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I'd start drinking now in anticipation this MFer refuses to give up the office.
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Jun 4, 2020 15:15
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S.W.O.R.D. Agent posted:I'd start drinking now in anticipation this MFer refuses to give up the office. I've got plenty of middle-of-the-road bottles to tide myself over until then, whether its in January, or 4 years from now
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Jun 4, 2020 15:42
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Hauki posted:I kinda miss Black Grouse in the “cheap but serviceable blend” category Why, what happened to it? Not around anymore? More expensive?
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Jun 5, 2020 16:57
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Comb Your Beard posted:Why, what happened to it? Not around anymore? More expensive? oh, I dunno, but I haven’t seen it stocked anywhere locally in years now
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Jun 5, 2020 17:25
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wormil posted:Drinking the julep now, delicious but I should have used more ice. My wife planted mint along the fence and it took off like crazy and now we have tons of it. Mint juleps are awesome. Here's how I've been making mine (extra-minty): 1) Boil up some simple syrup (or take some prepared simple syrup out of the fridge/pantry). 2) Grab four or five big sprigs of mint, the fresher the better (but store-bought works just fine). Take the whole clump in hand and pick off your favorite top, budding portions for garnish, then twist the hell out of the rest, ripping the leaves and stalks and expressing as much oil as possible. Ideally you don't want a ton of tiny little shreds, but they're not a deal-breaker. 3) Place the twisted/torn mint in your shaker. 4) Place several cubes of ice in the shaker. I use four or five if I'm making a single drink, but if you're batching or making a double you'll want to add more. 4) Add as much simple syrup and bourbon as you and your friend(s) plan to drink to the shaker, in a roughly 1:4 ratio (you can adjust this ratio based on individual preferences). For one drink I'll typically use 3ish ounces of bourbon and maybe 1/2 of an ounce of simple syrup. You can make multiple drinks in a single batch. My preference is to use Old Forester 1920, Wild Turkey Rare Breed, and/old OGD 114, but virtually any sweetish, high proof bourbon works here. Feel free to mix and match. Just don't use stuff with a big age statement, you aren't looking for a ton of oak. 5) Shake the hell out of your shaker. Take some time to get it all nicely integrated. 6) Serve in a julep cup or rocks glass over several cubes of ice. Garnish with that mint bud you saved at the start. Optionally, you can choose to muddle the mint in the shaker with the bourbon and syrup. You can also choose to add a bunch of mint to your serving glass, which is the traditional way of doing it, but I find that having a pile of leaves in the glass tends to be more of an annoyance than anything else.
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Jun 5, 2020 22:04
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Hauki posted:oh, I dunno, but I haven’t seen it stocked anywhere locally in years now It's been replaced with "Smoky Black" now which should be available most places. I haven't tried it and it's been at least a decade since I've had the original so I can't comment on how it is.
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Jun 5, 2020 22:19
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Vox Nihili posted:Mint juleps are awesome. Here's how I've been making mine (extra-minty): I agree with the recipe up until the ice. To me, the ice is a crucial component. Either have an ice machine that makes crushed ice or buy a bag of sonic ice from Sonic. I make them for my office during Derby and I always buy a bag from Sonic. Cubes don't work as well.
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Jun 5, 2020 23:50
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I use a Lewis bag to get a nice fine texture when I am entertaining and care about presentation. I think you can get away with without that fine ice if it's more for personal medicinal purposes.
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Jun 5, 2020 23:56
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Gravitee posted:I agree with the recipe up until the ice. To me, the ice is a crucial component. Either have an ice machine that makes crushed ice or buy a bag of sonic ice from Sonic. I make them for my office during Derby and I always buy a bag from Sonic. Cubes don't work as well. Oh yeah, crushed is definitely preferred but I just can't be assed to crush it myself (and don't have a machine). If you're putting a bunch of mint directly into the glass in particular then you basically need crushed ice, otherwise you end up with a mouthful of mint leaves on occasion.
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Jun 6, 2020 00:28
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I do simple syrup and a bunch of leaves, muddle, add crushed ice, bourbon, stir (add ice as needed) until cup frosts outside
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Jun 6, 2020 00:29
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Mint juleps are the only reason I haven't tried eradicating the mint growing in a corner of my yard.
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Jun 6, 2020 00:39
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Lewis bags and solid, thick rolling pins work great, no machine needed.
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Jun 6, 2020 04:06
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I am lazy and use agave nectar in place of simple syrup for all my mixed drinks that require sweetener.
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Jun 6, 2020 13:29
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Any gin drinkers around here? Is there a thread for that?
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Jun 6, 2020 20:37
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obi_ant posted:Any gin drinkers around here? Is there a thread for that? I'm not very knowledgeable about it, but I enjoy it a great deal. There's no thread I know of.
