The Syndicate

This is a thread for those who may imbibe occasionally or more than occasionally. Do you have a favorite scotch, beer, wine etc that you just loooove? How about something that you tried that one time and will never drink again. Favorite cocktail? What's the recipe?

All Bea's zombie bar regulars are invited!

My favorite beer for everyday drinking is Magic Hat #9 although I have many other loves for different occasions.

My favorite scotch is Laphroaig, quite peaty.

My favorite cocktail is the Gimlet, typically made with three parts gin to two parts Rose's sweetened lime juice, but I prefer mine a little drier with a 2-1 ratio.
Another one I quite like is Pink Gin with a twist of lemon, Pink Gin being simply cold gin with several generous dashes of Angostura Bitters.

For wines, which I don't drink very often, I prefer a big, oaky, leathery, tobbacco-y Cabernet Sauvignon, preferably from Chile, or a nice tawny port.

I will drink most spirits with the exception of Jaegermeister, which is the most horrible thing ever, and a general distaste for the trendy, teenage girl type liqueurs like Malibu and Midori. Not much of a fan of tequila either, but will have it in a margarita.

Chartreuse is very, very strange, and I think I am finally acquiring a taste for it after struggling to finish a bottle for more than a decade. I don't much like Galliano, but Campari is delicious and refreshing. Benedictine is quite pleasant and makes a surprisingly good sour.

My favorite cocktail is The Greyhound. That's just regular vodka with grapefruit juice. (I'll do a screwdriver, but I find the sweetness of the orange juice too cloying). If the bar doesn't have grapefruit juice, I usually fall back on pineapple juice, cranberry juice and then orange juice (in that order).

I will often get a red wine - usually pinot noir, but sometimes Cabernet. For the last 2 years or so, I keep it at one drink; I'm a lightweight and don't like to be embarrassed.

Llama - you tried any cherry wheats this summer? You didn't mention absinthe - do you ever do that? My dad brings out his absinthe fountain around the holidays, but I just can't do it. I didn't even know there was such thing as pink gin.

I like the idea of champagne cocktails (with grapefruit instead of orange juice), but champagne always gives me a headache.

Hedge - I like that you created your liquor post and within 10 mins it brings MIA Llama out of the ether. I think he has radar.

Way to start this off right!

I am partial to darker beers. I like Porters, ESB, Ambers, and Stouts usually. Generally like creamy English, Scottish or Irish beers. Things like Fuller's, Rogue, Bell's Best Brown, Dogfish Head had a Chicory Stout years ago that I liked too.

Learning to like scotch, but it burnsss uss my preciousss! I like a mellow scotch, that doesnt burn my mouth first sip, been trying various things because my FIL amd family like a good scotch. I can never remember which tastes like what, but I tried some Laphroaig, Talisker, Lagavulin, Ardbeg, Glenfidditch, and others I am sure forgetting.

I haven't been a big cocktail person. I do enjoy a G&T, and saw a delicious looking Gin and Cucumber Lemonade recipe from Alton Brown recently I want to try.

I am also a big fan of a dry Cider and love that so many new cideries are popping up.

Wine is becoming my go to more and more. Red or White, Sparkling or not. I tend to like Sav. blanc, Pinot grigio, cab. sav, malbec, tempranillo, and prosecco.

Llama- I will take your word for it on Chartreuse. I tried Port once, but didnt enjoy it. Maybe I should try it again.

Mongoose- Llama knows a good thread when he sees it! Have you tried Prosecco instead of Champage? I hear it's supposed to not be as bad for headaches. Ginger syrup with Prosecco is delicious!

As far as the wonderful world of alcohol goes, I'm like a lost little kitty. I can't tackle some some things yet, but I nibble at what comes my way. Beer is good, from my limited experience I guess I tend to like darker ones. I've not too much experience with wine. I've been to a local winefest last year, I don't remember specifics but there was a table of semi-sweet/semi-dry red wines and I think that was my favorite. I liked their brandy more though. Champagne is yummy in my belly. I've not had many cocktails or anything like that. My mom loves margaritas, if I'm in charge of making them they always get extra tequila. Which reminds me, when she left her last job her coworkers got her a bottle of hopquila, which I thought tasted quite good as well. I like rum and coke because it seems like an improved version of vanilla coke. I can't think of anything else right now. I've yet to find something I truly dislike, which means I'm not looking hard enough.

Mongoose wrote: Llama - you tried any cherry wheats this summer? You didn't mention absinthe - do you ever do that? My dad brings out his absinthe fountain around the holidays, but I just can't do it. I didn't even know there was such thing as pink gin.

