No matter how hard you try, there will always be a ton of things you haven’t tried yet. I always try to have two or three bottles of sippin’ likker in the cabinet, and not just Scotch (I’m a Scotch guy, not a Bourbon guy, when it comes to drinking neat). I always have a good Scotch and tend to rotate rum, mescal/tequila, and Armagnac. I am a creature of habit; I typically get the same booze for mixing, but the variety of the Good Stuff on offer practically demands that I try different ones. The good news is that it’s hard to go far wrong, so that $50 bet you just made on a new bottle is likely to pay off. Worst case – you can use it for making cocktails.
Unfortunately, it’s the Good Stuff, and it is priced accordingly. While my palate for wine runs out around $20/bottle (retail, not restaurant, pricing), in that I just don’t taste what’s “better” about more expensive wines, my palate for liquor hardly ever runs out as the price goes up. Sure, there are bottles that cost $60 that are as good as bottles that cost $100, but by and large the older, more expensive stuff tastes better, sometimes a lot better. That said, anything that is the latest, hottest booze is probably going to be overpriced – I’ve never had Whistle Pig or Balcones because I figure the hype on these has run the price too high. My personal price cap for stuff I drink neat is around $60/bottle (subject to moments of weakness); I’ve never paid much more than $80/bottle for anything but a gift.
So, a few recommendations:
Scotch: I’m an Islay guy. Laphroiag Quarter Cask is a regular visitor to the liquor cabinet, and their 18 year old bottling is reliably divine (I’ve never had the 25 year old). One of these years I hope to make it to the Islay Festival. Caol Ila (thanks to Ron for the recommendation over at TSTSNBN) is excellent, not as peaty/oily/smoky as Laphroiag. Honestly, the problem isn’t finding excellent Scotch, it’s affording excellent Scotch. Personally, I blame hipsters.
Mezcal: The Del Maguey Single Village line-up is excellent. They have contacts with OG local distillers, and some of it is amazing (and priced accordingly – the spendy Chichicapa tastes like the love child of an excellent Scotch and a very naughty tequila). I tend to have a bottle of the more affordable Vida available for those evenings when the world needs that particular mescal vibe.
Rum: The Ron Zacapa Solera 23 has to be tried to be believed. They age it like brandy, and, well, just try it. Honestly, I’ve never even tried another rum for drinking neat. I sprung for a bottle of their XO once, but that was one of the few times when I just couldn’t quite taste the extra money.
Armagnac: Basically, Cognac’s country cousin – I think the only real difference is that each is grown in a particular region (yeah, I’m sure the terroir is totes different, but whatev). I have the vague impression that Armagnac is a little more affordable. This one is more occasional, but I’ve enjoyed the Dartigalongue XO and Hors d’Age, which are both affordable(ish) and not a bad place to start if you are curious.
Derpetologist’s Spot the Not: Thomas Piketty
1. My premise is not to tax to destroy the wealth of the wealthy; it’s to increase the wealth of the bottom and the middle class.
2. I draw my inspiration from Sweden, not the Soviet Union. I have never advocated a centrally-planned economy.
3. I am not political. It is not my job. But I would be happy if politicians could read my work and draw some conclusions from it.
4. One way to have broader access to wealth is to reduce the tax on the large group and increase the tax on the very top so concentration of wealth doesn’t get to extreme levels.
5. I loved American universities. In many ways, they are better organized – certainly than French universities.
6. To put it bluntly, the discipline of economics has yet to get over its childish passion for mathematics.
1?
2!
(Includes avatar of regional Good Stuff, so it’s topical)
I’m not much of a hard liquor guy, but if I’m in a setting where it’s appropriate, my go-to is Woodford. I don’t want to feel like I’m drinking a 2×4, and I really don’t want to feel like my insides are on fire. Smooth, complex flavors and just enough bite to tell me there’s a fair bit of alcohol. Anything that moves beyond that pattern sucks.
I did shots of Jack Daniels cinnamon, and was impressed. Low expectations, perhaps, but I thought it was good.
I never really liked Jack. I found it too sweet, which screamed “massive hangover” to me. It has made me shy away from the other Jack offerings.
Cinnamon’s a great way to mask cheap grain alcohol.
Ethylene glycol too, come to think of it.
