Mr. Mack wrote:So I was at the liquor store today (the third one, for those keeping track). A woman there told me about how much she loves Milagro Silver Tequila. Specifically, she mentioned that it's the only liquor that she's had that didn't give her a huge hangover. I didn't buy it because I can find it for $8 less elsewhere, but I am interested in it. Has anyone tried it?
What I ended up buying was a bottle of Sol Azul Silver Tequila. I hadn't seen it anywhere else and it was pretty cheap for 100% agave ($16 at a store that isn't know for great prices). It doesn't get a lot of references on Google and their website seems to have been designed by freecsstemplates.org. However, what little I could find seemed to be positive. Anyone heard of it?
SOL Azul?! What is with new tequila offerings namedropping blue celestial bodies on the label? And why are they all so cheap?
I've had a bottle of Milagro Reposado for a while; received it from some underage kids outside a rock show who stole it from their parents' liquor cabinet, which ranks as the weirdest means of acquiring a bottle of liquor in my collection. It's running low, but i've been using the El Tesoro silver more often, so it stuck around. It's good, and the brand is highly rated, but I see it getting more expensive every time I see it.
I'm looking for a decent brandy. I bought a bottle of DeKuypers cherry brandy for mixing (thinking all the other stuff they make is good, why not?) and the stuff is absolutely vile. Note to self: Don't buy brandy made by a schnapps company.
So who's got recommendations for a good cherry brandy?
26/M/taken/US age/gender/interest/country
Belial wrote:The sex card is tournament legal. And I am tapping it for, like, six mana.
rrwoods wrote:I'm looking for a decent brandy. I bought a bottle of DeKuypers cherry brandy for mixing (thinking all the other stuff they make is good, why not?) and the stuff is absolutely vile. Note to self: Don't buy brandy made by a schnapps company.
So who's got recommendations for a good cherry brandy?
Okay, now, you might be confused after this.
"Cherry Brandy", like other "fruit brandies" that are not eau-de-vie, is actually the term for cherry flavored liqueur, which may or may not be made with actual cherries or brandy. The brandies that are eau-de-vie are usually unaged, and are not what you are after, as they are extremely strong. If you're looking for a real mixing brandy, that is, an aged grape spirit, look around for VS cognacs with names you don't recognize, or try E&J XO.
I would normally recommend the Marie Brizard line for fruit brandies, but in the particular case of Cherry Brandy, I will never stray from Cherry Heering. I've only once seen Cherry Marnier, and it was expensive even in the Virgin Islands where nearly nothing was expensive. Heering is 20 bucks and fantastic. Question answered.
I know pretty much nothing about these fruit brandies, so maybe this is a stupid question, but wouldn't it make more sense simply to buy a bottle of Luxardo for mixing, and a standard brandy for drinking? Combine as necessary? Cherry brandy seems awfully... niche?
rrwoods wrote:I'm looking for a decent brandy. I bought a bottle of DeKuypers cherry brandy for mixing (thinking all the other stuff they make is good, why not?) and the stuff is absolutely vile. Note to self: Don't buy brandy made by a schnapps company.
So who's got recommendations for a good cherry brandy?
I actually didn't mind DeKuypers cherry brandy all that much. I mean, I wouldn't drink the stuff neat, but I didn't think it was terrible. I think it goes pretty well with creme de cassis. Although I've never tried it, I image it'd go well with sloe gin (maybe something made without actual gin) or Mountain Dew Voltage (maybe). While you're trying to kill off what you have, might I recommend a Hunter's Cocktail? It can be pretty good depending on the whiskey used. The only other thing that stands out in my mind is when I mixed it with a strawberry liqueur made with Canadian Club 100 Proof. If you're curious, here's the excerpt from my blag about it. (edited for irrelevant content and spoiler'd for size)
Spoiler:
I eventually settled on strawberries since they were the cheapest per pound. I sliced them and put them in a jar and covered them with about 3 ounces of whisky (90 mL). I had originally planned to store it in the pantry under the assumption that the alcohol would prevent mold and bacteria growth, but the strawberry slices floated just enough that they were just out of the whisky. So I stored it in the fridge for more than the recommended time (I've been busy) in the hope that it would all work out in the end.
