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

[callie lee 29]

I have a g&t almost every night. Most times it's fever tree tonic (Mediterranean of I can't find it), Bloom, Hendricks, or Ford's gin & muddled red grapefruit. 

[larapu2000]

11 hours ago, callie lee 29 said:

I have a g&t almost every night. Most times it's fever tree tonic (Mediterranean of I can't find it), Bloom, Hendricks, or Ford's gin & muddled red grapefruit. 

This sparkling grapefruit from Fever Tree is SO GOOD.  30 calories, perfect mix amount for a 1.5/2 oz pour of vodka or gin.  Perfect for summer!

This is Great

[chessiegal]

My husband enjoys what he calls "a wee dram of whiskey" on occasion. I'm strictly a gin, vodka, wine gal. He recently read about Ardbeg single malt Scotch, and spent $70 on a 750ml/1L bottle. When he sampled it, he declared it to be the worst Scotch he'd ever tasted. Curious, I tried it. 1) it smelled like gasoline, and 2) was the foulest thing I've ever tasted. Are we missing something?

[JustHereForFood]

On 6/14/2021 at 12:03 AM, JustHereForFood said:

And on a related note, does anyone have experience with flavored gin? I have been thinking about trying strawberry or red orange Beefeater, mostly because of the color, but I only found it in regular sized bottles and it seems too risky to me to buy that much, if I'm not sure I will like it. How much of a difference is the taste from the regular gin, if you for example just mix it with tonic? Is it sweeter?

Quoting myself here, because there was a discount on Beefeater Gin last week, so I decided to try one of the flavored ones after all. I bought the red orange flavored and it is really great. When I mixed it with plain tonic, it tasted practically the same as plain gin mixed with citrus tonic, only it had an orange color. Today I tried to mix it with citrus tonic and it tasted even better, very refreshing. I definitely recommend.

[JTMacc99]

I can't believe I haven't checked in here in a while and missed the Gin conversation! (See avatar.)

On 6/17/2021 at 1:40 PM, larapu2000 said:

I LOVE GIN.

I do as well. I also kind of love that I can try a new one and think "Yuck", because there are so many ways to interpret it.

As far as London Dry Gins go (for standard dry martinis), I prefer Tanqueray and Martin Miller over Beefeater or Bombay Sapphire. If I'm sucking down gin and tonics during the summer, I have no problem stepping down in price (by 50%) and using Gordon's.

I do really like Hendricks, The Botanist, and Aviation Gin. They all have different notes that make them worth trying. 

If you just want a perfectly acceptable Gin with a cool bottle to put on the shelf, I can recommend Bulldog Gin (has a spiked collar) and Broker's Gin (the cap is a bowler hat.)

There is a whole style of gin that has a herbal/pine tree thing going on with them, and I'm not a fan. Maybe they work really well in some kind of cocktail, but I don't know what that might be.

As for absolutely delicious but unique gins, I highly recommend Uncle Val's Gin Botanical Gin. Seriously, all of you who like Gin, give this one a try.

It's good straight up, and it's a super great choice for a cucumber martini.

[Bastet]

12 hours ago, JTMacc99 said:

I do really like Hendricks, The Botanist, and Aviation Gin. They all have different notes that make them worth trying. 

I was underwhelmed by (but did not dislike) Aviation, but I like Hendricks, so I will give The Botanist a try (it's been on my mental list, I just haven't gotten around to it).

12 hours ago, JTMacc99 said:

As for absolutely delicious but unique gins, I highly recommend Uncle Val's Gin Botanical Gin. Seriously, all of you who like Gin, give this one a try.

And I will definitely try this one; thanks for the enthusiastic recommendation (especially noting lending itself to a cucumber martini, which I love).  I need to head into my local liquor store shortly to re-stock and buy some holiday gifts, so I will add this as a "Merry Christmas to me" item.

Speaking of holiday gifts, has anyone tried and loved anything we haven't previously discussed here, particularly bourbons or other whiskeys?