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Jun 6, 2020 20:45
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obi_ant posted:Any gin drinkers around here? Is there a thread for that? Checking in as well, dunno if there's a thread though, I know it comes up in the cocktail thread as you might expect.
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Jun 6, 2020 20:49
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Just finished my weekly blind did a slew of ~115s Cleveland Underground Black Cherry and Honey Locust Custom Blend (Loch & Key), WT Rare Breed LL/GK, OF 1920, 4R Private Select OESV Liquor Barn 2016 Winner: 1920 2: Rare Breed 3: Four Roses 4: Cleveland Underground The rare breed and 4r pick were close, it was about the mood I'm in right now. The 1920 was a clear winner on flavor and nose though. This Cleveland pick is decent in a vacuum but I guess nothing compares to properly aged whiskey.
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Jun 6, 2020 22:51
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obi_ant posted:Any gin drinkers around here? Is there a thread for that? I keep 30 to 40 different gins on hand. No thread though but I'd happily discuss it some
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Jun 7, 2020 00:10
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Tiny Chalupa posted:I keep 30 to 40 different gins on hand. No thread though but I'd happily discuss it some Sounds like you should start a thread!
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Jun 7, 2020 00:23
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Nah, use this or the cocktail thread imo, the rum thread died for lack of posting. Maybe we even had a gin one at one point. Everyone will be happy to learn!
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Jun 7, 2020 00:28
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I don't really drink gin but I sure don't mind learning about it here. Lotta whiskey distilleries start with gin while aging product, right? So there's a tie-in.
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Jun 7, 2020 02:26
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I adore gin. Probably have 50 bottles. My favourite is Ophir. Spicy and delicious. Not expensive either.
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Jun 7, 2020 02:30
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Gin is one the few liquors I absolutely abhor. I'll drink almost anything unless gin is in it. I wish I did like it because I respect a lot of people who swear by G&T n this time of year.
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Jun 7, 2020 03:53
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Nikka makes a gin which is really something else. Very overtly citrusy and horrendously drinkable straight, let alone mixed. I've tried a bunch thanks to gin-inclined friends, and while I've liked a lot of em, Nikka is the only one I've bothered buying for my own supply.
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Jun 7, 2020 04:26
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Deceptive Thinker posted:Just finished my weekly blind did a slew of ~115s 1920 is so solid, it just epitomizes good bourbon for me. All the classic bourbon notes are there and bold, not overly oaky, and good solid mouthfeel. Also love it because it’s available basically everywhere.
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Jun 7, 2020 04:38
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Kalsco posted:Nikka makes a gin which is really something else. Very overtly citrusy and horrendously drinkable straight, let alone mixed. I've tried a bunch thanks to gin-inclined friends, and while I've liked a lot of em, Nikka is the only one I've bothered buying for my own supply. I like Suntory's gin a lot too sounds similar
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Jun 7, 2020 04:44
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I like booze. When I drink gin, however, I just want to lie homeless in the gutter.
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Jun 7, 2020 08:57
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I'm just getting into gin and don't mind some gin chat if it's okay with the regulars. So far I've enjoyed Bombay Sapphire, Hendrick's, Gunpowder, Frontier, and Tanqueray. Not a big fan of the lower end vermouths so I'm going to step up a bit next shopping day. Frontier is a US gin from somewhere in the Midwest. It's heavily floral on the nose but I don't have the pallet yet to describe gin in any useful way other than I like it for tonics. Spied a couple NC brands, anyone tried these and have feedback? 
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Jun 7, 2020 08:58
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Gin and tonic was always my go-to at like a wedding bar if they didn't have a beer or whiskey I'd like much. From being in quarantine and limited to what I had at hand, I also found that I like gin bucks (gin and ginger ale + citrus) That said I know very little about gin outside the basics, would certainly welcome gin chat itt from someone knowledgeable. I do know there is an Islay-foraged gin called the Botanist that I've bought a few times even from PA state stores and thought was good. I dunno how legit it is but the bottle is cool at least.
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Jun 7, 2020 18:07
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Logan 5 posted:I do know there is an Islay-foraged gin called the Botanist that I've bought a few times even from PA state stores and thought was good. I dunno how legit it is but the bottle is cool at least. It is made by Bruichladdich - so it's pretty legit
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Jun 7, 2020 18:15
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I've been drinking a lot of G&Ts as of late and I'm really enjoying them. I've been using Monkey 47 ~(6oz) with a small bottle of Fever Tree Mediterranean or Indian or Grapefruit tonic water and it's been pretty nice in this hot weather. I was wondering what are the staples in the gin world. Is it like the whiskey world where large producers make really good whiskey and small ones make mediocre whiskey? Or is it more like the beer world, where smaller breweries make good beer and the larger ones make decent beer?
