whiskey

new cocktail?

man you can dump Beam into Coke all night, but there are plenty of bourbons where doing so would be sooooo problematic imo

the bourbons/tennessee whiskeys that are good in coke are really not that awesome on their own, imo

dickel is ok, jack daniels is way too sweet, I just am not that into Beam's low-end offering

when ppl say they find bourbon as a category "too sweet" i really want to know what they've been drinking

i've tried lots of bourbons in the last few years, and there is definitely a range (i guess i like the "dry" end) but there is a base sweetness to all bourbon that doesn't appeal that much to my tastebuds.

American whiskey is now sold in more than 100 countries. The leading markets are the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Australia, and Japan. Key emerging markets for American whiskey are China, Vietnam, Brazil, Chile, Romania, and Bulgaria

bourbon finally finding a home in the balkans

i would strongly recommend wild turkey 101 for bourbon and coke...marginally more expensive but it has the proof and character to elevate that drink a bit.

wild turkey is a good buy

ok, in anticipation of March 17, any recommendations on "high-end" and/or noteworthy irish whiskies beyond the usual suspects. i see that my local trader joe's recently started selling a house brand single malt irish but i am skeptical

― utopian dipshit (buzza), Wednesday, March 14, 2012 12:54 AM

http://www.passportwineandspirits.com/images/wky7.jpg

trader joes has a single malt scotch too, not sure i'd go there

lol i wonder what the age is on the tj's scotch?

10 years

wow! i thought it might be a mcclelland's-like 3-5 year old.

i think they might have more than one. costco has them too, like re-branded macallan and bowmore

yeah i've heard of the costco ones. wish tj's around here could say liquor because i'd like to try this.

*sell liquor

My understanding is that the TJs liquor (sold only in CA, I believe) is name-brand but labeled for TJs. For example, Trader Joe's vodka is Belevedere, I was told. Dunno who makes their tequila or scotch, but I hear it's not bad. I think they also sell some name brand scotch, too. (Our local TJs sells sake, sherry and vermouth, but mostly sticks that that fortified wine territory).

My favorite scotch cocktail is the Penicillin. Blended scotch, lemon juice, ginger honey syrup, float of something peaty like the Laphroaig 10 on top.

yeah that's a good cocktail

BTW, a TJ's now carries the Bulleit rye as well as the bourbon, at the same price ($20). I have a bottle that I haven't opened yet.

guh

Costco has the bourbon here at that price, but not the rye as of the last time I checked.

I finally decided displaying my collection of empty bulleit bottles on the kitchen shelf was really low class but I haven't had the heart to recycle them yet. Anyone have any ideas about what I could do with about 25 of them?

Use them to make infusions! Vinegar, vodka, oil, whatever!

(wash first though)

ever have interest in making infusions or liqueurs or something? take the labels off and they would be good for storing those.

xp great minds etc etc

mother's day presents?

infusions a good idea!

four thieves vinegar is perfect for spring

also warding off witches/plague

http://nourishedkitchen.com/four-thieves-vinegar-recipe/

<i>Don't know where you all are from, but in general American spirit tastes tend toward the sweet. Hence our national distrust of bitters, which abound in Europe (there's a good chapter on this in Jason Wilson's "Boozehound"). Not that scotch is bitter, but our tastebuds I think gravitate toward the caramel sweetness of bourbon. Also, made in America, USA USA USA!</i>

uhhh i am not familiar with this bitters hate. and i don't like overly sweet bourbons! i just like bourbon better. and rye. rye is my answer to wanting something a bit dryer.

some day i will learn bbcode and not rely on remembering to "convert simple html to bbcode"

scotch tastes kind of 'thin' compared to bourbon, for me at least

nikka from the barrel is sick (as is ardbeg 10)

Yep. My favourite blend and my favourite malt.

tried the nikka yoichi tonight, it was really nice. yamazaki is another great japanese whisky obviously but whatever you do, never drink 10 year old isawa single malt. literally tastes like an old bike shop.

Fighting Cock 1st impressions: this is good, not as complex as I was perhaps hoping for, but not thin like a lot of what i consider 'bland' bourbons. Would buy again, and at $22/liter it's affordable.

also re: bourbon sweetness. i think it is the sweetness in some bourbons that put me more into the rye train tbh--i find things like makers, beam, turkey, even knob creek, can become a bit cloying after a few drinks.

i find knob especially to be pretty sweet

yamazaki is another great japanese whisky obviously

obv

Buffalo Trace is the best default bargain whiskey, methinks. A bit of space, nice and flavorful.

i find knob especially to be pretty sweet

Posts taken out of context...

heh

Buffalo Trace OTM, big fan

the last 24hrs worth of posts make me wish I could share this wonderful birthday bourbon I got, the stuff is srsly sublime

i think people misinterpreted my "sweet" description of bourbon
i am only talking about tastebuds and physical reactions to certain tastes (taste being a neutral/scientific word here)
how one reacts to a certain taste sensation is to a certain extent up to genetics(although cultural influences cannot be dismissed i guess)

i certainly don't think people who like bourbon are into sickly sweet stuff, rather their tastebuds respond to a different end of the taste(bud) spectrum. and yes, single malt scotches are well beyond my income comfort-zone for the most part which is why i like irish whiskies as they seem to hit a nice "sweet spot" between bourbon and scotch and are affordable.

also i am in no way averse to sweet-tasting alcoholic drinks but i prefer to control the ingredients that go into the drink as opposed to starting out with a base-level sweetness with the main ingredient.

scotch tastes kind of 'thin' compared to bourbon, for me at least

― flagp∞st (dayo), Wednesday, March 14, 2012 6:15 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

the bottling proof of most scotch is one thing that is to blame here

Scotch is best neat or with only a tiny splash of water in most cases, though. If I'm going to drink bourbon straight, I usually throw an ice cube in.

yeah i never put ice in bourbon pretty much (unless it's an old fashioned obv) so i get used to the higher abv

i like both scotch and bourbon but prefer bourbon. And i dont think it has to do with any relative sweetness, because i dont have a sweet tooth at all.

or doesn't have any teeth at all...

Operative word being "relative" sweetness. With bourbon you get hints of caramel. WIth scotch you get hints of, dunno, dirt, I guess. More vegetal vs. spice.

i mean this all comes down to personal palates but i've had sherried scotches (balvenie doublewood, glenfarclas 12) that seem so sweet to me!