I know I said I'd eat the strawberries, but I'm having second thoughts. The alcohol has eaten all of the coloring off of the strawberries, and now they look like banana slices with seeds on the outside. Let me see if I can get a pic.
Those look like zombie-strawberries.
So, first things first: The whisky in the jar: I love the color of this product. It's this glorious reddish color. It looks more like whisky than the actual whisky. I'd take a pic, but I'm tired and lazy and my pics rarely reflect the actual color anyway.
Not surprisingly, this taste like a combination of strawberries and whisky. Although it's sweeter than CC-100 on its own, this still isn't as sweet as your average bourbon. It's also slightly syrupy, but I mean that in a good way. I like the addition of the texture.
I somewhat recommend this.
The strawberry-whisky mixed with DeKuyper cherry brandy: "Oh fuck YES!" As much as I liked this whisky based strawberry liqueur on its own, it is better when mixed with cherry brandy. It's fruiter than I would have imagined, but not so fruity that I'd only recommend it for gay men (although I do recommend that men insecure with their masculinity avoid this). The brandy part of the cherry brandy, although weak on its own, is mixing with the whisky to make a great taste. This is sweet, fruity, and all kinds of savory.
I highly recommend this. I am amazed at how good this is.
Sorry that I can't recommend a good cherry brandy, but all I know about brandy is that it starred in Moesha in the late 90s. For actual helpful advice, go with what Matt suggested, he knows what's-what.
In completely unrelated news, I finally finished off my bottle of Tyrconnell. As I got near the end, I decided to go ahead and write some tasting notes instead of just being a selfish little jerk.
Spoiler:
*Hey Look!* Its yellow! Sort of a goldenrod or hay color. Maybe "light gold" would be a better description, since this is all nice and shiny and pretty. It's almost a shame to drink it because I won't be able to look at it any more. It'd be even more of a shame to not drink it, because it was too expensive to not drink.
"You can't have your whiskey and drink it too, but what else would you do with it?"
*sniff*sniff* It's a very sweet, earthy scent. There are some fruit notes. Mostly light color fruit, but maybe a bit of cherry. Perhaps cherry, apricot, and maybe a little white grape.
There's a bit of a smooth, earthiness. Perhaps some peat. Is Irish whiskey peat smoked? I'm not real clear on how Irish whiskey is made. I'll need to double-check. Definitely some floral notes.
The addition of water brings out a strong oaky/malty scent. The floral notes are now gone, so I may have been mistaken earlier. Oops.
This smells gooooood.
*sip*sip* Sweet, maybe a little subtle at first. Very fruity with a nice honey flavor.
The fruitiness continues throughout.
There's a bit of oak. The pleasant earthy notes continue. There's some malt and maybe some spice.
The finish is of a good length and is largely composed of malt with some oaky/earthy-clay backing. The sides of the tongue keep track of the spices while the mid-palate remembers the honey. The tip of the tongue seems to have forgotten what's going on. What an idiot.
The official website's tasting notes list orange and lemon. I might detect some orange, but I'm not really picking up any lemon. And I refuse to abandon my assertion that this whiskey contains apricot flavor. I ate too many fruit cocktails as a kid to not know apricot when I taste it. Also, cherry, there is a little cherry.
A strange thing seems to have happened. When I first started this bottle it had a very clear earthy taste. As I got towards the end, it became less earthy and more malty. In the meantime, I drank a lot of ale, so maybe I misjudged originally due to a lack of recent experience with malt. Also, barleywine, Fuck yeah!
*Poke it with a stick!* Tyrconnell leaves a slight oily texture in one's mouth. Nothing bad, but very much there. The burn is mild enough that anyone who complains about it shouldn't be drinking whiskey.
*Mixing Guidelines* People that mix this go straight to hell.
If you want to try anyway, only cocktail style drinks are recommended. Be sure that whiskey is the predominant ingredient and that the mixers are weak enough to only compliment it.
Mr. Mack wrote:Is Irish whiskey peat smoked? I'm not real clear on how Irish whiskey is made. I'll need to double-check.