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Jun 7, 2020 18:31
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I'm no expert but I believe gin is easier to do small scale / entry level because most of the flavor comes from your botanicals, so as long as your base spirit is decent you can make something drinkable and unique. I just went out to the liquor store for triple sec to make margaritas, now I want tonic water.
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Jun 7, 2020 23:09
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Toebone posted:I'm no expert but I believe gin is easier to do small scale / entry level because most of the flavor comes from your botanicals, so as long as your base spirit is decent you can make something drinkable and unique. Also not an expert, but a lot of the local micro distilleries around here have bottled gin to sell while their bourbon still needs to age for a bit.
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Jun 8, 2020 03:01
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DoctaFun posted:Also not an expert, but a lot of the local micro distilleries around here have bottled gin to sell while their bourbon still needs to age for a bit. New Riff makes a gin, it is very bad.
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Jun 8, 2020 03:43
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It's typically easier to setup a gin distillery versus a whisky distillery. You needn't bother with a lot of the hassle you see in whisky like malting, milling, mashing, wash vs. spirit stills, and fermenting. And certainly not choosing the right wood and environment for maturation -- with no maturation you're able to experiment then see/taste the results immediately. You can start with NGS, throw it into a still alongside some botanicals to add flavor in a single run, then bottle it as a "craft gin." For that matter you can outsource the entire process to a distillery, giving them only your required botanical basket. Hell I am "making" some gin right now with a friend because the distillery is offering to distill any craft beer for free. Numbers I've heard is that it can be as low as 1/10th to 1/5th the cost of a whisky distillery. Then you can sell the bottles for like half the cost of a bottle of whisky. As mentioned, this is why you see a lot of whisky distilleries also making gin as they wait. Also allows them to get their name out their etc. during the few years until their first whiskies drop. Of course some gin distilleries do go out of their way to make nicer products. Usually that premiumization in gin falls into a few categories: a) spending on higher quality/rarer botanicals, b) labor-intensive processing of those botanicals prior to distilling, c) using some special techniques, methods, or equipment during the actual run, and d) something special post-distilling (barrel-aged gins do exist, for example). zmcnulty fucked around with this message at 04:19 on Jun 8, 2020 |
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Jun 8, 2020 04:14
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DoctaFun posted:Also not an expert, but a lot of the local micro distilleries around here have bottled gin to sell while their bourbon still needs to age for a bit. I am something adjacent to an expert, and this is 100% correct. Whiskey comes off of the still water white (hence the term "white dog") and usually requires years of aging in oak. Difficult to run a business when you are plowing many monies into producing a product you can't sell for months and months in the future. Gin and vodka, on the other hand, basically come off of the still ready to drink (though there is a school of thought that aging in stainless steel/neutral vessel for a few weeks mellows/unifies and improves the product).
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Jun 8, 2020 04:26
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A lot of the newer Whisky distillieries that I'm familiar with started with Gin & Vodka to get some money flowing in before or while they started their whisk(e)y. Both The Lakes distillery & Penderyn did this. The Lakes distillery have separate stills for their Gin & Vodka while the funky still at Penderyn pretty much allows them to distill whatever they want. There's a newish distillery called Crafty Distillery up in Dumfries & Galloway (https://craftydistillery.com/) that I visited just before the lockdown that is doing Gin, Vodka & Liqueurs. I have always disliked Gin, but in their 'Smoky & Citrus Distilled Cocktail' I found something effectively the same that is great. It's awesome as a base of a long drink on a hot day. I was talking to one of the workers up at Crafty when I was there and he told me that they were expecting to have some copper pot stills delivered in the next week or so, so hopefully they'll be making some whisky soon as Lowland whisky is underrated.
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Jun 8, 2020 15:14
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What’s a good intro scotch for somebody who has recently gotten in to whiskey but only tried bourbons so far? I started getting into bourbon in the past year and have started to really enjoy it (Wild Turkey rare breed is probably my favorite so far) but now I’m living on the other side of the ocean and scotch is a lot easier to come by. I did pick up my first bottle of Japanese whiskey today (Nikka Coffey Malt) and I’m really liking it, though the price is a little on the high side for me.
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Jun 10, 2020 16:28
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Glenfiddich 12 is a good place to start. From there it depends on what you like, whether you want peat/smoke, sherry cask stuff, coastal notes and so on.
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Jun 10, 2020 16:35
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Glenfiddich 12, Glenlivet 12 are pretty standard if not a bit boring. Highland Park 12, Talisker 10, for a bit more flavor and a slight hint of smoke, but still friendly introductions. Or if you want to roll the dice on whether you have a broken brain like me and love to drink bog-soaked campfire ashes, Ardbeg 10 or Laphroaig 10 (or Lagavulin 16 but it can be pricy). Ardbeg 10 was my first scotch. No regrets. Enigma fucked around with this message at 16:41 on Jun 10, 2020 |
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Jun 10, 2020 16:37
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