THE Drinking Thread

Wintertime is for the browns... porters and stouts if I want a beer, bourbon/ scotch if I want a drink. Peaty scotches were my thing for many years, then a couple years ago I made a complete shift to bourbons. Widow Jane is my current bourbon of choice. Scotches I usually drank neat with just a few drops of water added. Bourbons I tend to like having over ice.

Summers I generally like IPAs and Pale Ales if I want a beer. For drinks, I stick to the clear liquors... mostly vodka or tequila. Lately I've been making my own margaritas... Tequila, Cointreau and fresh blood orange juice. Tasty, but dangerous.

I've also had a new fixation with taking a dry rose wine and serving it really cold with a couple fresh slices of jalapeno. Great on a hot day.
 
Kraftyheel89 said:
I've gone 6 months without touching liquor or beer. Just some occasional red wine. Just something I needed to do.

Still bourbon would be my choice. along with vodka/juice and rum/diet coke. Beers are Red Oak, Blue Moon, and Sam Adams. Haven't done the mass produced stuff in years. Well, I guess my list is mass produced, but not the basic watered down American beer.

Question for the Scotch folks. Are there different types? I tried a Cuttey Sark Scotch years ago and HATED it. I know that is a low tier generic brand. But it tasted like licorice, and I hate licorice. Does all scotch taste that way? Yuck!
Click to expand...
Not a huge fan of Scotch but they're definitely not all like Cutty Sark.

Bad Scotch is abhorrent. Good Scotch is usually worth a dram, but I'd rather have Irish or Bourbon, personally.
 
Kraftyheel89 said:
I've gone 6 months without touching liquor or beer. Just some occasional red wine. Just something I needed to do.

Still bourbon would be my choice. along with vodka/juice and rum/diet coke. Beers are Red Oak, Blue Moon, and Sam Adams. Haven't done the mass produced stuff in years. Well, I guess my list is mass produced, but not the basic watered down American beer.

Question for the Scotch folks. Are there different types? I tried a Cuttey Sark Scotch years ago and HATED it. I know that is a low tier generic brand. But it tasted like licorice, and I hate licorice. Does all scotch taste that way? Yuck!
Click to expand...
Just like other types of whisky there's a pretty big range of variation when it comes to scotch. Some are cheap and harsh, some smooth... some peaty, some smokey, some hints of vanilla and all that good stuff. I like to make mixed dranks with scotch occasionally and go with monkey shoulder, it's about 37 bucks in NC, but tasty and pretty smooth. You could try famous grouse is you wanted to go cheaper but a step above something nasty like cutty sark. Bushmills Black would be in the middle. They're all in the blended category vs single-malt (meaning single distillery). The single-malt will have slightly more distinctive flavors IMO, but people who like the flavor of scotch could drink monkey shoulder and black-bush neat.

ETA, been awhile since i bought bushmills black, it might be more expensive now.
 
Last edited:
Primarily just a beer drinker. Like a Gin and Tonic on occassion, a white russian in the winter, rum punch in the summer, but mostly stick with beer.

Love IPA's. However, over the last few years I seem to have developed some type of sensitivity or allergy to some IPA's. I'll get a headache and congested before finishing the first one. Anybody else dealt with similar issues?

I've switched to mostly lagers and pilsners recently as a result. Luckily, more and more breweries are putting out good lagers and pislners as the IPA craze starts to run its course.
 
sleehrat1955 said:
As for the hard stuff, I am coming down from my bourbon journey (still love my bourbon, but after trying a shit ton of bourbons I have come to the conclusion that they all taste like bourbon)
Click to expand...
Re: your parenthetical assessment, those are my thoughts exactly, and I never really liked bourbon anyway. You'll find much more variety of flavors with scotch, often dramatic differences, esp. b/w scotch producing regions, but even within regions. Makes it much more interesting, at least for me. There is a single malt whiskey (made in NC, actually) called Defiant that's made with barley, it's a lot like a nice scotch, to my taste. It's in the NC Products section of the ABC stores is you're in NC, not sure how widely it's distributed outside NC...
 