Humble-brag happening. I used to be able to put away a 40 pounder of Gibson’s finest when I was 17. Four or five shots would put me puking under the table nowadays.
I’m hoping you mean 40 ouncer, or I’d suggest there might be another reason you’re puking blood.
I learned about this link on the other site, so here it is again.
That site’s a bit dated, but if the idea of Bum Wines excites you, here’s a purveyor who has clearly got the vision and drive to satisfy your … uhh .. ‘needs’.
This stuff is like MD 20/20 but *evolved*.
2003, wow… I think that’s the last time I visited that site. Much amusement, IIRC.
Work has been just an unholy bitch the last week, to the point where I’m beginning to think I’m not overpaid. Anyhoo, this week’s post feels a little underdone. Here’s hoping the glibertariat can pick in with some recommendations.
For new Scotch dr8nkers, or the Scotch-curious, I usually recommend Glenmorangie. It’s a good place to start, being relatively mild, and they’ve got a ton of different varieties. Pater Dean swears by the La Santa.
Glenmorangie is a good one, but for the newbies, it depends on their flavor preferences. On the introduction level, I personally prefer Glenlivet over Glenfiddich, which is what you’ll find in my area unless you go to a bar specializing in Scotch.
Macallan and Glenlivet are the two I use to break in whisky noobs. If they want to get adventurous, I usually have some Bowmore knocking around in the stash.
Scotch is my preferred whiskey so I will take some of these recommendations to heart. I’ve never heard of any of these.
The first two are Speysides, so they’ll be familiar. Bowmore is an Islay. If you’re “broken in” with whiskeys, you can always go unique and get the only one of the “secret fifth whiskey region”, a Campbelltown whiskey like Glen Scotia.
You’ll want to drop the “e” in whisky if you want to convince the Scotsmen that you want their liquor. On the Macallan, I’ve had it, but wasn’t impressed by it. But so much in Scotch goes to personal preference, especially taste preferences.
Well, Macallan’s a whisky that is so innocuous, it’s hard to find anyone who’s going to object to it on the flavor, it just doesn’t have the strong flavors you find elsewhere.
I am no true Scotsman.
Thanks for the recommendations. Doing the hard work so we don’t have to.
What whisk(e)y would the members recommend to somebody who isn’t so well off and can’t afford to drop $60 on a bottle?
It’s a blend, but Dewar Scratched Cask is nice.
A lot would depend on your preferences, if you’re looking for an introductory whisk(e)y, I would stick with Tullamore Dew, Glenlivet, or Bulleit.
Jameson Caskmate is excellent at under 30 a bottle. If you prefer Scottish whisky then Laphroaig 10 year can be had at about 40 a bottle. A bit too peaty for my taste, I like the Irish stuff. Powers is a drinkable Irish at about 25 a bottle.
I will second the Caskmate if you like stouts, you should at least try it.
If you’re a whisk(e)y noob, Jameson’s is a blended Irish, and sometimes you’ll see a good deal on Bushmills, which is in a number of varieties, some blended, one or two are singles. Again, Irish, as is ‘standard’ Tullamore Dew.
On the Scotch side, there are a couple of blendeds worth your time. J&B is quite good, and the Dewar Scratched Cask that RC notes below. If you have guests who will want to adulterate their drinks with mixers, Famous Grouse can sometimes be picked up very cheap. It’s not awful to drink straight either.
On single malts, around here, Glenlivet is sometimes to be found in liters at reasonable prices, but you might find deals on different ones in your area. It’s unlikely that you’ll see great deals on Laphroaig, Bowmore, Lagavuilin or any of the other Islay whiskys, which are a bit specialized on the palette (unless you like the phenolic, medicinal taste).
If you have an A&P near you, they usually have an own-brand range of single malts labelled “Highland”, “Speyside”, “Lowland” and “Islay”, which are usually their own bottling of a good 12 year old. About 15 years ago, before “The Singleton” launched, I’m pretty sure that was what A&P had in their “Speyside” bottles. So there are bargains out there.
Selling wines and spirits in a supermarket? What kind of state is that! /sarc
New York’s alcohol laws aren’t quite as fucked up as some states, but wines and spirits are only allowed to be sold in liquor stores, and liquor stores can’t sell beer. (Well, you can obviously get wine and liquor in restaurants and bars too. But I was talking about what kind of stores can sell what kinds of alcohol.)
