The Official Booze Thread

[Jake]

I don't see how you guys casually drink Bourbon. Maybe I've never had the good kind, but the guys I wheel with are always drinking it around the fire and want me to taste it. I don't see how anyone drinks anything hard like that by sipping it.


Acquired taste?

Small sips, hold it in your mouth for a second before swallowing. It mellows the flavor out so you don't get the oh-lord-I-did-a-shot reflex.

(Yes, that's what she said.)

[WRXtranceformed]

Most people I know don't bother drinking whiskey / bourbon neat or on the rocks unless they are drinking the good stuff. If you aren't sure, generally the higher the number on the bottle the better...by a lot.

It's definitely an acquired taste, if you get into it just try a few different brands and see which you like best. Some taste awful (Johnnie Walker Red and Black always tasted to me like someone pissed on peat moss, cooked it into whiskey and then filtered it back through the piss soaked moss) while some are milder and more refined. Honestly when I used to get hammered almost every day one of my drinks of choice was Wild Turkey Honey split 50/50 with water. That pretty much goes against the first sentence in my post but I didn't drink whiskey to try to pretend to be sophisticated.

[ScottyB]

:lol:

if i have to be serious though...love stouts, brown ales, and the occasional lager. just found a great local beer called Red Oak, their amber lager is fantastic. extremely pure and "clean" tasting...which has a lot to do with their anal insistence on storage temperature and the exclusion of additives or preservatives. if you're in my neighborhood get it on tap.


i'll take bourbon all day long, and Knob Creek 9 year is my easy to find go-to for a sipper. would love to try Eagle Rare.

i really don't touch on scotch much but would love to grab some this year if i can.

[Ryan T]

I like lots of craft beers. There is a local wine/beer store that lets you buy individual beers of all different kinds of origin/type and I visit there frequently. I prefer more of a lager than an ale. I'll document my beer list later.

Wine...I like full bodied red wines but I don't know enough about them to really form an opinion. My sister and bro-in-law are aficionado's and buy some high-dollar wines to bring home and I always like what they pick. I seem to like a good Pinot Noir or a Gamay the best.

As for liquor, there is only one...

[Apoc]

Below are my liquors of choice... a lot of old standbys. Craft distilleries are a big thing here - there are half a dozen distilleries without three miles of my house, but I have yet to try them.

[Evan]

Chris you're the last person I'd expect to drink puff daddy vodka

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[Apoc]

Chris you're the last person I'd expect to drink puff daddy vodka

I drink it 'cause it's grain free; made from grapes. I also have 1.5 bottles of Grey Goose on the bar, but I shy away from it these days due to an adverse reaction to wheat. (I almost prefaced the post with that 'cause I knew someone would say something.)

10 Cane is another good option for anyone looking to minimize the crap in their booze. It's made from sugar cane instead of molasses, so it has a much lighter/cleaner finish.10 Cane and pineapple coconut water is a great way to get hipster liberal buzzed.

[.RJ]

Really enjoy Knob Creek "Small Batch" 100 proof Rye on the rocks. I also like the Smoked Maple, smells super sweet, but it isn't. I want to try their 100 Proof Rye, just haven't yet. It is entirely too easy to spend a couple hundred bucks in an ABC store.

At the risk of sounding like a fanboi, the Hudson Rye is much, much better than the Knob Creek. Its not that the knob creek is bad, but the Hudson is much more complex and satisfying to drink.

If you like this sort of stuff this place is your new best friend - <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://drinkupny.com">http://drinkupny.com</a><!-- m -->

[Kaan]

I'm really big on local stuff... so if anyone releases anything local i hunt it down and try it. take my opinions with a grain of salt though, i get judged because i say i'm picky but my "go to" garage beer is PBR. I've heard this disqualifies me from speaking about booze, but i'm 99% sure i've tired more beers then the people that judge me

my beer list is about 200 miles long... i was spending about $100/week on 22ozers (for years... and this doesnt include 6ers or growlers... yes i have more than one growler), traveled to multiple breweries, etc. Our selection is pretty poor here BUT there is a cafe in town with lots of stuff to try and a beer joint in down town winchester.

whiskey people... I <3 catoctin creek rye, its super smooth. copper fox was a little spicey up front (but it didnt stop me from buying two age your own kits!)