For a while, I was, like a lot of folks, really into trying all different kinds of bourbon, but I've slowly drifted away from that.

I mostly drink red or sparkling wine. I also enjoy a variety of cocktails. G&T with good tonic is always great. I make a great margarita with tequila, citronge, and lime. And I love a negroni spagliato - a negroni that subs sparkling wine for the gin. It's everything I love about a negroni but less boozy.

Tonight I'm grilling skirt steak for tacos with guacamole, so it'll be a margarita night, of course.
 
Almost exclusively a wine drinker--75% red [almost always Pinot Noir] and 25% white [Aligote, Gavi, Chablis]
 
Kraftyheel89 said:
I've gone 6 months without touching liquor or beer. Just some occasional red wine. Just something I needed to do.

Still bourbon would be my choice. along with vodka/juice and rum/diet coke. Beers are Red Oak, Blue Moon, and Sam Adams. Haven't done the mass produced stuff in years. Well, I guess my list is mass produced, but not the basic watered down American beer.

Question for the Scotch folks. Are there different types? I tried a Cuttey Sark Scotch years ago
Click to expand...
There are different types of scotch. Cutty is an example of cheap, nasty scotch. It’s not even fit for mixing.
With that said, you probably wouldn’t like any scotch. It’s a difficult spirit to appreciate. More so if you’ve already been accustomed to softer whiskey or bourbon.
If you like bourbon, I’d recommend trying Aberlour A’bunadh or Balvenie Doublewood, but only if you can try a glass at a bar. They’re too expensive to justify rolling the dice.
 
Kraftyheel89 said:
Question for the Scotch folks. Are there different types? I tried a Cuttey Sark Scotch years ago and HATED it. I know that is a low tier generic brand. But it tasted like licorice, and I hate licorice. Does all scotch taste that way? Yuck!
Click to expand...
Single malts range very widely in flavor profile, there are some regions (Islay) that produce a very peaty, smoky product, (even somewhat medicinal, which I know doesn't sound good but those are my favorites). Blended scotch tends to be smoother (and much smoother than any bourbon) but there's still a variety of flavor profiles b/w producers. You are correct about Cutty Sark, that's a bottom shelf brand. A good starting point would be Johnny Walker Black (don't get the red), it's a blended scotch and very nice. Might want to start with a little water or maybe on ice, but I prefer neat...
 
Easy Peasy margarita recipe
Buy Simply Limeaide , a little OJ and some Nice Tequila
The commercial mixes are just crappy to me
 
mpaer said:
Easy Peasy margarita recipe
Buy Simply Limeaide , a little OJ and some Nice Tequila
The commercial mixes are just crappy to me
Click to expand...
Commercial mixes are pretty awful, but it’s not hard to juice limes.

I like a split base of a good, inexpensive blanco tequila (Espolon or even Legado) and a nice complex mezcal (Del Maguey Vida), 2:1 or maybe 3:1 for guests who are unfamiliar with mezcal. Pierre Ferrand dry curaçao and a little agave syrup. For the adventurous, I’ll add a dash of Ancho Reyes chile liqueur. Just a touch of heat to go with the smoke from the mezcal. So damn good.

The mezcal/ Ancho Reyes combo also make a killer Paloma.
 
mpaer said:
Easy Peasy margarita recipe
Buy Simply Limeaide , a little OJ and some Nice Tequila
The commercial mixes are just crappy to me
Click to expand...
I might could do Simply Limeade in a pinch but I still think squeezing your own fresh lime juice is the way to go. You're right about the commercial mixes...
 
hedge said:
Single malts range very widely in flavor profile, there are some regions (Islay) that produce a very peaty, smoky product, (even somewhat medicinal, which I know doesn't sound good but those are my favorites). Blended scotch tends to be smoother (and much smoother than any bourbon) but there's still a variety of flavor profiles b/w producers. You are correct about Cutty Sark, that's a bottom shelf brand. A good starting point would be Johnny Walker Black (don't get the red), it's a blended scotch and very nice. Might want to start with a little water or maybe on ice, but I prefer neat...
Click to expand...
Hey. I"ve had Johnny Walker Black and liked it. Never drank often, was at a friend's house. I didn't even realize that is blended scotch, thought it was whiskey.