Glenmorangie, all varieties.
ZARDOZ SPEAKS TO SSSBOBBYR, HIS CHOSEN ONE. YOU ARE CORRECT, AND ZARDOZ SMILES UPON YOU.
Laphroig is a good one, but my favorite scotch, also an Islay, is Lagavulin.
ZARDOZ SPEAKS TO YOU, HIS CHOSEN ONES. GLENMORANGIE QUINTA RUBAN OR GTFO.
In Wheeling, WV tonight. Went to the Wheeling Brewery. I totally recommend for both their spot on crafts and excellent foods, but also for the gorgeous and genorous cleavage of the evening barmaid. Hallelujah!
Had a porter, bock, red, blonde, and hefe all quite delish.
A flight or a full serving of each?
If the latter, my hat’s off to you. I wouldn’t be able to put fingers to keyboard after that.
Full servings plus an extra hefe. Had shuttle service back to hotel:)
That’s a pretty solid session, since it’s only 8 Eastern right now.
That is a warm up bro. That’s only six beers.
You must be English.
Heh. Six beers of any kind would knock me out – not necessarily drunk but sleep and bloated.
Oops. HE must be English. At least 3 of those pints will be 8% ABV.
English? Those are fighting words. No, I am from Colorado. It took years to build a proper tolerance.
The human body is a wonderful, natural device that turns English beer into American beer.
I’m sorry Number.6, but British beer has not kept up with American beer.
You’re partly right. I know you can get stuff like “Old Speckled Hen” alongside old favorites like Newcastle Brown, but they’re boring and staid, but “Old Speckled Hen” and Newcastle Brown aren’t where the action’s at anyway.
But the artisan beer culture in Britain is still exciting, 2 days in York for their Beer Festival would demonstrate that – of course, the problem is that little of the stuff you’d see there is distributed here, and as I’m sure you appreciate, only the heavily-hopped beers would make it over the pond in good shape anyway.
I had some very good beer in England in 2013, mostly as part of the real ale movement. Many pubs had a few cask ales on tap. Plus they don’t ridiculously overhop their beers, at least that I’ve noticed. Still, neither country can hold a candle to Belgium or Germany in their beer making.
Oh did I mention the fabulous tits on mostly full display?
Pics?
6
I’m a 6er too
I love the smell of being wrong in the morning. It smells like… life.
What? I don’t see the answer. Did I miss it?
What tequila would like to be when it’s finally grown up: Bacanora.
On my list now, Thanks.
To put it bluntly, the discipline of economics has yet to get over its childish passion for mathematics.
To put it bluntly, people like Piketty have yet to get over their childish obsession with envy.
Oh man, you just lit the Riven Signal again.
Co-inky-dently, I’ve got 6oz La Quinta Ruban right here by my left hand.
And yes, Caol Ila is an excellent evening de-stressor.
Firestone 20th anniversary blend for me. 13% ABV…
In my other hand is a Matilde Oscura cigar. It’s nice having kids in college…I can do more vices!
Now only if I had a third hand…”honey!, get over here I need a handj**!
Didn’t see it, so if you’ve got a good girly mix in the mix, now’s your time, RC. I for one, promise I won’t take credit.
On the bourbon side, I always have Bulleit on hand. On the gin side, it’s Tanqueray, For Scotch, I do like the Laphroaig, but Oban is another personal favorite. Irish Whiskey, I prefer Tullamore Dew over all of the calls, with Midleton Very Rare as the rarely opened bottle. Vodka, Tito’s is my day to day, with Deep Eddy Ruby Red Grapefruit as my summer mixer.
And on the not, I’ll guess 6.
I have bought Bulleit several times. Good stuff. I wish it was cheaper.
For a while here in Ohio, the state liquor agency had the prices set at 750 ml bottle was ~$24, while a 1L bottle was ~$27. I refused to buy any 750 ml bottles during that time.
Now that’s a good use of math!
I hope your basement is full of 1L bottles. That is a good price.
There may be a stash sitting alongside the homebrewed beer.
Costco has Bulleit Rye and Bourbon at 45 a bottle here for a 1.75 liter. I always pick one up.
Damn you for tempting me to pick up a Costco membership.
The booze prices really are quite good.
Oban never disappoints. Good stuff.
