What Are You Sipping on Lately? (Spirits Thread)

[///Mongo]

I am a single malt scotch snob, and I love blue label. So. Good.

[M_Six]

Kirk and Sweeney 18 on the rocks. Not bad, but not as good as the Plantation 20, which they were out of.

[larryn]

Having a large Becherovka over ice. It's a very nice digestif, after my fill of tryptophan.

I discovered Becherovka in Prague, and until about 5 years ago, was not sold outside of the Czech Republic. My local Total Wine ocasionaly carries it. It's a spicy/herby & citrusy liquor with a kick. My cousin from Regensburg gave me a bottle many years ago, and I've been occasionally having since. If you ever have a chance, give it a try.

[VRG_135]

Originally Posted by upstatedoc

Thought I would surprise my pop-in-law with some Jameson 12 when he busted this out:

Jamison 12......mmmmmmm

[M_Six]

Back to GJ and seltzer tonight.

[Joekerr]

Originally Posted by ///Mongo

I am a single malt scotch snob, and I love blue label. So. Good.

I'm curious why...do you see a notable difference (to justify the price differential) between it and say, the Macallan 15 or Glenmorangie 18 extremely rare? I can't, still have a little Blue left, but my joy comes from my single malts.

Regrettably, my revised budget now prevents me from doing anything but staring at the very nice single malts in the liquor store.

[UncleWede]

Turkey I only had Acai Berry Zero water to mix at my inlaws so found some copper kettle wodka since BIL loves it. Had to limit myself to one

Friday we went Mexican and I ordered my diabetic Cadillac (just tequila and GM in a salted glass with a bit of agave. Second one they switched to some silver and it wasn't as good
I overheard the table next to us order. The 2 ladies got borrachos (not sure what that bottle hanging has) and the men got mango

The waiter comes over and I ask "mujeres tienen fuertes pero Los hombres son frutas". He fistbumps me and says "coming out the closet". LOL

[finaloption]

JW Blue.. tastes best when someone else paid for it

[M_Six]

Gentleman Jack and seltzer again. The 1.75L bottle will last me a while (I hope). Got a 10% coupon for Binny's in Champaign (only saves you the local liquor tax), so I'm hoping they have Plantation 20 back in stock. May grab two bottles if they do.

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by finaloption

JW Blue.. tastes best when someone else paid for it

That's usually the case with any drink. Except tea. Tea always sucks no matter who pays for it.

[VRG_135]

I was not impressed.......I'll be sticking with Irish whiskey.

[larryn]

Originally Posted by VRG_135

I was not impressed.......I'll be sticking with Irish whiskey.

Imho, you can't compare Scotch to Irish Whiskey. Both are acquired tastes and you've only acquired the taste for one. Macallan 12 is a decent Scotch.

I have also found more variation in Scotch than Irish whiskies. Tasting an Islay next to a Highlands, you'll think they are different elixirs. I would suggest a Speyside variety, which is less harsh, peaty and a bit more fruity. Cragganmore is a nice one.

[finaloption]

well, to be fair, for the price, i would pick Irish whiskey over Macallan 12 every day of the week.

Macallan 12.. another whisky that tastes better when someone else buys it

have you tried Redbreast 21? amazing stuff

[Joekerr]

Originally Posted by VRG_135

I was not impressed.......I'll be sticking with Irish whiskey.

I'm surprised, it's actually a very nice Scotch. Dedicate yourself to drinking that bottle over the time, don't mix it up by drinking Irish one night and then back to that - just drink it exclusively till it's gone. Then go to whatever Irish whiskey you like (by the way, what is your preferred one?). You'll either come to appreciate it or not, but you will have given it a fair shot.

And I think regardless of whether you appreciate it right away, I think you just might remember it a month or so down the road and start to reminisce. That was the case for me with Islay scotches - was never my thing, I preferred the Highland and Speyside regions, but a friend gave me a bottle of Laphroig and a month or so after I had finished it, I found I had developed an appreciation for it. From time to time. I still prefer the Highland / Speyside, but every now and then I crave an Islay to mix it up. And some Lowland scotches as well.