Edited December 9, 2021 by Bastet

[JTMacc99]

7 hours ago, Bastet said:

Speaking of holiday gifts, has anyone tried and loved anything we haven't previously discussed here, particularly bourbons or other whiskeys?

I gave the Metallica "Blackened" whiskey a try. It's a nice American Rye, which if it didn't have the Metallica story to go with it, would still be worth drinking. If you're fan of the band, you can look up the playlist they used to serenade the batch associated with you bottle. 

Popping into this topic led to me hitting one of my favorite little wine shops last night, as I know that they carry that Uncle Val's Gin at the right price point. I also noticed they had regular Buffalo Trace bourbon in stock, so I picked up a bottle of that as well.  

[Bastet]

I received a bottle of Plume & Petal infused "vodka" (it's only 20% ABV so doesn't actually qualify as vodka) as a gift, the cucumber splash, which is "cucumber, lemongrass, and chamomile tea with a hint of honey".  (All natural, no artificial flavors.)  Even though this is very much a refreshing on a warm afternoon by the pool drink, I had to try it now. 

Of the flavored "vodkas" I've had, I still vastly prefer Ketel One botanicals, as it's twice distilled like gin and has no carbs; you get the flavor without all the sweetness.  But this is pretty good.  Definitely sweet, so indeed a have a couple in the afternoon drink rather than something to drink for a night, but within that context it's a pleasant mix of flavors that winds up being refreshing rather than cloying.  The cucumber is the star, and then you taste the rest, with the honey accurately being something you register "Oh, yeah" at the end.

[JTMacc99]

I’m sitting in the shop waiting for my car to get an alignment, and they have a copy of the Wine Spectator here. It’s got a Burgundy tasting report in this issue. 
 

I think they have this issue in the auto shop to get me used to seeing prices of things in the several hundred dollars range. 
 

I did spot some nice values from Chile and Austria/Germany that I might look for next time I’m at the wine store. 

[Mindthinkr]

2 hours ago, JTMacc99 said:

I think they have this issue in the auto shop to get me used to seeing prices of things in the several hundred dollars range. 

😂😂😂

[ethalfrida]

Winemaking is such a simple process. The easiest brew is water and sugar. The next easiest recipe is kool-aid wine. For something a tiny bit more complicated you can use hard candy. No kidding and the recipes are posted on Google, Facebook or Youtube (videos help get you started faster).

Here is a favorite… easy, fast and economical.

A Tea Wine 30 day ferment
With apple juice…
2 lbs Organic sugar minus 1/4 cup
8 cups apple juice
4 cups brewed Butterfly Pea tea
1/4 dried cherries
3 tablespoons cinnamon bark bits
1 teaspoon allspice
2 lemons sliced 
2 sprigs Rosemary
1 pkg EC 1118 yeast
NOTE: I measured out 2 pounds of sugar but put in a quarter cup less. It turned out perfect.
Without apple juice…
4 pints of cold tea
2lb. Granulated Sugar
1/2 lb. raisins
2 Lemons
1 bag wine yeast
"Cut up the raisins and slice the lemons thinly, and put them in a large bowl or jug. Add 2lb. of granulated sugar, then pour on four pints of cold tea. Stir until the sugar has dissolved, then cover the bowl or jug and leave it for a month.
After this time you will find a scum on top, remove this carefully, then strain off the liquid and bottle.
Tea wine can be drunk at once, but it is best to keep it a few months first. Keep it in a cool dark place, and don't push the corks in too hard at first.
It sounds strange to make wine from tea, but it does turn out a good wine, tasting not the least like tea. Of course there is no need to make tea especially for this purpose, if you usually throw away half a pot of tea, as I think most people do (this was written in the days before tea-bags), just save this until you have four pints, strain off the tea leaves though.
I suppose the different kinds of tea and the strength of the brew must make some difference to the wine, so yours will probably turn out differently to your neighbor’s”.

Butterfly Pea tea is blue when brewed but the addition of acid like lemon makes it turn purple. 

 

Photo of Butterfly Pea tea…

 

[webruce]

Ice Beer and mixed drinks.