Best Summertime Drink

[step.eng69]

Same as always, all year round, cheap and bitter bourbon.....in a glass if you prefer.

Old Grandad, Wild Turkey & Larceny would be my straight up bourbons in the lower shelf. Larceny is one of a few wheated bourbons available today, and has become my favorite of all of the bourbons which include Woodford Reserve, Knob Creek, Four Roses Reserve, Hudson Baby Bourbon....which I drank a load off in the past half of decade. Blanton, I have a half dozen of those little jockeys, very good bourbon, but way too easy too drink.

Should you get a chance give it a try.

Pritchard's and Michter's Tennessee whisky are also my favorites, but the damn State stores stopped carrying Pritchard's. When I requested the Dallas state store manager to stock some a few years ago, he told me there were 10 bottles left in the state that weren't selling and not being restocked. I told him to have the Pritchard's shipped to the Dallas store and I'd buy the majority of bottles over time.

When the batch of 10 came in, I included one with the other spirits I purchased. When I bought at the Dallas store, I counted the Pritchard's left on the shelve. After about a month, there were still 8 bottles left and the whisky was discounted by $15. Great buy...& I began buying. I would be proud to say that I pulled a genius "sting", but in reality I stepped in $hit.

LINK:
https://spiritsreview.com/reviews/larceny-bourbon/

"Delicious, complex and cheap for what you get.

In a break from my usual I am going to quote the press release directly on the amusing but somewhat complicated story of how this bourbon got named and a little bit of the back story before I jump in with my analysis/review of the actual product:
” Larceny is the heir to the wheated Bourbons that make up the historic Old Fitzgerald franchise that Heaven Hill acquired in 1999. In fact, it is the somewhat controversial history of John E. Fitzgerald and his eponymous Bourbon brand that provides the story, and name, to Larceny Bourbon, the latest new label from the venerated distillery that produces Evan Williams and Elijah Craig Bourbons and Rittenhouse Rye.

Larceny Bourbon continues the Old Fitzgerald tradition of using wheat in place of rye as the third or “small” grain in the whiskey’s grain recipe, or mashbill as it is commonly known. The use of winter wheat replaces the spicier, fruitier flavor notes that rye provides with a softer, rounder character that is the hallmark of Old Fitzgerald and other “wheated” Bourbons such as Maker’s Mark and the Van Winkle line.

It is actually the story of the Old Fitzgerald brand, made famous by the late Julian “Pappy” Van Winkle Sr., that forms the historical basis for Larceny Bourbon. " cont'd in link

 

[step.eng69]

How to Make a Boilermaker
One shot, one beer, repeat.

"Sometimes you need a drink. Really Need a drink. The last thing you want to do is mess around with cocktail shakers and vegetable peelers and fancy little glasses on delicate stems, let alone herb-infused thises and hand-squeezed thats. You have entered the realm of the Boilermaker. Whiskey, in a glass. Beer, in another. Drink A, drink B, repeat if necessary. Single malt and microbrew? Okay. Wild Turkey and Olympia? Fine. Jim Beam and Jax, or Old Overholt and Iron City, or...? Just as good. Better. One shot, one beer, coming up"

DIRECTIONS
1. Knock back the whiskey and chase it with the beer. Some folks like to depth-charge the whiskey into the beer. We'd rather not, if only for reasons of taste.

 

[anon_xdc8rmuek44eq]

Best guess at what the "salt" actually was?

Some kind of pink sea salt?

 

[step.eng69]

Really, I was taught that the only thing to mix with good whisky is water on the rocks or neat.

I'm assuming you're talking water on the side, I fully agree. I have a side car of lemon mineral water along w/ the whisky.

 

[artsandletters]

Fresca with a squeeze of fresh lime in a tall glass over ice.

 

[CentexLion]

non Alcoholic Arnold Palmer with raspberry lemonade

Alcoholic Tito’s with half of a fresh Lime half of a fresh lemon crushed ice and a splash Cran-Cherry ocean Spray

Been digging French 75's, after taking a Cognac class at Total Wine in Austin a few weeks ago. Of course, it was made with Hennessy Cognac, as they were the sponsor. I've been to a few of these classes at Total Wine and highly recommend them. Last week, had to go to Galveston for a few days, and had a Gin French 75 at the bar in the Tremont. While not a serious Gin drinker, it was very good, and especially refreshing in a 90 degree, 95% humidity day.

