What's Your Poison?: Beer, Wine and Spirits

[JTMacc99]

So I'm driving to the hardware store and I see a little sign that I've noticed a few times pointing me down a side road to a local craft brewery. 

Today, after the hardware store, I turned down the road. (Was annoyed by something and thought this is better than going home.) Drinking a quite nice stout at the moment. Need to come back here with friends next time. Need to get friends first, THEN come back here. 

Also, this reminds me of a pint glass I saw recently that said, "I would like to thank all of the great craft breweries for making my alcohol problem seem like a neat hobby."

[ethalfrida]

 I teach a winemaking class for my family because brewing is so simple and so much fun.

The currants, green tea and rosehip brew from last year is some really great stuff. Making only a gallon at a time is economical because it allows experimentation without high cost. Plus my base is usually a loose tea or apple juice or both. Not using chemicals at all is also a lot healthier I believe. Some do not have problems with them and they are usually in all the commercial brands. But my wine doesn't have to be sparkling clear even though most of them do on their own. And most commercial brands contain GMO ingredients because of the corn-derived products.

Until recently, never gave distilled beverages a thought as to their origins and how they are produced. Now I find myself hunting down organic vodkas and the like to use in the airlocks.

For Christmas the project for the class includes a fortified red. It doesn't require brewing per se, just a watchful eye and good palette.

 

Edited October 5, 2017 by ethalfrida

[DeLurker]

I was ordering some stuff online at Asian Food Grocer and saw the recipe for this drink: Yellow Snow

I have no concept of what it would taste like, but the name and the picture amused me greatly!

[backformore]

Anyone have a holiday drink recipe?  Looking for something easy for a family party. Something more festive than usual.

Edited November 10, 2017 by backformore

[chessiegal]

Here are some ideas from FN.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/thanksgiving/thanksgiving-cocktails

[DeLurker]

I could have sworn someone posted about drinking a maple bourbon and finding it a good thing - @JTMacc99 possibly?  I can't find the post now, so would appreciate if someone could point me in the right direction as I look for interesting consumable Christmas gifts.

I just went to Costco with my brother who is a member.  Here (Texas) the liquor is sold in a separate storefront.  Apparently, you don't need to be a member to buy in the liquor store.  My brother found the selection of alcohol pretty good (primarily looking at Scotch) and decently priced.  They had a Drambuie Gift Set (bottle plus 2 glasses) for $23 which is at least $10 less than at the competing liquor stores here.

[Bastet]

Costco has Balvenie 12-year (single malt Scotch) at a good price, too.  In general, Costco's liquor prices are what my local liquor store charges as a sale price.  Which is significantly lower than what BevMo charges as a sale price.  Recently, BevMo and my local liquor store both had Macallan 12-year on sale, and the BevMo price was ten dollars more.

[JTMacc99]

56 minutes ago, DeLurker said:

I could have sworn someone posted about drinking a maple bourbon and finding it a good thing - @JTMacc99 possibly?  I can't find the post now, so would appreciate if someone could point me in the right direction as I look for interesting consumable Christmas gifts.

Knob Creek Smoked Maple. 

Per my friend Gibb, "It's like drinking a pancake!"

He's not wrong. It's awesome as a change up to the regular world of Kentucky Straight Knob Creek, Buffalo Trace, Maker's Mark and other nice bourbons at less than horrible price points. 

I just told a friend at work a story about the Smoked Maple Bourbon, so your timing is impeccable DeLurker. The story was that I was going to tell my brother to get me whiskey for Christmas this year instead of our traditional wine exchange. I bought him a couple bottles of whiskey in August for his birthday, and one of them was this one. Two weeks ago I was down visiting and saw him pour a drink of the smoked maple. I said, "Is that the bottle I got you?" He shook his head no and said, "I think this is the second one I bought since that one."

So there it is. It is Macc family approved.

4 minutes ago, Bastet said:

Costco has Balvenie 12-year (single malt Scotch) at a good price, too

If I'm going to buy Scotch, this is going to be one of my top choices. Excellent stuff. And if I'm swimming in cash (hahahahaha!) I'll drop the extra $15 for the Caribbean Cask version which I think is 14-year and possibly my favorite.