[VRG_135]

Originally Posted by Joekerr

I'm surprised, it's actually a very nice Scotch. Dedicate yourself to drinking that bottle over the time, don't mix it up by drinking Irish one night and then back to that - just drink it exclusively till it's gone. Then go to whatever Irish whiskey you like (by the way, what is your preferred one?). You'll either come to appreciate it or not, but you will have given it a fair shot.

And I think regardless of whether you appreciate it right away, I think you just might remember it a month or so down the road and start to reminisce. That was the case for me with Islay scotches - was never my thing, I preferred the Highland and Speyside regions, but a friend gave me a bottle of Laphroig and a month or so after I had finished it, I found I had developed an appreciation for it. From time to time. I still prefer the Highland / Speyside, but every now and then I crave an Islay to mix it up. And some Lowland scotches as well.

I like a 12 year Irish whiskey, even though in Dublin I got to taste a powers 20 year and that was really tasty. Typically I'll drink Blackbush or black Jamison.

[///Mongo]

Originally Posted by Joekerr

I'm curious why...do you see a notable difference (to justify the price differential) between it and say, the Macallan 15 or Glenmorangie 18 extremely rare? I can't, still have a little Blue left, but my joy comes from my single malts.

Regrettably, my revised budget now prevents me from doing anything but staring at the very nice single malts in the liquor store.

Don't get me wrong-- I still prefer single malts, and I don't buy JW Blue for myself, but if someone hands me a glass I'm sure going to enjoy it.

[VRG_135]

Originally Posted by finaloption

well, to be fair, for the price, i would pick Irish whiskey over Macallan 12 every day of the week.

Macallan 12.. another whisky that tastes better when someone else buys it

have you tried Redbreast 21? amazing stuff

The redbreast is very good

[Joekerr]

Originally Posted by VRG_135

I like a 12 year Irish whiskey, even though in Dublin I got to taste a powers 20 year and that was really tasty. Typically I'll drink Blackbush or black Jamison.

Haven't seen Blackbush, I'll have to look for it next time. I like Irish too, but I prefer Scotch. But I'm always willing to try something new, never know what you might find.

[Axius]

Crown Royal Vanilla is soso. Really just tastes like Crown right off the bat, but then after a second or two the vanilla becomes apparent.


It did taste good in my coffee though.

[M_Six]

I was into Scotch and still like it, but bourbon has grown on me. Oddly enough, though, the high end stuff like the limited edition Buffalo Trace is hard to find.

I'm thinking a return to something tasty like a Balvenie Caribbean Cask might be in order, though.

[UncleWede]

That Buffalo Trace I am familiar with is some harsh shit I put a little in a can of coke and get buzzed. But it's the clear one, and I think Mark and Digger are in the back of the store cooking it up just before I come in.

I'm still (pun) upset that I can grow MJ in my backyard now, but I STILL (pun) can't put a little copper in my backyard.

[Maynard]

Originally Posted by UncleWede

That Buffalo Trace I am familiar with is some harsh shit I put a little in a can of coke and get buzzed. But it's the clear one, and I think Mark and Digger are in the back of the store cooking it up just before I come in.

I'm still (pun) upset that I can grow MJ in my backyard now, but I STILL (pun) can't put a little copper in my backyard.

I had the Buffalo Trace 'White Dog' - I think that is the clear stuff you refer to. Not just bad - TERRIBLE. I thought I had wrecked my palate permanently. It took me 3 days to get the yeasty taste out of my mouth. Still have most of the bottle (fortunately one of those 375's, not a full 750), free to a good home, or for some parts cleaning.

I don't get into the variety in Bourbon as much as single malts, so I just stick with some favorites - but same as with the scotch, I prefer barrel proofs: Wild Turkey Rare Breed, Knob Creek single barrel, and Bulleit Rye are the current roster. Back in my budget days, Bourbon was always a better bet for discount priced bottles - real whiskey, unlike the blended scotch that is largely column-still alcohol.

And don't let your anger become chronic and blunt your creativity - I hear that you can distill your own, but you need to pay tax on it (they only actually tax the laying of pipe in Nevada, everywhere else you just pay by the EtOH content). Of course, my family is 4 generations of rumrunners, so we don't really stay up on all the legal mumbo jumbo.