Back when I was Number.3, Oban could be obtained really cheap. But back then, so could Jura, another one of my guilty pleasures.
Macallan is agreeable, Balvenie is divine. I too am a Tullamore fan, particularly the 12 yo.
Oh g-d, Thomas Piketty If I could tell you the amount of times he is brought up in faculty meetings it would ruin your life. Being a libertarian in academia is like being a jew in Nazi Germany (without the gas chambers and concentration camps, so not comparable). But you get my point.
I’m sorry. I personally despise gin – despite my overall lushiness – and that’s tantamount to getting you banned here.
Not quite the same, but having Piketty and Chomsky thrown at you like they’re gold standards when all they do is make you want to vomit must be rough.
I have no issues with those of you who dislike gin. Just because your taste buds are broken is no reason to judge you as a person.
Perhaps. My taste buds are so broken that it tastes like another alcohol that someone else has already thrown up. Maybe one day I’ll see the light.
Add more lime and tonic.
I’ll just sit here and judge you as a drinker, not as a person. But if you are looking to learn about why some of us enjoy gin so much, try a properly made gin and tonic. My preference runs 1.5 oz of gin to ~3 oz tonic with a squeeze of lime.
For a G & T, get the Liber tonic syrup. I go 3 oz gin, just under 1 oz syrup, splash lime, top to 10 or so oz total with seltzer/club soda. Completely different than with any store bought tonic.
The only good thing to put in gin is tonic, to keep you safe from malaria. Otherwise, give it to the women. Just be prepared for weepy, emotional episodes.
Gin has caused many of my worst problems with women in the past.
I’ll continue to try to not stereotype British people.
…and fail.
I sense you’re not awfully upset about failing either ….
Now there’s that British wit!
Seriously, good one.
Anyone recall the first type of alcohol they got shitfaced on? Mine was pepperkint Schnapps. That was 33 years ago and it still gives me a headache thinking about it. I didn’t drink for a month after that fiasco.
Peppermint
Embarrassed to say – Southern Comfort. First hangover too.
I don’t know but it came in a keg, and plastic red cups were involved.
Liquid candy canes. I’d rather crush one and free base it. Yuck.
My 21st birthday (piss off, I have a babyface to this day) involved far too many shots of vodka purchased for me. The end of the night involved my removing some of the vodka from my body by releasing it outside the window of a car on the freeway. After that we stopped at a 24-hour eatery (Eat N Park) for those interested.
I still remember the order, and all parts of it make sense individually, but together, they do not help:
Coffee (caffeine)
Vanilla Ice Cream (to soothe my throat)
Orange Juice (to rehydrate)
OK, I’m curious.
Just HOW nasty is Jagermeister?
Number 6: no reason to be embarrased. I was waiting for someone to say antifreeze. Oh wait, this isn’t the Russian thread.
A fuckton of vodka I can’t remember the name of when I was 17.
Number.6, do you like Anise? That will determine how foul Jagermeister is. That’s the predominant flavor, and if you enjoy it, you may enjoy the shots of it.
If you have functional taste buds (the opposite of BakedPenguin), then it’s a terrible shot. I’m very happy that the bartender shot was Grand Marnier back in my day, and is apparently now Fernet Branca.
Here’s another first drink episode. Nope, wasn’t me, but I know people with similar experiences.
I’m OK with Pernod and Ouzo – quite a seasoned Pernod drinker in time gone by.
I lived on that and calvados for a couple months a long time ago during my French Period
That is weirdly accurate. Very fast forward, but accurate.
Since this all spawned off my comment. I am drinking cheap Hurricane Malt Liqours right now. I’ve downed four of them and have two more, before I probably pass out.
There was one evening I couldn’t get enough of these. Sadly, my attempt to make one at home didn’t go so well.
It fizzled out?
Well, I was missing a couple of key ingredients plus any sort of bar implements, so… yeah. I rarely mix anything with more than 2 ingredients so I should have expected that.
My problem with gin is I tend to black out before I pass out when drinking the stuff. I probably just drink it too fast. I’ve had some good stories told to me about what I did the night before when I try to piece everything back together.
I love gin but it gives me a wicked hangover.
No. It tastes like pine trees. And acetone.
But it’s real good with <strike(((Jew))) juice.