[Mindthinkr]

25 minutes ago, JTMacc99 said:

29 minutes ago, Bastet said:

 

If I'm going to buy Scotch, this is going to be one of my top choices. Excellent stuff. And if I'm swimming in cash (hahahahaha!) I'll drop the extra $15 for the Caribbean Cask version which I think is 14-year and possibly my favorite.

Glenmorangie makes a Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky that is aged 12 years in a Sauternes cask that makes it oh so good. It pricey but a cheaper alternative is a honey Scotch (which wasn't to my taste but two of my girlfriends love it). 

Glenmorangie Cellar 13 is hard to find but an excellent one too. It's about the same price as Balvenie. 

[DeLurker]

My brother will appreciate all your input on the Knob Creek and various Scotch.  I've never had a taste for Scotch or whisky or bourbon....so my decisions are usually based on what I've seen in other people's liqour cabinets or pretty bottles.  Thank you!

[ariel]

I heard it through the grapevine that one of Costco's generic vodkas is Grey Goose repackaged.  I don't know if this is true.  I'm going to be making a Costco run soon & will check into it.

Edited December 1, 2017 by ariel

[chessiegal]

My closest favorite liquor/wine/beer store is having a free champagne tasting event tomorrow - 30 different champagnes. I'm so there. Something tells me I'll be coming home with bubbly.

[Mindthinkr]

1 hour ago, ariel said:

I heard it through the grapevine that one of Costco's generic vodkas is Grey Goose repackaged.  I don't know if this is true.  I'm going to be making a Costco run soon & will check into it.

I heard that too but my Costco doesn't sell hard liquor or I would have done a taste test for you! 

[ariel]

11 minutes ago, Mindthinkr said:

I heard that too but my Costco doesn't sell hard liquor or I would have done a taste test for you! 

If it's any consolation, my local Trader Joes doesn't sell booze. There was one about 45 mins away & it burned down.  I hope they rebuild soon.

[Mindthinkr]

8 minutes ago, ariel said:

If it's any consolation, my local Trader Joes doesn't sell booze. There was one about 45 mins away & it burned down.  I hope they rebuild soon.

Luckily our Trader Joe's does sell wine. That's where my neighbor goes to get his favorite. I hope for you that it rebuilds soon too. The Costco sells wine too fairly cheaply but there's a small wine dealer who has good choices and some major brands of wine but has the lowest prices on them. I try to support his small business when I can. Aldi's also has some good reasonable wines and the best chocolate for the cheap! 

Let me know re: Grey Goose test so I can dream! 

[chessiegal]

So envious of y'all that can buy alcohol at grocery stores. Doesn't happen in Maryland unless it's an independently owned store (i.e. not a chain).

[Mindthinkr]

11 hours ago, chessiegal said:

So envious of y'all that can buy alcohol at grocery stores. Doesn't happen in Maryland unless it's an independently owned store (i.e. not a chain).

I've lived in both types of states. Louisiana and Kentucky had Drive thru windows. N.C. And N.Y. were strictly ABC stores ((this was back in the day. I think N.Y. has loosened up) I'm jealous of you getting to taste all those champagnes today. Let me know what you liked. My taste seems to like Tattingers and Bollinger but I'm open minded. You lucky lady! 

[Bastet]

17 hours ago, chessiegal said:

So envious of y'all that can buy alcohol at grocery stores.

Beer, wine, and liquor are sold in grocery stores here, but the prices at the chains are insane (e.g. regular price for Maker's Mark [1.75L] at Vons is nearly $60).  When the grocery chains put something on sale, it's normally priced -- the same price as my local liquor store.  And there's a wide variety on sale every week.  So sometimes when need and sale converge, I'll grab a bottle of something while shopping rather than going to the liquor store, just for convenience.  But if I needed something that was only offered at regular price, I'd make the separate trip to the liquor store because I find paying an extra $15 way too high a convenience fee. 