On another topic, our local Farm-to-Market restaurant had a great sour beer, and I didn't catch the name. First sip was a jumpback (hate to say it, but kind of a throw-up taste at first ), but the more you drank, the better it became. Now, I kind of crave that sour taste. Any recommendations for a easier obtained very sour beer?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_75_(cocktail)

 

[anon_xdc8rmuek44eq]

Been digging French 75's, after taking a Cognac class at Total Wine in Austin a few weeks ago. Of course, it was made with Hennessy Cognac, as they were the sponsor. I've been to a few of these classes at Total Wine and highly recommend them. Last week, had to go to Galveston for a few days, and had a Gin French 75 at the bar in the Tremont. While not a serious Gin drinker, it was very good, and especially refreshing in a 90 degree, 95% humidity day.

On another topic, our local Farm-to-Market restaurant had a great sour beer, and I didn't catch the name. First sip was a jumpback (hate to say it, but kind of a throw-up taste at first ), but the more you drank, the better it became. Now, I kind of crave that sour taste. Any recommendations for a easier obtained very sour beer?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_75_(cocktail)

Hmmm....traditional French 75's aren't made with Cognac; they're made with gin. So, the 'gin French 75' is the traditional recipe. The Cognac one is some kind of alternate version. I'm sure both were tasty though .

 

[step.eng69]

Adding a little burnt orange peel goes a long way.

Sounds interesting, would I just add the peel in a neat bourbon?

Maybe this is the answer to my question.
& sounds tasty....thank you Zeno

"If we’re feeling feisty, we’ll go for a flaming orange twist. To do it, take a coin-sized slice of orange peel (with quite a bit of the white pith intact so it is easier to squeeze), squeeze it between your fingers and light a match or lighter next to it (be careful).

The oils will spark and flame out. If you do all of this close to or over the glass, a toasted orange aroma will fall down over the drink. We don’t add the flamed peel to the drink, but rubbing the flamed peel around the rim of the glass is a nice touch. (See our video above to see it in action)

The flavor and aroma of the drink really changes and while we don’t do this all the time, it’s fun to experience the difference."

 

[PSUSignore]

Been digging French 75's, after taking a Cognac class at Total Wine in Austin a few weeks ago. Of course, it was made with Hennessy Cognac, as they were the sponsor. I've been to a few of these classes at Total Wine and highly recommend them. Last week, had to go to Galveston for a few days, and had a Gin French 75 at the bar in the Tremont. While not a serious Gin drinker, it was very good, and especially refreshing in a 90 degree, 95% humidity day.

On another topic, our local Farm-to-Market restaurant had a great sour beer, and I didn't catch the name. First sip was a jumpback (hate to say it, but kind of a throw-up taste at first ), but the more you drank, the better it became. Now, I kind of crave that sour taste. Any recommendations for a easier obtained very sour beer?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_75_(cocktail)

I have to be very careful going into Total Wine. I walk in when I need a 12 pack of beer and ultimately walk out having spent hundreds of dollars and a cart full of booze. I love/hate that place.

I also like French 75s but it's not an "everyday" drink for me, but is nice once in a while.

 

[anon_xdc8rmuek44eq]

Fellow gin fans - made an awesome discovery recently. Have always been a Hendricks guy, but on a recent trip to the shiny, new ABC store in my area (one with a very expansive 'rare' bottles selection and one of the biggest ABC stores in Virginia) I noticed an odd bottle of gin made in Germany's Black Forest. After reading the label and checking the bottle against my Distiller app, I was pretty shocked to see it receive a 99 rating (in same company as Highland Park 18, Hibiki 21, Cognac Dudognon Heritage...). Anyway, more surprising was that a 375ml bottle cost about $40, while 1L cost only $50 (I've now seen this gin listed on Forbes.com as the world's most expensive, but you can find it at much lower than the $80/1L the magazine promotes). Anyway, it's AWESOME. Here's a part of a review from GinFoundry.com:

After two years of development, the duo chose a recipe their perfect recipe. Classic dry gin, interpreted in an entirely new and eccentric way. There are 47 ingredients that have found their way into the Monkey 47 Gin recipe, including angelica root, acacia flowers, bramble leaves, lingonberries and spruce shoots, all of which come from the Black Forest. Juniper berries come from the Mediterranean (they’re known to be more aromatic as they receive four to six weeks more sun than their Tuscan and German cousins).

Amongst the botanicals there are six different types of pepper, as well as Acorus calamus, almond, angelica, bitter orange, blackberry, cardamom, cassia, chamomile, cinnamon, lemon verbena, cloves, coriander, cranberries, cubeb, dog rose,elderflower, ginger, Grains of Paradise, hawthorn berries, hibiscusabelmoschus, hibiscus syriacus, honeysuckle, jasmine, Kaffir lime, lavender, lemon, lemon balm, lemongrass, liquorice, Monarda Didyma, nutmeg, orris, pimento, pomelo, rosehip, sage, sloe… Yep. Long list!