I usually drink Makers Mark. Knob Creek, Woodford or Blantons.
 
For Scotch-curious bourbon drinkers, the only scotch I've bought a second time was Glenmorangie's Quinta Ruban 14yr. It's basically their 10yr scotch aged an extra 4 years in port wine barrels. It's unmistakably a scotch, but with clear bourbon and port influences, too. A very well-done whisky.

And the only bourbon cocktail I really like came from Foundation in Raleigh - their basil smash. I'll grow basil in the backyard solely to make this cocktail. 2 parts bourbon (I actually prefer it with rye), 1 part lemon juice (only fresh squeezed), and 1 part basil-infused simple syrup. Shaken and poured over ice. It puts every other cocktail I've ever had to shame. To the point I'm no longer interested in drinking any others.
 
BlooVooDoo said:
Commercial mixes are pretty awful, but it’s not hard to juice limes.

I like a split base of a good, inexpensive blanco tequila (Espolon or even Legado) and a nice complex mezcal (Del Maguey Vida), 2:1 or maybe 3:1 for guests who are unfamiliar with mezcal. Pierre Ferrand dry curaçao and a little agave syrup. For the adventurous, I’ll add a dash of Ancho Reyes chile liqueur. Just a touch of heat to go with the smoke from the mezcal. So damn good.

The mezcal/ Ancho Reyes combo also make a killer Paloma.
Click to expand...
Great point about squeezing a few limes Thansk for the recipe
 
UNCRx85 said:
For Scotch-curious bourbon drinkers, the only scotch I've bought a second time was Glenmorangie's Quinta Ruban 14yr. It's basically their 10yr scotch aged an extra 4 years in port wine barrels. It's unmistakably a scotch, but with clear bourbon and port influences, too. A very well-done whisky.

And the only bourbon cocktail I really like came from Foundation in Raleigh - their basil smash. I'll grow basil in the backyard solely to make this cocktail. 2 parts bourbon (I actually prefer it with rye), 1 part lemon juice (only fresh squeezed), and 1 part basil-infused simple syrup. Shaken and poured over ice. It puts every other cocktail I've ever had to shame. To the point I'm no longer interested in drinking any others.
Click to expand...
I make a drink that’s a variant of the gin basil smash, but I add a lot more lemon juice, muddled basil, a splash of tonic or club soda and sweeten with a basil-infused syrup. Works best with a traditional London dry gin with a strong juniper bite. It’s more like a semi-sweet lemonade, with basil and gin. The lower ABV is essential because they go down really easy, especially on a hot summer day.
 
BlooVooDoo said:
... they go down really easy, especially on a hot summer day.
Click to expand...
I've never tried it with gin, but I bet it'd go well. The one I make is absolutely fantastic when everything is freshly made. I've batched the basil syrup and kept it in the fridge for a few months, but it's noticeably not quite as good as when it's all made same-day. I plan on having several over the weekend.
 
My mojito recipe is fresh lime juice, a small can of frozen Limeade (mostly for the sugar and ice), a 50/50 mix of rum and vodka (you can adjust the ratio to taste, all the way to 100% of either although I'm not sure you can really call it a mojito if you don't have at least some rum in it), agave simple syrup and mint leaves.

Put it all in a blender (yes, the mint leaves too, that's the key to the whole thing) and blend the hell out of it. You'll never see a prettier shade of green. At this point, the remnants of the mint leaves will float to the top, I usually skim off most of that but it's not going to kill you if you if you drink some (I've left it all in before and it was fine). Then I add ice and blend it up again, not enough to make a slushy drink, but for water and to chill it. Pour it into a clear pitcher so everyone can enjoy the color and pour over ice to serve.

You can play with the ratios of all the ingredients (some like it sweeter, some more sour, some with more more alcohol, etc), that's half the fun, but I promise you that blending the mint leaves gets every molecule of mint flavor (and color) out of them, way more than muddling (and way easier). It's a crowd pleaser...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top