I am pretty much staying away from wheat beers these days. No point. Why use wheat then there is so much perfectly good barley?

I had a bottle of real, French absinthe in college and it was quite good, although I experienced none of the strange effects for which it is renowned. I have tried other knockoff absinthes (without wormwood) a few times since then, as well as Pernod, but none of them comes close to being as good. In fact, they have all been disgusting.

I do enjoy a snifter of port around the holidays.

Epignosis wrote:I do enjoy a snifter of port around the holidays.

Do you also offer Sherry to your guests during the holiday season sir?

Beer is my favorite beverage, and, while I do enjoy the gamut of beers, I will not pretend that I do not mostly drink the cheap stuff. I don't care if I had a million bucks, I'd still mostly enjoy Coors, Miller, Busch Light, etc. Why, just this morning I purchased a large case of Keystone Light for a mere $10.87!

But, as something of a dipsomaniac, I consume large quantities of beer, so I limit "good beers" to two or three, especially if they are heavier beers. Among my favorites are Killian's Irish Red, Magic Hat #9, Samuel Adams cherry wheat, Newcastle brown, Chimay, Pete's Wicked Strawberry Blonde, Blue Moon, Shiner Bock, and Yuengling.

The absolute worst beer I have ever tried was Magic Hat's HiCu. It is a hibiscus / cucumber beer. As cucumber is my favorite fruit (and I will try almost anything), I procured three bottles of it in Magic Hat's variety pack. The stuff tastes like Bath and Body Works. I chucked it down the sink.

The wine I like best also happens to be the cheapest. Laugh if you like, but Oak Leaf goes for $2.97 a bottle and is sold exclusively through Wal-Mart. I like it, and it doesn't give me a headache. http://www.oakleafvineyards.com/ For other wines, I like Ménage à Trois, Rex Goliath, and Lucky Duck- all modestly priced wines. I don't have much preference regarding specific wines- I'll drink about any red with a steak and any white with chicken, so to speak. I also like ports and sherries. And sangria. At Christmastime I make mulled wine.

For potent potables, my favorite liquor is bourbon, but I like all of the major spirits. My favorite cocktails include the mint julep, the gin and tonic, the dirty martini, the black Russian, the Moscow Mule, the mojito, the margarita, and the classic daquiri. I also really like Jim Beam's Red Stag.

I would like to take this opportunity to promote the finest wine ever made. (Yes, it's a plastic bottle, and yes, I mix it with coke.)

This is the best relatively inexpensive beer in Finaln.d

We have a Sea Dog Brewery here, so I like to get the Blueberry on tap.

Mongoose wrote:We have a Sea Dog Brewery here, so I like to get the Blueberry on tap.

That is one I tried and did not like.

A lot of people like the Apricot, but I'm not really a fan of that flavor.

Mongoose wrote:A lot of people like the Apricot, but I'm not really a fan of that flavor.

Yuck, indeed. The older and wiser I get, the less interested I become in novelty beers with crazy flavors. I absolutely refuse to drink anything brewed by Dogfishhead anymore (actually, I made that resolution on the St. Augustine trip where I met you in person) because I have been burned by their ridiculous concoctions too many times (and don't try singing the praises of their 90 minute IPA to me. It's the principle of the thing.)

I think the Germans are onto something with their four ingredient purity laws.

thellama73 wrote: I think the Germans are onto something with their four ingredient purity laws.

How Libertarian of you.

I like wacky beers, because once out of ten times or so, I find something awesome (that I can't get where I actually live).

Oh my....this thread...how I love it..... it's like it was put on the internets for me and me alone. Get ready for a long post following my disclaimer.

Disclaimer. I grew up in restaurants. My first job was bar backing for my mother at 13. I was curious. I often asked "what's in that?" "now what are you making?" the result is that, by the time I was 16, there wasn't a drink I didn't know the recipe for. Including all the "extra" stuffs my mom did that made her drinks taste so distinctive from the other bartenders. I was one of the senior servers there by 17 and I would often train new bartenders because I knew how to close, and they were old enough to poor. I trained many a bartender saying "pick up this bottle and pour it till I say stop." while waiting to turn 21. By the time I was 19ish? My bosses said "eff it, you know what you're doing, you're close enough just make the damn drinks." (I worked in a place that was not likely to have the cops called. Like ever.)