Same with wine; you'd have to be in a mighty big hurry to pick up a single bottle at regular price, because of how much more you'll pay.  The sale price, plus the additional discount for buying six bottles, can add up to a really good deal, especially given the convenience of picking up wine alongside the rest of the groceries.

[DeLurker]

I picked up a bottle of the Knob Creek Smoked Maple this afternoon so my brother will get that for Christmas.  I've had a craptacular couple of months and he's been right there every step of the way, so I need to find something nicer too.

[chessiegal]

My last 2 1/2 years working were in Dulles, VA. There was a Wegmans about a mile from my office. They had a huge wine selection with very good prices. As a result, nearby grocery stores usually had competitive prices on wine. Disappointed that the Wegmans that have opened in Maryland can't sell wine.

Because I have a low tolerance for crowds and lines, the champagne tasting today was okay. I tasted 5 wines, including Billecart-Salmon, Brut Rose which sells for $99.99 a bottle. All the wines that were available for tasting were 20% off. I have to say I wouldn't have paid the $79.99 price for it.  And I am very fond of rose and bubbly wines. I ended up buying nothing because I didn't want to wait in the very long check out line. Oh well. Last year I went to a wine tasting on our Queen Mary 2 crossing, and they served a Cunard champagne (who knew Cunard had a vineyard?) that cost $100/bottle. I thought it was very good.

[biakbiak]

1 hour ago, chessiegal said:

who knew Cunard had a vineyard?

I don't think they do, they used to just do a vanity label but maybe it's changed.

[chessiegal]

7 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

I don't think they do, they used to just do a vanity label but maybe it's changed.

They seemed to make a big deal of it, but a vanity label makes more sense. We're crossing again next May (can't get enough of the QM2), so I'll press the point.

[biakbiak]

I made the Extra light and foamy eggnog with bourbon amd it was amazing, it is lighter than any any drink with such ingrediets should be.

[Mindthinkr]

[film noire]

Had Tito's vodka recently; very good. A little bit of a peppery bite.

Still prefer Smirnoff for my favorite go-to mixed drink (in a tall Tom  Collins-like glass):  rub glass rim with fresh mint+fresh mint muddled with vodka + several splashes of St Germaine + topped off with seltzer and tons of ice cubes and a sprig of mint. So refreshing (and pretty). 

Edited January 7, 2018 by film noire

[JTMacc99]

I’m going to try some rye whiskeys this year. Started with Mitchner’s. I like it!  Gonna try Bullit  and Knob Creek as well. 

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, JTMacc99 said:

I’m going to try some rye whiskeys this year. Started with Mitchner’s. I like it!  Gonna try Bullit  and Knob Creek as well. 

I like Michter's, too - the 10-year straight rye.  The Knob Creek is pretty good; just about everything they do is pretty good.  Bulleit is hard core, yet smooth.

Russell's Reserve (from the folks at Wild Turkey, I believe) has a decent single barrel, as does Willett. 

[JTMacc99]

11 hours ago, Bastet said:

Russell's Reserve (from the folks at Wild Turkey, I believe) has a decent single barrel, as does Willett. 

Ah, yes, I forgot that Russell's was also recommended to me by my wine store guy. He pointed me directly to the Michter's as the starting point for this journey. 

I was thinking about it, and I'm not sure if I ever bought any of the Bulleit bourbon's even though I made my way through that section of the liquor store over the last couple years. I guess there was always something else that caught my eye. 

[ebk57]

I'm definitely a wine and beer gal, but recently, the folks in my office have turned Friday beer hour into Friday bourbon hour.  I'm no connoisseur, but I certainly don't hate it.  So, all because of @JTMacc99, I went out and bought a bottle of the Knob Creek smoked maple bourbon.  And it's really helping me get through this ridiculous cold/flu-y thing I have at the moment.  I'm sure it's helping more than any of the actual medicine I've taken.

