What are you drinking?

[Warren]

I have to get to Portugal. It's a glaring hole in my wine education and travel experiences.

And it's awesome as a place to go, especially because it's cheap.

And you can buy drugs.

[JD]

I got a bottle of Ardbeg the other day. The label says things like "immense smokiness", "sea spray", and "tarry rope", and that's pretty accurate. It's damn good stuff, but you do have to like hugely smoky Scotch. Their own notes on the aroma are pretty funny, actually:

A burst of intense smoky fruit escapes into the atmosphere - peat infused with zesty lemon and lime, wrapped in waxy dark chocolate. Bold menthol and black pepper slice through the sweet smoke followed by tarry ropes and graphite. Savour the aroma of smoked fish and crispy bacon alongside green bell peppers, baked pineapple and pear juice.

Add water and an oceanic minerality brings a breath of cool, briny seaspray. Waxed lemon and lime follows with coal tar soap, beeswax and herby pine woodlands. Toasted vanilla and sizzling cinnamon simmer with warm hazelnut and almond toffee.

Mmm, graphite and soap.

On the other end of the price spectrum, we've been so happy with Old Crow bourbon that I started to wonder if there was anything comparable price/quality-wise in the gin world, so I did a little research. (I recommend Paste Magazine's "10 of the Best Bottom Shelf, Cheap Gins, Blind-Tasted and Ranked") I ended up buying a bottle of Gordon's, and you know what? It's not bad. For the price, it's remarkably good. Now, it is very much a traditional London Dry gin, so you have to like that style, but for a $17 plastic bottle of gin, it's way better than you might expect. I still prefer New Western gin, but I'm happy having some Gordon's G&Ts.

Oh, and I've been making jalapeño margaritas too. Honestly, margaritas are so damn simple to make I have no idea why anyone would ever buy a mix, or why commercial ones tend to be sugary crap, except that I guess it's even cheaper and faster, and Americans tend to like sugary crap.

[Eric the .5b]

Might also be familiarity; people want something that tastes like the mixes used in a lot of bars.

[Warren]

I almost never make margaritas from scratch because the cleanup defeats the point of drinking them.

[JD]

A while back someone gave me a bottle of "Mr. Black" coffee liqueur, and I hadn't really been able to find anything to do with it. It's described by the makers as "a bittersweet blend of top-grade Arabica coffees and Australian wheat vodka", and it really doesn't taste like anything except coffee with a bit of alcohol burn. I tried using it in some mixed drinks, where it didn't taste like anything except coffee, and I tried putting it in coffee, where it didn't taste like anything at all.

But last night I tried pouring it over vanilla ice cream. THAT is a winning combination.

[Warren]

I mean. Did you even try mixing it with cream? That would be my first go to. And if you can steam milk, you could work your way through the Starbucks menu. I'll have a half-caf white chocolate mochachino, and a twist of lemon.

[Mo]

My team got me a 27 year old bottle of Bunnahabhain as a going away gift. I still haven't opened it up yet. Though I may crack it open to celebrate making it to Singapore.

[Warren]

Oh, and I've been making jalapeño margaritas too. Honestly, margaritas are so damn simple to make I have no idea why anyone would ever buy a mix, or why commercial ones tend to be sugary crap, except that I guess it's even cheaper and faster, and Americans tend to like sugary crap.

ZingZang margarita mix is the market.
nuf sed

[iggy]

I struggle with remembering that the current closing time for liquor stores in my state is six. So, tonight is a Guinness night until I can pick up a good whiskey for sipping over the weekend tomorrow.

[nicole]

I am now drinking (as in generally, not this minute) this ridiculous alcoholic fruit punch. We call it my “juice” and yes I am Buster Bluth now.

It’s really pretty good and tastes like fruit punch only and then you’re like wait I’m drunk and it takes a whole week to actually look at the can and realize it’s way stronger than what I usually drink lol.

[lunchstealer]

I struggle with remembering that the current closing time for liquor stores in my state is six. So, tonight is a Guinness night until I can pick up a good whiskey for sipping over the weekend tomorrow.

Jeez. Even South Carolina wasn't that bad when I was living there. Is it a COVID thing?

Also welcome aboard, Iggy! The place is weird but mostly alright.

There are a lot of running/in jokes. Feel no compunction to understand. If something doesn't make sense, feel free to just smile and nod, but if you want to know wtf is going on, it's totally cool to ask and someone will explain. It'll make Warren sad, which is kind of a bonus. That's one of the running jokes.

[Highway]

I am now drinking (as in generally, not this minute) this ridiculous alcoholic fruit punch. We call it my “juice” and yes I am Buster Bluth now.

It’s really pretty good and tastes like fruit punch only and then you’re like wait I’m drunk and it takes a whole week to actually look at the can and realize it’s way stronger than what I usually drink lol.