This phone can suck my butt. Not only does it insert words, it deletes them. I had that perfect. Fucking phone. It was funny, so I’ma try again
It’s good with
(((Jews)))juice.Sure you don’t mean retsina?
… without the gas chambers and concentration camps – no, that’s *next* year.
Me: “But my evaluations are excellent, my student’s love me! How can you cut my class load?”
Chair: ”
Chair: “Its very important that we have diverse voices in our department. We have a visiting transgender professor that will be teaching a few classes on gender and LQBTQJAOOWJTODOSJTON rights next semester.”
Me: “But how many libertarian profs do you have in the department?”
Chair: “That is not diversity.” (One me)
How many Bi-Incurious Libertarian profs then?
Jesse, can you help a brother out? Rothbard needs a little instruction so he can compete with the alphabet professor.
I think it’s different in the United States, but up here (according to people I know in the university system) they’re bloody obsessed with trying to get First Nations (Indian/Native American/Amerindian) folks into their university so they can claim the ‘Indian’ university badge. I point out that the most Indians I’ve seen on a campus is at RMC (Royal Military College of Canada) because they guarantee employment after graduation for obvious reasons.
You could claim to be 1/64 Roma, or something like that.
My kids have used that in the past, and in their case, it’s true.
Only downside is nobody trusts you near their horses, and people keep asking you to play the violin.
You’re fighting the good fight, I chickened out and jumped into a field that tends to lean conservative…can’t help but think I was a bit of a coward.
No, believe me you were the smart one. I have people who depend on my paycheck and it kills me when this kind of shit pops up. I think, am I being selfish by not getting with the liberal program? How can I justify standing by my belief system when it can cause people and animals I care about to potentially go hungry? Why should I sacrifice my well being fighting that shit. I should have gone into a field with more job security.
must Google to see if “Artisanal Bullshit” is a cocktail already
What goes good with mayo?
Beastman AIDs.
Nothing. Nothing goes good with mayo.
Except death.
Maybe.
I agree. Mayo is disgusting.
mustard, bologna, and lettuce on fresh baked bread.
It IS very viscous…IYKWIM.
Caol Ila is pretty nice. I’m not a big scotch drinker any more but Islays are my preference as well. I like Aberlour, though, and Macallan.
I do love me some bourbon. Bulleit is my go to budget bourbon, but when I’ve got the dough I like Blanton’s.
Tonight, however, I’m having a dry vodka martini with Russian Standard and Noilly Prat.
I was going to say 5 for STN, but licking ass is a huge commodity on American campuses. So I’ll say 6, with an almost certain belief that I’m wrong.
My new favorite sipping liquor is Becherovka. Kinda herby but I likeep that.
although we use Casa Noble for margaritas due to Mrs. Dean’s unfortunate reaction to other tequilas.
Does she lift her shirt and jump up and down after drinking a lot of it? That is what the ex Mrswesternsloper number two did. (oh how I miss that woman)
The not be 5.
Does she lift her shirt and jump up and down after drinking a lot of it?
I had a girlfriend like that. She wouldn’t even let me be in the same room as her when she changed, but when she drank tequila, it was “flash the traffic” time.
God bless them all!!!!
Praise the Lord!
Go forth and sin much more.
That would be a fortunate reaction.
No, just bad headaches hangover. She’s a trooper, she hung in until we found something that worked.
Bulleit Rye
My wife bought me Bulleit bourbon for Christmas. I’m enjoying it very much.
I have never tried their Rye. Only the bourbon.
the rye is better imo. but the bourbon is also v. good for what it is (inexpensive). snobs bitch that its just something diageo buys in bulk and whips together in some factory somewhere. I don’t care. i’m not bringing it home to meet my parents.
Bulleit Rye makes an amazing Manhattan. That’s the only kind I ever order anymore.
Heartily endorse Bulliet Rye. Angel’s Envy Rye is my favorite sipping whiskey.
Love that stuff. It’s cheap enough to mix, but good enough to drink on its own.
Ditto. My go-to rye. Rittenhouse is also good.
I have that sitting in the basement as well. I’ll back Gilmore up on this one, and say it’s a rye worth picking up.
Since we’re all here getting sozzled, or considering the possibility of getting sozzled, I thought I’d mix two utterly cromulent subjects. Booze and Boomsticks.
I’ll keep it short. because I’m repeating myself.