No, as a rule it isn't. But that's changing slowly as distillers become more adventurous. Connemara make a peated Irish that is probably the most famous and widely available. Interestingly, Scotch distillers are doing something similar, with the triple distilled, entirely unpeated Hazelburn being essentially an Irish whiskey made in Scotland.
rrwoods wrote:I'm looking for a decent brandy. I bought a bottle of DeKuypers cherry brandy for mixing (thinking all the other stuff they make is good, why not?) and the stuff is absolutely vile. Note to self: Don't buy brandy made by a schnapps company.
So who's got recommendations for a good cherry brandy?
Okay, now, you might be confused after this.
"Cherry Brandy", like other "fruit brandies" that are not eau-de-vie, is actually the term for cherry flavored liqueur, which may or may not be made with actual cherries or brandy. The brandies that are eau-de-vie are usually unaged, and are not what you are after, as they are extremely strong. If you're looking for a real mixing brandy, that is, an aged grape spirit, look around for VS cognacs with names you don't recognize, or try E&J XO.
I would normally recommend the Marie Brizard line for fruit brandies, but in the particular case of Cherry Brandy, I will never stray from Cherry Heering. I've only once seen Cherry Marnier, and it was expensive even in the Virgin Islands where nearly nothing was expensive. Heering is 20 bucks and fantastic. Question answered.
Not confused at all, thanks Other internet sources seem to confirm cognac, but I'm not sure what "VS" means. I will also give Cherry Heering a try.
26/M/taken/US age/gender/interest/country
Belial wrote:The sex card is tournament legal. And I am tapping it for, like, six mana.
rrwoods wrote:Not confused at all, thanks Other internet sources seem to confirm cognac, but I'm not sure what "VS" means. I will also give Cherry Heering a try.
VS stands for "Very Special", or sometimes "Three-Star", which is French-Brandy-Speech for "the cheapest stuff we sell". VS Cognacs range from great value to horrible, and VS brandies are usually poignant wastes of money.
Bakemaster wrote:I know pretty much nothing about these fruit brandies, so maybe this is a stupid question, but wouldn't it make more sense simply to buy a bottle of Luxardo for mixing, and a standard brandy for drinking? Combine as necessary? Cherry brandy seems awfully... niche?
That's just the thing, it's not a brandy at all. It's a cherry liqueur, and it's just like keeping any other kind of liqueur around; you either like the taste of it straight or on the rocks or on your ice cream, or you have it because you love a cocktail that features it.
In this particular case, I own Heering because I love the hell out of Singapore Slings. Actual cherry distillate is known as Kirsch and puts you right on your ass, and there are valid cocktailian uses for that as well.
I splurged last night and bought a bottle of this:
St George Absinthe Verte. 72 dollars.
So good.
And to be fair, it will last roughly forever, considering I rarely drink more than a shot of it in a night of drinking. I bought my bottle of Kubler (absinthe blanche) months and months ago, and still have most of the bottle.
TG: the glittering civilization before you was built on angry apefuck power alone TG: stand agog and marvel bitch
Dream showed me some lovely-looking high-end absinthes when I visited his shop. So far I only have a bottle of the relatively cheap, bright-green stuff, that I use for making Sazeracs.
Speaking of the Sazerac, I gave the folks a taste when I went there for Mother's Day, and to my surprise both Mum and Dad were impressed. I am now determined to buy them the ingredients and give them the recipe.
Man, that colour is brilliant. Please give a review.
Well, the photographer set it up with *really* good light, most of the time it looks much darker.
That said, I'll have my thoughts on it after I've had occasion to sample it a few more times. As of now, I've only had the one shot, and I fucked up the water balance.
TG: the glittering civilization before you was built on angry apefuck power alone TG: stand agog and marvel bitch
As anyone who enjoys real, classic cocktails would tell you, vodka is bad. However, I wasn't always enlightened, and spent quite a few years consuming quite a lot of vodka. I had favorites, I had preferences and could distinguish between them. I was bored and misguided.
But anyhow, no. Green apple flavored vodka is bad. Smirnoff is pretty bad. Together they are terrible.
Er, really? Overused, sure. But demonstrably bad? There are lots of good cocktails that use vodka; I love me some Bloody Ceasars, and there's nothing to compare to a well-made Long Island. And Black Russians.