Stein describes lingonberries as being the ideal botanical in gin, as it inherently has a combination of the flavours that have always defined the spirit, namely a refreshing acidity, lasting bitterness and slight sweetness.

As to how it’s made? The ingredients are steeped in French made molasses alcohol 36 hours prior to distillation. For the first five years the distilling happens in what can only be described as a beautiful old Arnold Holstein still. The team combine traditional maceration and distillation techniques with vapour infusion to gather precise amounts of the more volatile botanicals and accentuate certain flavours. Over the duration of 2015, the duo worked with Arnold Holstein, developing a new one-of-a-kind distillery.

The Monkey 47 Gin bottles are in themselves a treat and were – at the time of its release – the best packaging for gin around. The old pharmacy style shape with brown glass and a ring around the cork complete a package that is hard not to admire. They have considered each element and refined it to such an acute extent that, quite simply, if one conceders all the elements that go into evaluating a gin (concept, production methods and makers, depth flavour, spirit quality, packaging and price point) – Monkey 47 Gin is quite easily one of the best gins in the world. Very few others come close to the ensemble Alex Stein and Chistopher Keller have achieved here.

You can find plenty more rave reviews about this spirit online. I've enjoyed it on the rocks and in martinis (lemon twist, 6:1) and haven't missed my old fashioned's at all....if you try it, let me know what you think!

 

[ralphster]

My wife loves her dry Martinis. Up with olives, preferably blue cheese. Hendricks is her fave, but Bombay Sapphire a close second.

Anyway, she had a dry martini made with Monkey 47 in the summer of '17 in the French Concession of Shanghai. IIRC, they charged over $40 (definitely got ripped off, but their other drinks were reasonably priced). She said it was worth it. Life is too short to drink cheap booze.

 

[Fox Chapel Lion II]

Life is too short to drink cheap booze.

Words to live by.

 

[bwifan]

Believe it or not for me its quite simple .... Especially in the beginning of summer I enjoy a nice Gin and Tonic with a lime. My great grandmother and grandparents always drank them when they retired to Florida. Reminds me of them plus just means its summertime to me.

2nd place goes to gin or vodka martinis with an olive.

 

[kickerinaz]

Here's an odd but surprisingly good one : Your choice good vodka, clamato juice , fresh lime juice, lots of ice. Doesn't taste like you would think. Just a touch of the sea shore in the clamato !

 

[BobPSU92]

“Lemonade...that cool, refreshing drink!”

 

[PSUSignore]

Fellow gin fans - made an awesome discovery recently. Have always been a Hendricks guy, but on a recent trip to the shiny, new ABC store in my area (one with a very expansive 'rare' bottles selection and one of the biggest ABC stores in Virginia) I noticed an odd bottle of gin made in Germany's Black Forest. After reading the label and checking the bottle against my Distiller app, I was pretty shocked to see it receive a 99 rating (in same company as Highland Park 18, Hibiki 21, Cognac Dudognon Heritage...). Anyway, more surprising was that a 375ml bottle cost about $40, while 1L cost only $50 (I've now seen this gin listed on Forbes.com as the world's most expensive, but you can find it at much lower than the $80/1L the magazine promotes). Anyway, it's AWESOME. Here's a part of a review from GinFoundry.com:

After two years of development, the duo chose a recipe their perfect recipe. Classic dry gin, interpreted in an entirely new and eccentric way. There are 47 ingredients that have found their way into the Monkey 47 Gin recipe, including angelica root, acacia flowers, bramble leaves, lingonberries and spruce shoots, all of which come from the Black Forest. Juniper berries come from the Mediterranean (they’re known to be more aromatic as they receive four to six weeks more sun than their Tuscan and German cousins).

Amongst the botanicals there are six different types of pepper, as well as Acorus calamus, almond, angelica, bitter orange, blackberry, cardamom, cassia, chamomile, cinnamon, lemon verbena, cloves, coriander, cranberries, cubeb, dog rose,elderflower, ginger, Grains of Paradise, hawthorn berries, hibiscusabelmoschus, hibiscus syriacus, honeysuckle, jasmine, Kaffir lime, lavender, lemon, lemon balm, lemongrass, liquorice, Monarda Didyma, nutmeg, orris, pimento, pomelo, rosehip, sage, sloe… Yep. Long list!

Stein describes lingonberries as being the ideal botanical in gin, as it inherently has a combination of the flavours that have always defined the spirit, namely a refreshing acidity, lasting bitterness and slight sweetness.