[Kaan]

FYI makers and knob creek are the same company. and dont spend your money on Rogues Dead Guy Whiskey. If you want to try it just come to the house, i have a bottle that isnt going anywhere!

[Mike]

Most people I know don't bother drinking whiskey / bourbon neat.

I slap people who drink those neat. They're not supposed to be drunked that way.

I really don't drink much liquor (too much effort), but we have a decent cabinet. I like tequila and bourbon mostly. I hate bad vodka and don't really care for scotchy scotch scotch. I have a half dozen or so bottles of bourbon. Bought them to do a blind taste testing with the wife one night. Fun little exercise. Highly recommended, but do it with friends and have everyone bring something different so you're not stuck with half a dozen bottles of something Maker's won and there was some pretty high dollar stuff it was competing against.

If you're ever in Kentucky, plan some visits on The Bourbon Trail. I've been twice now. Maker's and Four Roses were my favorites.

Also, beer flights rule. Just discovered a bike shop three blocks away that has a pretty wild beer bar and is meant for hanging out pre and post ride, and really just whenever. Almost like a community center. They have a dozen local things on tap and flights. Dangerous. Beer is crazy in this town. I don't like hoppy shit and was told that that is all that was up here... Not true at all. There's so much variety that it is easier to avoid hops than even in VA.

[JustinG]

Really enjoy Knob Creek "Small Batch" 100 proof Rye on the rocks. I also like the Smoked Maple, smells super sweet, but it isn't. I want to try their 100 Proof Rye, just haven't yet. It is entirely too easy to spend a couple hundred bucks in an ABC store.

At the risk of sounding like a fanboi, the Hudson Rye is much, much better than the Knob Creek. Its not that the knob creek is bad, but the Hudson is much more complex and satisfying to drink.

If you like this sort of stuff this place is your new best friend - <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://drinkupny.com">http://drinkupny.com</a><!-- m -->

Almost out of my Knob Creek Rye so I will give the Hudson a try next time around.

[premiershine9]

Yeah my whiskey stones taught me that I want to slightly dilute my liquor. Sue me. I might pick up a whiskey ball at some point, until then a regular old cube works pretty nicely.

I'll have to pick up a bottle of the Prisoner, I've heard a lot of people mention it.

It's what put the original maker- Phinney on the map in 07- a mistake blend- in 09 I believe a company bought them out so they could produce 70k cases a year.... 2011 was excellente, although you can't find an 11 in a store anymore- '12 was pretty different- lot more pepper and alcohol was a lot hotter. Try it out though!

[CaptainHenreh]

My rum of choice is Barbancourt, which my parents brought a few bottles of back from haiti. Also made from cane juice, it's almost absurdly smooth. You can sip it out of a glass if you like, it's really something else.

[.RJ]

FYI makers and knob creek are the same company. and dont spend your money on Rogues Dead Guy Whiskey. If you want to try it just come to the house, i have a bottle that isnt going anywhere!

There's only really 4 bourbon distillers in the US, and the process is mostly the same for all of them. The only thing you pay more for is a brand or the aging in oak, for the most part.

This is a great book, sheds a lot of light on the business of making bourbon - <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00G50H7H8/ref=oh_d__o06_details_o06__i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1">http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00G50 ... UTF8&psc=1</a><!-- m -->

[Kaan]

i got that book for christmas and i'm reading a couple of others now

[SlimKlim]

I should try more sipping rum. I used to like Zaya which is a crazy dark, almost syrupy rum good for sipping, but I haven't had it in a few years, little too sweet for me now.

[Apoc]

Dogfish Head Honey Brown Rum is by far the best sipping rum. The others aren't even playing the same sport.

Sadly, you can only buy it in DE, PA and maybe MD.

[SlimKlim]

Hrm. I'll be in MD this summer for bimmerfest and I accidentally discovered a nice liquor store on the way home from the last one on a pee-stop. I'll have to pop in and look for it.

[.RJ]

I can vouch for the dogfish rum, its pretty awesome. Also - <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://caskers.com/product/kirk-and-sweeney/">http://caskers.com/product/kirk-and-sweeney/</a><!-- m -->