 

So, thanks @JTMacc99.  I guess... since I really needed to expand my drinking horizons :-)

[JTMacc99]

6 hours ago, ebk57 said:

I'm definitely a wine and beer gal, but recently, the folks in my office have turned Friday beer hour into Friday bourbon hour.  I'm no connoisseur, but I certainly don't hate it.  So, all because of @JTMacc99...

Ha! Well, I’m not the one who came up with “Friday bourbon hour” but I’m happy to have given a recommendation that you ended up enjoying. 

[Mindthinkr]

My brother loves a whiskey sour. I have some Makers Mark but unsure of how to make a homemade juice to go with it. I'm considering squeezing a tangerine, a lemon and a lime them adding a jiggle of simple syrup. Does this sound about right? I'm totally open to trying any other way so any suggestions please? 

[Lovecat]

If you google whiskey sour recipes, most of them just have lemon and/or lime juice + simple syrup.  I love me some orange/tangerine flavor, though, so I would enjoy that addition!  Don't forget the maraschino cherry :)

[JTMacc99]

A friend of mine was away on business last week and one of her coworkers called for a round of green tea shots. She, like me, had no idea what they were. That was the first night of their trip. A round of green tea shots quickly became their nightly ritual. So I looked it up. Apparently they're quite popular these days.

So on Saturday I was at one of our many local craft breweries listening to a fun live band when I ran into friends. I was telling him about the green tea shot, mostly because the three ingredients are hard to believe. It's like the guy who came up with this drink was broke, a little drunk, and only had these three items left in the house.

 

The funny thing I had barely gotten past the word "sours" in the recipe when a different guy who was sitting near us turned around and said, "I'm going to need you to stop telling that story [for a second I thought it was because I was talking over the music], because mixing peach schnapps with Jameson? No. The only thing I mix Jameson with is Jameson."  Heh.

Edited March 13, 2018 by JTMacc99

[Zola]

 

Heaven in a glass!

[Breezy97]

I will be becoming legal on April 4th but I do enjoy Beer and Wine. There is one particular brewery in my home state of Maryland in Frederick called Flying Dog that has a brew called Raging Bitch that is wonderful. I also enjoy fruity Red Wines.

[Mindthinkr]

2 minutes ago, Breezy97 said:

I will be becoming legal on April 4th but I do enjoy Beer and Wine. There is one particular brewery in my home state of Maryland in Frederick called Flying Dog that has a brew called Raging Bitch that is wonderful. I also enjoy fruity Red Wines.

Happy Pre-Birthday 

[Breezy97]

1 minute ago, Mindthinkr said:

Happy Pre-Birthday 

Thanks :)

[ebk57]

5 hours ago, Breezy97 said:

I will be becoming legal on April 4th but I do enjoy Beer and Wine. There is one particular brewery in my home state of Maryland in Frederick called Flying Dog that has a brew called Raging Bitch that is wonderful. I also enjoy fruity Red Wines.

I wanted to love Raging Bitch because the name is great.  The beer is...okay.  I do love their Bloodline.  I changed my mind about citrus flavored beers.  

[Breezy97]

38 minutes ago, ebk57 said:

I wanted to love Raging Bitch because the name is great.  The beer is...okay.  I do love their Bloodline.  I changed my mind about citrus flavored beers.  

Belgian IPA's are some of my favorites and I enjoy the flavor of citrus in Raging Bitch. It is pretty smooth to me.

[JTMacc99]

April 7th is National Beer Day.

Do what you will with this information.

[DeLurker]

That makes me sad.  When I was in the hospital 10+ years ago, my tastes changed and I no longer liked the taste of alcohol.  I did not drink frequently as an actual adult, but I always needed to keep some beer on hand because I actually liked the taste of it.

Every year or so, I'll try a bit to see if my taste for it has come back* - no luck yet.  Maybe I should just make National Beer Day my designated day to try it.

* I also lost my taste for seafood, red meat, and pork, but suddenly loved beans - black beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, ...  My taste for shrimp started to come back about 3 years ago and periodically I will want a steak.

[BW Manilowe]

14 hours ago, DeLurker said:

That makes me sad.  When I was in the hospital 10+ years ago, my tastes changed and I no longer liked the taste of alcohol.  I did not drink frequently as an actual adult, but I always needed to keep some beer on hand because I actually liked the taste of it.