So um...yea. I like da booze. I used tell people that "Bartering is just like cooking, but with booze." I also used to say "Much like you should never trust a skinny chef, you should never trust a bartender who isn't just a little bit of an alcoholic." I do try to keep the functioning part the priorty of being a functioning alcoholic but, in the interest of full disclosure, it should be pointed out that I do enjoy the spirits. Like a lot. And also I have training. Like a lot. /Disclaimer

My favorites by category:

Beer: I'm with Epi here. I'd be lying if I didn't say I've drank more than my fair share of Miller Light and Coors Light and PBR. Sometimes even some of Milwaukee's finest. (And if you want some truly awesome "bad beer," might I suggest Steel Reserve with Extra Gravity. They sell the tall boy cans for like 2 bucks a can and I swear, three of them will get the job done for even the toughest of tolerances.) In college, I drank an insane amount of Rolling Rock. I pretty much ended my Rolling Rock addiction after they moved the brewing company away from Latrobe, PA out of solidarity for my PA peeps but every once in a blue moon, I get nostalgic and get some.

As far as "good beer" goes, I have a soft spot for red beer. Killian's being my favorite for like ever. Till I came out here and had the wonder that is Old World Brewery's Four Leaf Irish Red. Which tastes a lot like Killian's but somehow better. They had a limited edition run of the red beer aged in red wine oak barrels and can I just say? It was better than the nector of the Gods. Such a beautiful pairing of beer and wine flavors. I just can't even...

My sweetie is a beer drinker, so I'm slowly becoming more exposed to more beers. I have had a few stouts that I've enjoyed but can't really drink more than like half of one (I do love cooking with them though!) I've learned to enjoy some IPA's though they are not all created equally and I do love some Newcastle and some other brown ales as well.

Ok - so my sweetie just came in and apparently our tomorrow plans have been moved to today so....

Stay tuned for Bea's favorite's lists:
Red wine edition, White wine edition, vodka edition, rum edition, gin edition, tequilla edition, whiskey edition, and cordial edition.

(Interesting side note: The only booze category to date I've not tried is Scotch. I've just never made the leap yet. Whiskey edition was the last edition to the bunch.)

Epignosis wrote:

thellama73 wrote: I think the Germans are onto something with their four ingredient purity laws.

How Libertarian of you.

Obviously I meant that the four ingredient rule is a good guideline, not that it should be a law. :P

@Bea: Interesting that you use Killian's and "good beer" in the same sentence. :P

thellama73 wrote:

Epignosis wrote:

thellama73 wrote: I think the Germans are onto something with their four ingredient purity laws.

How Libertarian of you.

Obviously I meant that the four ingredient rule is a good guideline, not that it should be a law. :P

@Bea: Interesting that you use Killian's and "good beer" in the same sentence. :P

Killian's was my first favorite beer and still is one of mine. I love reds, and I think theirs is good.

Speaking of Red, I believe you hated the Red Stag.

Epignosis wrote: Speaking of Red, I believe you hated the Red Stag.

Putting spices in bourbon is for people who do not like bourbon. I couldn't stand Jack Daniels American Honey either. Why can't we just drink plain whiskey?

thellama73 wrote:

Epignosis wrote: Speaking of Red, I believe you hated the Red Stag.

Putting spices in bourbon is for people who do not like bourbon. I couldn't stand Jack Daniels American Honey either. Why can't we just drink plain whiskey?

I have no objection to doing that either.

What does "red" really mean when applying to beer? Is it something I really just have to try?

Mongoose wrote:What does "red" really mean when applying to beer? Is it something I really just have to try?

Typically red refers to Irish reds, which are coppery in color and malty in character. A very delicious style, although Killian's is, in my opinion, an inferior example. There are also Flemish reds which are sour and fruity. A whole other animal, but tasty as well.

Oh red beers! i like those too. Killian's is a great safe choice for me. I know what to expect amd know I will enjoy it.

Spices in alcohol I generally dislike. I specifically don't like every pumpkin beer I have ever tried. This included a pumpkin beer tasting at our local place.

I'm allergic to cinnamon so I don't really liked spiced things. I like Red Stripe too.

Mongoose wrote:I'm allergic to cinnamon so I don't really liked spiced things. I like Red Stripe too.

I am always surprised by how much I enjoy Red Stripe considering it is an inexpensive lager, which are not usually to my tastes. It tastes like molasses, which is lovely.

I never drink beer, just never developed a taste for it but I do drink wine. When I want to drink good wines I go to a wine stores (currently Total Wine) and buy a mixed case of wines that all rate 90 or above in wine spectator and cost $25 or less. I've found they are the best for ratings. I tend to drink savignon blancs or chards in the summer and cabs or pinot noirs in the winter (though pinot noir is expensive for a decent bottle). The only favorite wine I can pick out is Kistler's chardonay though it is hard to find and pricey so I don't have it very often. For everyday i just drink Kendall Jackson chard and Liberty School Cab Sav.