If anyone is interested in taking the NRA Pistol Course (it’s a prerequisite for many states’ CCW permits), part of the course requires you spend time with a qualified NRA Instructor to do the practical part of the course. This is normally about 3 or 4 hours, and usually, you can expect an instructor to charge you between $30 and $150. I’m offering to provide that time, gratis, for up to 3 glibertarians that would like to take the course. The benefit to me is that I have to run two courses every two years to maintain my qualification. I’m in Fairfield Co., CT, so realistically, this would only work for Massholes, New Yorkers, Northern Garbage Staters and glibs who might find themselves up somewhere near Stamford, CT.
If you’re interested, or might be interested in the future, respond here, and we’ll see what can come of it.
Oh, and Nutmeggers, of course.
Can’t drink anymore. Triggers migraines like a son of a bitch. And a weird side effect is that it makes most hard liquors taste like rubbing alcohol.
Guess I’ll have to retire to Colorado.
Proof that God hates you. What, pray tell, did you do, man?
Triggers migranes!? And then you write about a weird side effect??? You can stop at migranes.
I don’t get them often – only 6 times in my life…yes, I remember them because they are so fucking horrible. I realized I had a migraine when I was about 30. I was at work and I told my boss I was seeing weird flashing lights at the periphery of my vision. He told me “that’s a migraine. I suggest you get home very quick.” That’s when I realized I had 2 prior – one when I was 5 or 6. It was that bad, I remembered it at that age.
Migraines are a weird phenomenon. I had a bout of them for several years in my early twenties. Bed ridden close the shades wish I was dead headaches. You have my sympathy. Horrible shit migraines are.
As to Colorado, there are worse places to retire. I drove by the drive through dope store in Parachute just off I-70 on my way over to Denver last weekend. (didn’t buy anything it was 6 am they were closed) Tumble Weed I think it is called. That is a big damn pot store. There is a liquor store next to it. One stop shopping for not moving for a weekend.
I dealt with migraines I was younger. I’ve never found a way to explain what they felt like to those who never had them, and I’m thankful I haven’t had any in years.
Since we’re talking about liquor, I discovered an awesome cocktail: the Boulevardier.
Basically, it’s equal parts of whiskey (preferably rye), Campari, and sweet vermouth. Then slice off a strip of orange zest, squeeze some of the mist over the drink, roll it up, jam a toothpick through it, and drop it in. Delicious.
Campari? Have to duckduckgo that one. Never heard of it.
The kind of drink you have to dress like you’re at a regatta before you can drink it.
It’s one of those liqueurs that, if tasted by iteslf, would disgust you and make you doubt that it could ever taste good in anything. But it fits perfectly in a Boulevardier.
What about the old standby Campari and soda?
I enjoy those, too. I like to squeeze an orange wedge in there as well. The taste of Campari is very well complemented with oranges.
To clarify, *I* enjoy the flavor of Campari, but everyone else I’ve ever met has thought that it tastes like cough medicine.
That sounds yummy
Depending on how much you hate your liver, one of my personal favorite cocktails that has no name is:
2 parts Irish whiskey
1 part Irish liquor (Irish mist, or Celtic Crossing)
I called it the Cuchulain, just to entertain myself.
Capital in the Twenty First Century. I think Piketty forgot his Das at the beginning.
As for drinking, I’ll have whatever he had while doing the research.
There’s only one thing to drink. Heineken. But I’ve been spiking it with some elixir of the gods. I’m pretty sure I’m immortal.
Umm…
I wish I had your taste buds. As I get older (51), and have more disposable income, my tastes have gotten progressively more expensive. That’s the only thing “progressive” about me.
What’s more expensive… I mean easier on the taste buds?
Anything’s better than that swill, Heineken. At least spend 50 cents more and get Becks or Grolsch.
Yes, this.
Grolsch is good. Becks is not as good as either. I still do not get this hate for Heineken. Also, at least around here, it not cheaper than either of the beers you just mentioned. All of them are about $10 for a six, along with Stella Artois, another of my favs.
This does not make either of you a beer snob. Try harder.
Also, reply to Jimbo, I love Porters and Stouts, but only in cold weather. I also frequent a local bar and drink a lot of heavier beers. Last weekend I was drinking a local triple something 8.5 ABV, which was very dark.