That sounds pretty good, I should get some. I usually drink Bay Breezes, so not too much different.

ETA: Not available around here.

[D.A. Ridgely]

I struggle with remembering that the current closing time for liquor stores in my state is six. So, tonight is a Guinness night until I can pick up a good whiskey for sipping over the weekend tomorrow.

Just wanted to say hello. Poke around, follow a few threads (probably best to only read the last and next to last page for most), you'll figure out soon enough if we're your cup of tea or Guinness or whiskey or not.

[iggy]

Thanks for the welcomes. South Carolina is close. I'm up in NC and, yeah, it is a Covid rule. Twelve extra hours a week to buy alcohol just gone. I will poke around and probably mostly stay to the last/next-to-last pages, but I have also learned that--sometimes--page 127 of 269 or whatever can often give you a really good primer for what a forum is really all about.

[JD]

Oh, and I've been making jalapeño margaritas too. Honestly, margaritas are so damn simple to make I have no idea why anyone would ever buy a mix, or why commercial ones tend to be sugary crap, except that I guess it's even cheaper and faster, and Americans tend to like sugary crap.

ZingZang margarita mix is the market.
nuf sed

Hm. I was all ready to dump on it, but I suppose it would be more effort to mix three fruit juices yourself at home.

[Warren]

Oh, and I've been making jalapeño margaritas too. Honestly, margaritas are so damn simple to make I have no idea why anyone would ever buy a mix, or why commercial ones tend to be sugary crap, except that I guess it's even cheaper and faster, and Americans tend to like sugary crap.

ZingZang margarita mix is the market.
nuf sed

Hm. I was all ready to dump on it, but I suppose it would be more effort to mix three fruit juices yourself at home.

It would. Although your kitchen would smell better if you juiced them yourself.

[Twba]

West Sixth Brewing Snake Eyes. Can someone kindly make sure I drag my ass out of bed and get some work done tomorrow?

[JD]

What are you drinking? If you're lucky, a $2000 Mouton Rothschild 1989 instead of the $18 pinot noir you ordered. (And if you're not lucky, an $18 pinot instead of the Mouton Rothschild you ordered, but maybe you wouldn't notice...)

https://www.decanter.com/wine-news/new- ... 51-446051/

[Kolohe]

Those prices are per glass? (I can’t imagine getting a bottle of wine at a restaurant in any city in the US for under 30 bucks)

Decanting a super duper expensive bottle of wine - and not pouring it right from the bottle at the table - seems contrary to sommelier standards and practices (though it’s been twenty five years since I’ve had any formal education in that regard, which wasn’t much to begin with)

[Warren]

Those prices are per glass? (I can’t imagine getting a bottle of wine at a restaurant in any city in the US for under 30 bucks)

Decanting a super duper expensive bottle of wine - and not pouring it right from the bottle at the table - seems contrary to sommelier standards and practices (though it’s been twenty five years since I’ve had any formal education in that regard, which wasn’t much to begin with)

[Jadagul]

So I absolutely love cocktails, but I'm also a tremendous lightweight who doesn't like the feeling of being drunk and has alcohol as a mild migraine trigger.

So I've been experimenting with cocktail-like things that don't have any alcohol. Today I made one I'm pretty happy with! Seven ounces of overbrewed rooibos chai, an ounce of almond syrup, and an ounce of lemon juice. Shaken on ice. Added a couple of lemon peels and a cherry.

It's not the best drink I've ever had but it's nicely balanced. Good texture. Will keep iterating on this one.

[Ellie]

Ah, please keep sharing your findings! In my drinking days I was never a cocktails person, I just wanted to chug it down as fast as possible, but now that I'm sober I wish I had something "fancy" to drink sometimes (especially on nights where it feels like everyone on my social media is posting pictures of their booze.)

[Jadagul]

Ah, please keep sharing your findings! In my drinking days I was never a cocktails person, I just wanted to chug it down as fast as possible, but now that I'm sober I wish I had something "fancy" to drink sometimes (especially on nights where it feels like everyone on my social media is posting pictures of their booze.)

Yeah! You can get good soft drinks in cans too, but there's something nice and soothing about the ritual of _making_ a drink.

I've done some solid juice+seltzer drinks, but I think this is my favorite and also feels like a real cocktail.

Just made another round, with blackberry syrup and I added 1.5 oz of egg white. I'm still not very good at separating a boston shaker, and it always makes me nervous. But it came out really nice!

[Jadagul]

Have found a drink I'm really happy with:

4 oz cold brew rooibos chai
2 oz unsweetened cranberry juice
1 oz caramel syrup or golden syrup

Shake with two ice cubes, strain into glass.

It comes out super smooth and really nicely balanced. (Though one of the weird things about getting a perfectly balanced drink is that it almost feels like you haven't done anything, at the end.)

[Jasper]

Been making negronis with Fee Bros. cherry bitters thrown in for good measure.