As to how it’s made? The ingredients are steeped in French made molasses alcohol 36 hours prior to distillation. For the first five years the distilling happens in what can only be described as a beautiful old Arnold Holstein still. The team combine traditional maceration and distillation techniques with vapour infusion to gather precise amounts of the more volatile botanicals and accentuate certain flavours. Over the duration of 2015, the duo worked with Arnold Holstein, developing a new one-of-a-kind distillery.

The Monkey 47 Gin bottles are in themselves a treat and were – at the time of its release – the best packaging for gin around. The old pharmacy style shape with brown glass and a ring around the cork complete a package that is hard not to admire. They have considered each element and refined it to such an acute extent that, quite simply, if one conceders all the elements that go into evaluating a gin (concept, production methods and makers, depth flavour, spirit quality, packaging and price point) – Monkey 47 Gin is quite easily one of the best gins in the world. Very few others come close to the ensemble Alex Stein and Chistopher Keller have achieved here.

You can find plenty more rave reviews about this spirit online. I've enjoyed it on the rocks and in martinis (lemon twist, 6:1) and haven't missed my old fashioned's at all....if you try it, let me know what you think!

My local stores have this but only in the small bottles and I stayed away from it due to the high price.

 

[ILLINOISLION]

This thread.....and pretzels.....has made me thirsty.

 

[bkmtnittany1]

Same as the best wintertime drink...beer!

 

[anon_xdc8rmuek44eq]

My local stores have this but only in the small bottles and I stayed away from it due to the high price.

Yeah, I really only went for it because the 1L was only $10 more than the 375ml. At that price/size, it's a really outstanding value.

 

[Nitwit]

W C Fields would never put any water in his drink because “fish f@ck in it”. I prefer my Irish Whisky (Green Spot) served neat.

 

[Dr. Evel]

Fellow gin fans - made an awesome discovery recently. Have always been a Hendricks guy, but on a recent trip to the shiny, new ABC store in my area (one with a very expansive 'rare' bottles selection and one of the biggest ABC stores in Virginia) I noticed an odd bottle of gin made in Germany's Black Forest. After reading the label and checking the bottle against my Distiller app, I was pretty shocked to see it receive a 99 rating (in same company as Highland Park 18, Hibiki 21, Cognac Dudognon Heritage...). Anyway, more surprising was that a 375ml bottle cost about $40, while 1L cost only $50 (I've now seen this gin listed on Forbes.com as the world's most expensive, but you can find it at much lower than the $80/1L the magazine promotes). Anyway, it's AWESOME. Here's a part of a review from GinFoundry.com:

After two years of development, the duo chose a recipe their perfect recipe. Classic dry gin, interpreted in an entirely new and eccentric way. There are 47 ingredients that have found their way into the Monkey 47 Gin recipe, including angelica root, acacia flowers, bramble leaves, lingonberries and spruce shoots, all of which come from the Black Forest. Juniper berries come from the Mediterranean (they’re known to be more aromatic as they receive four to six weeks more sun than their Tuscan and German cousins).

Amongst the botanicals there are six different types of pepper, as well as Acorus calamus, almond, angelica, bitter orange, blackberry, cardamom, cassia, chamomile, cinnamon, lemon verbena, cloves, coriander, cranberries, cubeb, dog rose,elderflower, ginger, Grains of Paradise, hawthorn berries, hibiscusabelmoschus, hibiscus syriacus, honeysuckle, jasmine, Kaffir lime, lavender, lemon, lemon balm, lemongrass, liquorice, Monarda Didyma, nutmeg, orris, pimento, pomelo, rosehip, sage, sloe… Yep. Long list!

Stein describes lingonberries as being the ideal botanical in gin, as it inherently has a combination of the flavours that have always defined the spirit, namely a refreshing acidity, lasting bitterness and slight sweetness.

As to how it’s made? The ingredients are steeped in French made molasses alcohol 36 hours prior to distillation. For the first five years the distilling happens in what can only be described as a beautiful old Arnold Holstein still. The team combine traditional maceration and distillation techniques with vapour infusion to gather precise amounts of the more volatile botanicals and accentuate certain flavours. Over the duration of 2015, the duo worked with Arnold Holstein, developing a new one-of-a-kind distillery.

The Monkey 47 Gin bottles are in themselves a treat and were – at the time of its release – the best packaging for gin around. The old pharmacy style shape with brown glass and a ring around the cork complete a package that is hard not to admire. They have considered each element and refined it to such an acute extent that, quite simply, if one conceders all the elements that go into evaluating a gin (concept, production methods and makers, depth flavour, spirit quality, packaging and price point) – Monkey 47 Gin is quite easily one of the best gins in the world. Very few others come close to the ensemble Alex Stein and Chistopher Keller have achieved here.