And, to be fair, a green apple Smirnoff is great when you want something low ABV but you think beer tastes like shit.
26/M/taken/US age/gender/interest/country
Belial wrote:The sex card is tournament legal. And I am tapping it for, like, six mana.
Yes, white/black Russians are tasty. Also, good vodka, taken as shots, with plenty of dark rye bread. Makes you feel Russian.
So, some good things are done with vodka, and they are all related to Russia. That shit does not belong in my goddamn martini. Matter of fact, if it has vodka in it, you don't get to call it a martini, and I don't give a shit what kind of glass it's served in. A martini has: gin, maybe a little bit of vermouth, maybe a garnish. That is all.
kira wrote:*piles up some limbs and blood and a couple hearts for good measure* GUYS. I MADE A HUMAN. *...pokes at it with a stick*
Or at least call it a vodka martini, since martini does mean gin.
I also like Cape Cods (vodka and cranberry). A lot. I have some Grey Goose right now, and if I could only drink on thing for the rest of my life it would be this.
I want to get to a place where I am neither conforming nor rebelling but simply being.
I can't help but think of vodka as the spirit of choice for people who don't like alcohol. Although I have no evidence (nor could I), I'm fairly certain that any drink that's meant to be made with vodka could be improved by making it with a different spirit that contributes more.
But to each his own. After all, if everyone agreed with me then they'd just drive up the price of stuff I like.
Considering I also like gin, rum, brandy, etc. (and have most of these in my house at all times) I dislike the idea only non-liquor drinkers like vodka. Meaux left some pretty awesome Bison Lemongrass vodka at my house (for shots only, some things are too good to mix). The only thing I do not drink is tequila. And not because I dislike it, but because I live in a state with exposure laws.
Last edited by sophyturtle on Tue May 26, 2009 10:49 pm UTC, edited 1 time in total.
I want to get to a place where I am neither conforming nor rebelling but simply being.
I think I understand the sentiment, which is that vodka can be mixed in such a way that you don't taste the alcohol but still get an appreciable amount of it in your system. You can make, say, a rum and coke in which you don't taste the rum, but it's gotta be about 15/85 or weaker. Vodka you can probably hit 30/70 or a bit stronger without tasting anything except a pungent mixer (orange juice, etc). People who do only this are people who like vodka but not alcohol.
That said, yes, there is good vodka out there, and it is *damn tasty.* Now I want to go home and do vodka shots. Frick.
kira wrote:*piles up some limbs and blood and a couple hearts for good measure* GUYS. I MADE A HUMAN. *...pokes at it with a stick*
Amarantha wrote:Dream showed me some lovely-looking high-end absinthes when I visited his shop. So far I only have a bottle of the relatively cheap, bright-green stuff, that I use for making Sazeracs.
Those would be Le Mercier (Lemercier?) Absinthes. French, properly pot distilled and macerated with botanicals. They're absolutely gorgeous, but very, very pricey. It was equally priced with Longrow Gaja Barolo finished Scotch, or Springbank 1997 Limited Edition. I know where my $AU150 would go, if I could ever afford that, and sadly it isn't the Absinthe...
So talk about the interesting-sounding cider, don't troll us.
clintonius wrote:Vodka you can probably hit 30/70 or a bit stronger without tasting anything except a pungent mixer (orange juice, etc). People who do only this are people who like vodka but not alcohol.
No, that's people who hate alcohol but like BEING DRUNK. There's a difference.
Stop this argument. We welcome liquor neophytes and vodka snobs alike, but we celebrate quality drink in here, not frat-boy blackouts.
clintonius wrote:That shit does not belong in my goddamn martini. Matter of fact, if it has vodka in it, you don't get to call it a martini, and I don't give a shit what kind of glass it's served in. A martini has: gin, maybe a little bit of vermouth, maybe a garnish. That is all.
I'm starting to come around, you know. I'm perfectly fine with calling a vodka martini a vodka martini, just like I'd be willing to experiment with a rum martini or a brandy manhattan. What makes it a martini, heck, a cocktail at all, is the vermouth. There is no maybe.