My extended family is also known for its frozen daquiris. We have a lake house which we all go to in the summer and make frozen daquiris from strawberries or peaches (fresh frozen are best) rum, razzmatazz for the strawberry, Roses lemon lime (or maybe its just lime), a little sprite, Grand Marnier, sometimes a touch of vanilla ice cream, and ice. We then take them out to the lake and float in our floating chairs and drink them. Its usually about 95 degrees so they taste marvelous. Or we take them on one of the boats and ride the lake drinking. Summer wouldn't be the same without them.

Occasionally my husband and i drink dessert wines but I can't remember the names right now.

addendum to beer - I tried Alaskan Brewery's Freestyle APA last night and liked it quite a bit. It was both light and hoppy, which was kinda surprising to me. Also - I forgot to add that I really really love lambic beer as well.


Ok - so wine 101. Here is my true boozy passion tbh. I tend to prefer the dryer wines to the sweeter ones in general, though once in a while a decent sweet riesling or gewurztraminer is nice change of pace.

White: I like a light and crisp white wine. A nice sauvignon blanc or pinot gris. (I've reacently come to really enjoy unoaked chardonnay as well.)
Red: I'm a Cabernet or petite sirah sorta gal.

The thing with wine is that Epi was quite right. There are some fantastic bottles of wine out there in the 10-30 dollar range that will even out shine more expensive bottles. And yes, I have tasted 100 dollar a bottles of wine. You pay for the name. The wine is wine. For example, there is a fantastic shiraz by Layer Cake but I'll never pay more than 16 dollars for it and my favorite Pinot Noir is called Pinot Evil and it runs about 8 bucks a bottle. The box wines have come a long way baby as well. They are particularly handy if a) You're not going to commit to a whole 4 glasses or b) you cook with wine a lot. The vacuum seal on the box wines will keep the wine fresher for a longer period of time. The reds particularly start to turn as soon as you open them. If you're not going to drink the whole bottle in like 2 days, look into the box option.

Here's the other thing about wine. You'll rarely see me order it in a restaurant. Of all the things in most restaurants booze is the most marked up. It's one of the tricks the restaurant plays. To keep prices on diners down and reasonable, they mark up the bar products. Of all the bar products the worst of the mark ups happen in the wine section. (It's been doubly worse lately as wine in general has been given this whole new trendy work up so as it grows more popular more businesses take advantage and charge a few bucks more for it) That bottle of Layer Cake up there I like so much? Yea, it usually retails at a grocery store for between 15-18 dollars a bottle. I've seen it in restaurants for up to 30 dollars a bottle. (And you don't even want to know what I paid for it back in the day when my boss would let me order wine to work and pay cost for it. I miss that particular perk most of all....)

In the end, the best part is that the best wine in the world, is the one you most enjoy drinking. There are more varieties than I could even begin to list here. The fun for me is going to a store like total wine and looking around and reading the tasting notes and trying new things. For the most part, vodka is vodka, gin is gin etc. With wine, there are such differences in aging and casking and what's added to the wine from vinter to vinter that while two bottles of wine may both be Cabernet's they may have completely different tastes. One may be more oaky than the other, one may be more fruity, one may be more chocolatey.

Because I love cooking so much, I love to play with the tastes of the wine I'm serving and the flavors on the plates. If I am serving a particularly citrusy white wine for example, I like to have a salad that has hints of citrus in it as well. That sort of thing can keep me happy all day long!

linkie - I roll that way too with wine JC - I tend to drink more white in the summer and more red in the winter. Tends to match how I cook though too. Big roubst meals always feel better to eat to me in colder weather.

bea wrote: Here's the other thing about wine. You'll rarely see me order it in a restaurant. Of all the things in most restaurants booze is the most marked up. It's one of the tricks the restaurant plays. To keep prices on diners down and reasonable, they mark up the bar products. Of all the bar products the worst of the mark ups happen in the wine section. (It's been doubly worse lately as wine in general has been given this whole new trendy work up so as it grows more popular more businesses take advantage and charge a few bucks more for it) That bottle of Layer Cake up there I like so much? Yea, it usually retails at a grocery store for between 15-18 dollars a bottle. I've seen it in restaurants for up to 30 dollars a bottle. (And you don't even want to know what I paid for it back in the day when my boss would let me order wine to work and pay cost for it. I miss that particular perk most of all....)

Absolutely. I never order wine at restaurants. "You want me to pay $28 for a bottle of Sutter Home that retails for $6.97?"

Some of the Happy Hours aren't really 2-for-1 either, when the price is jacked up, you're really selling me two (but that's a common marketing tactic anyway. "But wait! Order now, and we'll DOUBLE the offer! Just pay separate processing and handling!).