Every year or so, I'll try a bit to see if my taste for it has come back* - no luck yet.  Maybe I should just make National Beer Day my designated day to try it.

* I also lost my taste for seafood, red meat, and pork, but suddenly loved beans - black beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, ...  My taste for shrimp started to come back about 3 years ago and periodically I will want a steak.

Something similar happened to my Mom after she was in the hospital for a kidney transplant about 8 years ago. Now she doesn't like some of the food/drink things she did before the transplant, or she still likes them but fixed differently than before (like she used to get her cheeseburgers with just mustard, onion & pickle; now she eats them with everything except ketchup), or maybe she likes stuff she didn't before. I'm wondering if the girl whose kidney Mom got  liked her cheeseburgers with everything but ketchup. They say that happens after a transplant--the recipient starts to sort of take on aspects of the donor, such as food likes.

[biakbiak]

We had some leftover cheap vodka from making vanilla and I had just finished sous viding some pork ribs so I did a random experiment of making a Thai chili infused vodka and because I am still getting used to doing liqueurs with sous vide, I put in two small chilies and good god it’s spicy as hell! I did use some mango ice cream to make a spicy alcoholic milkshake that was quite delicious. Next up Blood Mary’s.

Edited May 29, 2018 by biakbiak

[JTMacc99]

This weekend one of my favorite local restaurants (it has a dog theme, pictures of my dogs hang on the wall there) is teaming up with BrewDogs USA to do a fundraiser for the local animal shelter. The Brewdogs founders Martin and James had a three season TV show where they went from city to city in the US and brewed a beer that represented that city. I thought they were really fun and charming. I've had their Elvis Juice IPA, and it's really good. 

I can't wait to spend some time trying some of their other beers and at the same time making donations to the shelter. It's a win/win. (Apparently they are really big on giving back to the community and do something like donate 20% of their profits to good causes.)

[JTMacc99]

Happy National Tequila Day!

[DeLurker]

And it is International Beer Day

[JTMacc99]

And it was National IPA Day yesterday.  Beer people sure do like their holidays.

I'm fully intending to "celebrate" a little bit of this occasion after work today.

[DeLurker]

OK drinksters, special request:  I tend to give consumable gifts for presents unless someone I know has a specific need for a more durable item (recent home purchase, that kind of thing).  My default consumable for Christmas is usually a decent bottle of champagne since that usually comes in handy for most people since New Year's comes up a week later.

I may deviate this year for a few of my brothers or as we approach some more somber moments at family get-togethers, where popping a bottle of bubbly may not be quite in sync with the moment.  I'd like to get a better scotch, but looking for something a bit less well known.  My brothers would be familiar and conversant in all the variants of the Johnny Walkers or the brands that are comparable to that.  I've got a HUGE knowledge gap here myself since I've never cared for whisky in any of its varieties.

In my research, Japanese whisky has raised some interest.  Apparently, only a few have been cleared for sale in the US and they are getting good reviews from the ones I can find.  Have any of you sampled any?  And what were your thoughts on them?

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, DeLurker said:

I'd like to get a better scotch, but looking for something a bit less well known. 

These aren't obscure, but my favorites are Talisker (19 year), Laphroaig (12 year), Balvenie (12 year or 17 year), and Macallan (18 year).

I don't believe I've had any Japanese whiskey, but now I know what I'll be trying the next time I'm at my favorite whiskey bar.

[DeLurker]

Thank you @Bastet - I knew I could count on some of you troopers to do the dirty field work for me!  I'm hoping @JTMacc99 is willing to take pity on me too since it is for a worthy cause...he wouldn't want my brothers to get stuck with substandard drinkables.

The one that has me stumped is Hibiki Japanese Harmony.  I guess it used to be a 12 year old single malt (I may or may not be randomly throwing around terms), but now is only offered in a blended whisky which I am led to believe is generally inferior...but, lots of the reviews are very strong on it.