Matt wrote:No, that's people who hate alcohol but like BEING DRUNK. There's a difference.
Stop this argument. We welcome liquor neophytes and vodka snobs alike, but we celebrate quality drink in here, not frat-boy blackouts.
Ah yes, your wording is more accurate -- I was simply getting after Mr. Mack's original point, which was that "vodka is [/can be] the spirit of choice for people who don't like alcohol." No need to get testes about it.
Matt wrote:
clintonius wrote:That shit does not belong in my goddamn martini. Matter of fact, if it has vodka in it, you don't get to call it a martini, and I don't give a shit what kind of glass it's served in. A martini has: gin, maybe a little bit of vermouth, maybe a garnish. That is all.
I'm starting to come around, you know. I'm perfectly fine with calling a vodka martini a vodka martini, just like I'd be willing to experiment with a rum martini or a brandy manhattan. What makes it a martini, heck, a cocktail at all, is the vermouth. There is no maybe.
I dunno, I think you can go with either garnish or vermouth and still call it a martini. My ideal ones have a smaller-than-typical amount of dry vermouth and a twist of lime, but I'd be willing to accept that it's still a martini sans vermouth.
kira wrote:*piles up some limbs and blood and a couple hearts for good measure* GUYS. I MADE A HUMAN. *...pokes at it with a stick*
That's sort of why every <Adjective> martini, where the vermouth is (held next to, tapped against the glass, allowed to look at the glass, in the same room, ad infinitum), is generally mentioned tongue-in-cheek. Like, "Ha ha, I called this a martini but there's no vermouth in it! I'm clever!"
Parka wrote:I assume this is yours. I don't know anyone else who would put "kill a bear" on a list.
I have seen that the proper way to make a martini is to shake the vermouth, strain it out, then shake the gin with the vermouth-coated ice. That's damn near close to no vermouth.
26/M/taken/US age/gender/interest/country
Belial wrote:The sex card is tournament legal. And I am tapping it for, like, six mana.
Every time you shake a martini Shiva kills a kitten. And not the scratches your furniture and leaves you with scars kind of kitten. Those cute little helpless kitties you just can't help but love.
And if I see anyone shake my martini I will kill them, so as to help Shiva out, cause there are too many people making shitty shaken martinis.
jmrz wrote:You totally know she's a keeper when she offers to bail you out of jail.
sophyturtle wrote:ice cream sandwiches = happiness wrapped in paper
^ Listen to that man. SC told me once he'd planned on killing me if I ordered my martini incorrectly. It would've been nice to know that beforehand, but still. I still live!
I like a few molecules of vermouth, just for mouthfeel and a bit of finish. I don't want to taste it right off the bat.
Parka wrote:I assume this is yours. I don't know anyone else who would put "kill a bear" on a list.
d33p wrote:I like a few molecules of vermouth, just for mouthfeel and a bit of finish. I don't want to taste it right off the bat.
Yes, the vermouth should never overwhelm the taste of the gin. I've been to places that put way too much of the stuff in, and it's damn near undrinkable.
One reason I hate living in Newark: the first two places at which I ordered a martini made it with gin and -- ch-ch-chiggity check this out -- sweet vermouth. Mysteriously, both establishments have since burned down.
kira wrote:*piles up some limbs and blood and a couple hearts for good measure* GUYS. I MADE A HUMAN. *...pokes at it with a stick*
I once had a cocktail called a "Silver Bullet" - which was essentially a wet martini but instead of vermouth, Scotch was used. It smelled like cellotape. It tasted like pine and peat. I adored it. Anyone else heard of this, had one, have opinions?
Parka wrote:I assume this is yours. I don't know anyone else who would put "kill a bear" on a list.
I've heard of using a rinsing of scotch before pouring in the gin, and it sounds fantastic. "Dusty martini" is the name I've heard. Actually, I do believe it's been mentioned in this thread/forum, somewheres.
kira wrote:*piles up some limbs and blood and a couple hearts for good measure* GUYS. I MADE A HUMAN. *...pokes at it with a stick*
Other internet sources seem to confirm cognac, but I'm not sure what "VS" means. I will also give Cherry Heering a try.