I rarely order beer out these days either. In DC you can usually buy a six pack at a grocery store for less than the price of a single pint in a bar.

My preferred beverage is usually rum: Captain Morgan - neat or on the rocks.

My favourite scotch would be Glenfiddich, but as far as whisky is concerned, the only kind I didn't exactly fancy was some Kentucky bourbon whose name I don't remember.

As for wine, I'm not exactly crazy about it, but I'd never say no to a glass of gewürztraminer.

A great way for us tea drinkers to enjoy booze this summer: http://www.purewow.com/ecs/6310.htm?sid=901215

http://beerlabelsinmotion.tumblr.com/

If Harry Potter drank beer, this is what it would look like.

I just wanted to give a shout out to what I think may be my newest favorite "summer beer" - it's called Chainbreaker IPA (from Deschutes Brewery.) I like IPA's to begin with but this one is somehow both hoppy and light and citrusy. The addition of the coriander and orange rind make for an interesting combination that goes down refreshingly smooth.

My sweetie does not like IPA's like I do and this is the one he keeps sneeking sips of. (Edit: He just came home with 2 12 packs of a combo beers and just stole my last IPA. - that said, he replaced them with 6 other beers I like so yea.)

Also - at 7.99 a sixer, it's a good beer that won't necessarily break the bank.

Hedgeowl wrote:http://beerlabelsinmotion.tumblr.com/

If Harry Potter drank beer, this is what it would look like.

Out of those I've only had the Edmund Fitzgerald, but I think Harry Potter should really try it.

A Person wrote:

Hedgeowl wrote:http://beerlabelsinmotion.tumblr.com/

If Harry Potter drank beer, this is what it would look like.

Out of those I've only had the Edmund Fitzgerald, but I think Harry Potter should really try it.

Edmin Fitz is a Great Lakes beer!! When were you in Ohio to get that?!

(I like the Elliot Ness myself....and their seasonals are wonderful)

bea wrote:

A Person wrote:

Hedgeowl wrote:http://beerlabelsinmotion.tumblr.com/

If Harry Potter drank beer, this is what it would look like.

Out of those I've only had the Edmund Fitzgerald, but I think Harry Potter should really try it.

Edmin Fitz is a Great Lakes beer!! When were you in Ohio to get that?!

(I like the Elliot Ness myself....and their seasonals are wonderful)

I live in southwest Michigan, so local stores sell it. I wish I had more money so I could try more from them.

well...like I said - the elliot ness a lot. Connway's irish ale is awesome. If you ever get the chance to have the Nosfteruato (for halloween only) it's well worth the money spent.

I'll stick to the greyhounds but I like to watch others imbibe and overeat.

bea wrote:well...like I said - the elliot ness a lot. Connway's irish ale is awesome. If you ever get the chance to have the Nosfteruato (for halloween only) it's well worth the money spent.

We get Great Lakes in DC. Conway's is probably my favorite Irish Ale.

It's hard for me to know where it goes and where not. Nice to see it traveling though. Ohio and PA were notoriously yucky about what states could and could not sell their beers. Maybe it was just to each other.

I'm testing the birthday gin. Prelminary results: need more test data

A Person wrote:I'm testing the birthday gin. Prelminary results: need more test data

You need a testing partner.

Epignosis wrote:

A Person wrote:I'm testing the birthday gin. Prelminary results: need more test data

You need a testing partner.

I'd welcome a testing partner.

A Person wrote:

Epignosis wrote:

A Person wrote:I'm testing the birthday gin. Prelminary results: need more test data

You need a testing partner.

I'd welcome a testing partner.

I never thought you'd be a drinker.

Epignosis wrote:

A Person wrote:

Epignosis wrote:

A Person wrote:I'm testing the birthday gin. Prelminary results: need more test data

You need a testing partner.

I'd welcome a testing partner.

I never thought you'd be a drinker.

Hm, I guess I can't have imagined it either.

We are off to a wedding in Portland, OR next week and getting ready to try a few of the microbreweries. Excited about the great food and drink culture, not excited about the first flight with a baby.

I will report back on any deliciousness we find. Rogue is out there and I have enjoyed their Mocha Porter.

Vegetarian Mecca!

What all are you going to try? I wouldn't even know where to find.

I hope you find a nice souvenir with a bird on it.

This cheap Finnish beer tastes worse than it used to. I almost don't feel like drinking it. I hope this doesn't mean I'm dying.

What's the Finnish version of 911?

Portland sounds like loads of fun!

Please don't die k vompy?