Still, most of the time I prefer a European style lager, Heineken and Stella being my favs, with close runner-ups Grolsch, Kronenborg 1664, Czechvar, and others in that same European lager/pilsner style. America cannot make good lagers, they’re all just variations of IPA.
Wanna fight?!
Google Firestonebeers. I am on my tablet, so I won’t provide a link.
Scroll down to Proprietor’s Vintage Series. The 22’s are $17 each and the 12’s are $10- $11.
I agree. I don’t mind Heineken. It’s all relative to me. If I drank Yebisu every night, what am I supposed to drink when I want something special? Heineken is cheap and tastes fine to me.
Yeah, I’m fine with Heineken too.
In all fairness, some cheap beers aren’t that bad. I still think that Genesee Pale Ale has an unfair rep. It’s also unavailable in most parts of the country now, so I could be wrong.
Home town brew! I’ve never seen any Genny beers here in NYC over 20 years and it’s the same state FFS. I just assumed it was never available outside of upstate.
Dude, this was ~20 years ago, so I could be wrong. But my memory tells me it was like drinking ambrosia compared to drinking swill like Milwaukee’s Best or Schlitz. It was also available at a reasonable price point, very important for 18 YO drunks.
Also, if you ever see some – get a 6-er. If it’s horrific, let us know. I’ll reimburse, if I can.
Hey Rhywun, Genenesee beers are available in Baltimore. There’s a store I can get all of them at. I haven’t drank it in forever, but I do know a store I can get it.
I would probably pass except for nostalgia’s sake. I still remember my stepfather drinking Genny LIte by the case. I would come home from college and drink like 4 in a row and feel nothing. I suppose their more, uh, fancy products are “better” but probably not by much.
OTOH, there is nothing quite like the smell of it wafting out of the brewery across town…
Mickeys
Remember this? Talk about nostalgia. I used to occasionally drink this stuff. But for maybe the last 15 years, I never saw it. Wife and I were staying in Charlottesville, Virginia a couple of years ago. We walked to the grocery store across the road and she noticed I was really excited. I said ‘OMG! It’ Mickey’s, I got to have some of these!’. Last time I saw them, but as usual, it wasn’t as good as I remembered.
I think Yuengling Black & Tan is an excellent beer, although I’m not sure if it would be considered properly “cheap”.
No argument on any or the Euro lagers you cite – excepting Heineken. I suspect the reason *I* don’t like Heineken is that there’s nothing distinctive about it. I could be drinking British Rail Buffet Car beer, or even worse, Tennants, except they don’t claim to be ambrosia of the gods.
Tennants at least had the redeeming feature that every can had some cheesecake on it for the Glaswegian drunks to drool over.
LOL this is hilarious
Heineken has a very special place in my heart. It’s the first good beer that I ever drank. I still find the ingredients, amount of hops, perfect. But keep in mind, I was drinking bud, miller, coors, etc, and then someone introduced me to that beer. It was like love at first sight.
I’m trying very hard to think of any beer made north of the Scottish border that has any merit, unless it’s being made under license based on some other nationality’s recipe.
Why are Glaswegians such aggressive drunks? Because they have to drink Scottish beer. It’d certainly piss me off, anyway.
Well, we all have our first loves, Hyperion.
Mine turned out to be gay. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
We can all make mistakes.
It’s almost like a SugarFree reference. As I got older, I needed stronger stuff. I like Porters and Stouts. If your young, milk it. It’s much more economical.
I’m -6 years younger than you. And I can afford to drink about a barge full of the most expensive beer on the market about every week. So nothing to do with economics. I just like what I like.
Fair enough! I
As you can see, my typing is handicapped. Too much Firestone.
It’s all good that you’re spending your money on beer that’s not worth it. But if you are interested, there’s several of us that will help you make stuff that tastes better.
Let me guess, you’re going to advise me to drink some really nasty IPA? Right? I’ve probably tried 5000 different beers. But I still welcome the advice.
I am not a very hoppy guy.
Hyperion: At no point will I advise someone to taste a beer that they wouldn’t like. If you’re willing to tell me what flavors you enjoy, I’m willing to throw up at least 3 beers you may like. As you’ve already thrown away any IPA’s, I’ll stay away from them.
