What drink should I try?

Kramodlog · Oct 28, 2013

Enforcer said:
Oh, and ice wine is very sweet but when paired with a good blue cheese or something like foie gras is foiled quite nicely.

Good advice. Do yo urecommand this as an entrée or more after themain course? I usually drink ice wine with dessert. Something that sweet as a entrée seems, ummm, risqué.

bone_naga · Oct 29, 2013

I like absinthe. I prefer it straight but most people recommend that you water it down and add sugar if you want to remember most of the evening.

Also, Sprecher Hard Root Beer is pretty good. I also like good meade, but it's hard to find places that carry meade at all, and harder still to find some good stuff. I found a brand that has a really good spice and flavor, but it's too sweet and it was definitely better warm. Another one was only semi-sweet, but not enough flavor and you can only drink it cold (warm it tastes like some sort of cleaning solvent).

Enforcer · Oct 29, 2013

Absinthe has been legal in the US since 2007. I recommend Leopold Bros. or St. George as American producers. And if you're only making Corpse Reviver #2s it'll last a damn decade. But if you like anise/licorice flavors it is good by itself (I do recommend sugar and water myself—straight is pretty intense, even for this beverage professional, mostly due to the high alcohol content which is much more likely responsible for absinthe's sinister reputation than the thujone/wormwood element).

As for the ice wine: with foie gras it can go anywhere in the meal. With a blue cheese that'll probably be dessert (I personally prefer cheese to dessert). A lot of the "rules" for wine are easily bent, if not broken. White wine with fish, red wine with meat, etc., there's a lot of wines that fit outside the box for both of those rules. An off-dry (slightly sweet) wine is great as an aperitif, for example, and a lot of oily fish can go great with lighter reds, depending on the preparation. Ultimately I think what you feel like drinking has more influence than any rules one can give you.

Kramodlog · Oct 29, 2013

Enforcer said:
Absinthe has been legal in the US since 2007. I recommend Leopold Bros. or St. George as American producers. And if you're only making Corpse Reviver #2s it'll last a damn decade. But if you like anise/licorice flavors it is good by itself (I do recommend sugar and water myself—straight is pretty intense, even for this beverage professional, mostly due to the high alcohol content which is much more likely responsible for absinthe's sinister reputation than the thujone/wormwood element).

I heard that too. Still, does the US made absinthe contain thuyone? Like lots of it?

Enforcer · Oct 29, 2013

There's some sort of thujone limit, but it is allowed. And again, the supposed psychedelic properties of the very small amount of thujone in absinthe pale in comparison to the often 120 proof + alcohol content.

Kramodlog · Oct 29, 2013

Enforcer said:
There's some sort of thujone limit.

Booooo! Everywhere it is the same.

bone_naga · Oct 30, 2013

I just brought my absinthe in from overseas. I think it's something ridiculous like 140 proof. It'll damn near melt your face off.

Dannyalcatraz · Oct 30, 2013

Some of my favorite mixed drinks: amaretto sours, cafe Oscar, caipirhinnas, June Bugs, pina coladas, icepicks, electric lemonades, Black Russians, White Russians, Bloody Mary's, amaretto/kalhua milkshakes, and so forth.

Since the season fast approacheth, on the eggnog front, I've experimented beyond spiking with Buffalo Trace Bourbon with things like Wild Turkey American Honey, Kraken rum, Kalhua, Frangelico, Devil's Cut, and a few cherry bourbons (Red Stag was my favorite).

Oddly, though I love booze, I don't drink often. Well...not like I USED to...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GW22sAElpE

EscherEnigma · Nov 1, 2013

goldomark said:
Bloody Caesars are awesome. They can be pretty spicy ifyou like that and they go well before/with a meal.

Bloody Caesars? That sounds interesting, let me look that... what. "Clamato"? What is this crazy Canadian [censored]? Pull the other one, it's got bells.

Zombie_Babies said:
If you could make ice at home (and why don't you??) I think you'd really enjoy a mojito. Wonderfully refreshing.

I'd have to get an ice tray, some new plastic something or other to put in the freezer to hold the ice, all for a few mixed drinks, and if I don't use the ice quickly (and I won't) then unless I dump the ice the next morning it'll end up getting weird and fuzzy with the random detritus of the freezer. So if I wanted clean non-offensive ice I'd pretty much have to know I wanted a drink a few hours beforehand to have it ready.

Enforcer said:
Try a Corpse Reviver #2. It's a respectable cocktail [...] A legit cocktail bar won't make fun of you for ordering one (unlike a Midori Sour).

... If a bartender wants to make fun of me for ordering a Midori Sour, let h im. Everyone deserves a little levity in their night. But why should I *ever* base my drink order on the "respect" the drink gets me from a bartender or, for that matter, anyone else?

Try a Sidecar. Brandy (any cheaper VS cognac will do), Cointreau (again, this is a good staple of any home bar), and lemon juice. You can adjust the ratio according to taste, but a good starter recipe is 1.5 cognac, 1 Cointreau, 0.5 lemon juice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Hrm... that sounds interesting. I'll put the lemon juice (I will not fresh squeeze lemons), Cointreau and whatever cognac I can find on the shopping list. Might try it this Saturday.

Dannyalcatraz said:
Some of my favorite mixed drinks:[...] cafe Oscar, [...] June Bugs [...]

What's a cafe Oscar? I didn't find it in a quick search.
June bug sounds interesting.

And yeah, I use the Kahlua in my milkshakes. Very tasty.

Kramodlog · Nov 1, 2013

EscherEnigma said:
Bloody Caesars? That sounds interesting, let me look that... what. "Clamato"? What is this crazy Canadian [censored]? Pull the other one, it's got bells.

You do not have tomato flavored clam juice? How barbaric.