Yeah too much and it’s awful and bitter. Just right (Heineken/ Stella), it’s wonderful. I’ll give a little background here. I never drank beer or any alcohol (except very random occasions) until I was in my mid 20s. When I drank beer it was typically what was available, Bud, Busch, Miller, with at the time to me, Coors being the ultimate beer.
One day a guy I knew came over for my weekly backyard cookout and partay and he had some Heineken. I drank a couple of those and that was it, my cheap beer days were over. Except when I could only afford cheap beer. Those days are thankfully long over with.
Hyperion, I’ma judge you because I can. But if you’re interested in how other beers can taste, I’m willing to help you out. I’m suffering right now by needing to kill a basement keg before I hook another up.
Also, like liquors. Especially vodka and gin. I also have some good whiskeys and rums in the house. I like buying them and putting them on my liquor shelf. I just don’t drink them too often, but I most definitely like them. About the only thing I don’t like is wine. My wife drinks it and it’s always around, but about the only I drink it is if she asks me to have a glass with her. I know it’s all alcohol, but for me, it’s isn’t equal. I like the buzz and taste best from beer, followed by vodka and gin.
I also dislike wine.
Not sure what is about wine, but I have never liked it. The taste of some of it is ok. But I don’t get any sort of pleasant feeling from it like I do with beer and liquor, especially vodka and gin. I guess it’s all the same depending on our own unique biology.
I only like white wine. It gets a bad rep but the area of Germany I lived in long ago made some very, very tasty white wines.
Becks -gt Heineken IMHO but if you can find Spaten do get it. Or any of various random 40s from Czechia that I see a lot.
I like Spaten. Very similar to Czechvar and Praga.
Spaten made the first octoberfest (marzen) which is probably my favorite. They also make a good dopplebock.
Hyperion, there’s nothing wrong if you like a lager that if generally skunked. But if you’re interested in good beers, I’ll gladly attempt to make recommendations based on where you are.
I know if lager is skunked or not. The Heineken I buy here is never skunked. It’s probably been a decade since I’ve seen any lager that has been. All of that is just high volume here, there’s no way it sits on the shelf long. Yeah, if you buy these beers in Europe, they’re typically even fresher. Wife brought me back around 30 beers (16.9 oz bottles) from Berlin recently and wow, the freshest beer ever.
But yeah, recommendations, appreciate. And thanks in advance.
He said he’s tried 5000 beers. Shit, that’s good enough for me.
That might be an exaggeration, but probably not. I’ve tried 20 new beers in the last 2 weeks.
Also, what I’m saying with skunked, I completely understand what that is. I’ve had skunked beer before.
But I’m also thinking it’s what you develop a taste for. I have a sister-in-law, sweetest lady you could ever meet, but she’s been drinking bud lite forever. I’ve never seen her drink anything else. I keep telling her it’s horrible, but if you put any other beer in her hand, she’ll take a drink and say ‘omg, blech, that’s awful!’.
R C: did I miss the Not? I even double-spaced, just for you!
I’ve done some of my best thinking with a glass of Scotch, a cigar, and a sunset.
You forgot to add “while my wife is out shopping”.
The fear of an overdraft being created harshes one’s mellow.
If her credit cards are stolen, don’t report it. The guy who stole them will probably spend less money than she does.
Sure, there are bottles that cost $60 that are as good as bottles that cost $100,
Where I live, that’s the cheap stuff. On that $60 bottle, about 45 of it will be taxes.
Honestly, I’ve never even tried another rum for drinking neat.
Way late to the party, but I like to drink Pyrat XO Reserve neat, or with 2 cubes of ice if I want to milk it. My tastes are pretty bottom shelf though.
HALP ME, GLIBS!
What Next? The Yamazaki 12, or the Dalwhinnie 18, given that I’m half-baked?
Dalwhinnie Scotch Single Malt 25 Year or GTFO!
If any of y’all glibs that enjoy straight booze have not ever tried calvados I would highly recommend it. It is a type of apple brandy from Normandy, the best stuff seems to come from the Pays d’Auge region. It is akin to cognac or armagnac but made with apples. You can generally find it in specialty liquor stores and BevMo always seems to have three or four brands. Lovely stuff.
You can drink it while you plan your defense of the solar system from the rat cats. It helps if your chemistry is off and you can use the skitz.
And, another new one for my list. Thanks.
Hey, did I miss something? What is the “not”?