You can find plenty more rave reviews about this spirit online. I've enjoyed it on the rocks and in martinis (lemon twist, 6:1) and haven't missed my old fashioned's at all....if you try it, let me know what you think!

Sounds great. For those in SEPA, I suggest trying Blue Coat gin. Local, and very good.

 

[AldenT]

My local stores have this but only in the small bottles and I stayed away from it due to the high price.

Wow, so I’m in Mexico at the moment, and a bottle of this is $125 in the room. I’d never seen it before and now I read this! I trust you but I think I’ll wait til I’m back in the states...sticking with mezcal here.

 

[anon_xdc8rmuek44eq]

Sounds great. For those in SEPA, I suggest trying Blue Coat gin. Local, and very good.

I tried it and thought it was pretty good. I like to support PA products too - worth a shot (or two) for sure.

 

[flash86]

Release Valve from the old Train Station

You can get them at Whiskers at the Nittany Lion Inn!

 

[flash86]

I do love Hendrick's as my "go to" but am looking for other options to try. I just bought a bottle of Bloom but haven't tried it yet. Have any other suggestions?

Have you tried Bluecoat Gin?

 

[anon_xdc8rmuek44eq]

Have you tried Bluecoat Gin?

I’d add The Botanist, Beefeater, and Plymouth.

 

[clubeb]

Great summer drink is a good fruity dry or very slightly off dry Rose. It's also the best compromise on the Thanksgiving table.

 

[PSUSignore]

Wow, so I’m in Mexico at the moment, and a bottle of this is $125 in the room. I’d never seen it before and now I read this! I trust you but I think I’ll wait til I’m back in the states...sticking with mezcal here.

When I come back from Mexico I like to bring some Havana Club, sometimes they have it at duty free and you can't buy it in the USA, because Cuba. I don't drink them often but the 15 year Havana Club makes a mean Cuba Libre (rum & coke). It has just the right amount of sweetness in the rum to complement Coke perfectly.

I also just bought a bottle of Ancho Reyes locally, might be cheaper there since it's from Mexico. It was $31 at my Total Wine for a 750ml. I recently learned a great tequila cocktail recipe that uses it, but it should also be good to add a little heat to lots of other drinks like a mule, margarita, etc.

 

[BBrown]

Wow, so I’m in Mexico at the moment, and a bottle of this is $125 in the room. I’d never seen it before and now I read this! I trust you but I think I’ll wait til I’m back in the states...sticking with mezcal here.

IDK, I've tried about 4 different (supposed to be very good) Mezcals and I just can't get past that "band-aid" taste.
Give me a good Blanco or Rep and I'm good to go.

 

[BBrown]

Great summer drink is a good fruity dry or very slightly off dry Rose. It's also the best compromise on the Thanksgiving table.

Darkhorse has a really cheap and pretty tasty one.

 

[ralphster]

".... I just can't get past that "band-aid" taste."

So funny. We just treated some friends to a price fixe dinner with cocktail pairings at a local restaurant here in SW FL. I loved all of the drinks, but my wife's friend had never tasted mezcal before, and couldn't drink more than a sip of the drink made with it. She said it tasted like an "old Band-aid." I personally have never tasted a Band-aid, but I thought the comment was funny. I guess she's not the only one. Ha!

 

[AldenT]

IDK, I've tried about 4 different (supposed to be very good) Mezcals and I just can't get past that "band-aid" taste.
Give me a good Blanco or Rep and I'm good to go.

More than fair. Here I’ve had some mezcal margaritas, but the best was some white mezcal, agave, and fresh watermelon juice. Good lord.

 

[BBrown]

More than fair. Here I’ve had some mezcal margaritas, but the best was some white mezcal, agave, and fresh watermelon juice. Good lord.

I know people rave about plugging a watmelon with vodka and it is good but try a decent tequila. Something like el jimador or el charro or the sauza hornitos and OMG.

 

[Cosmos]

non Alcoholic Arnold Palmer with raspberry lemonade

Alcoholic Tito’s with half of a fresh Lime half of a fresh lemon crushed ice and a splash Cran-Cherry ocean Spray

Oh, any ole sea breeze will do.

 

[Virginia Joe]

Veuve Clicquot Yellow label. They sell 19 million bottles a year based on merit.

 

[AldenT]

I know people rave about plugging a watmelon with vodka and it is good but try a decent tequila. Something like el jimador or el charro or the sauza hornitos and OMG.

Trust me my friend, I have.

 

[anon_1eeb2b426hv3y]

non Alcoholic Arnold Palmer with raspberry lemonade

Alcoholic Tito’s with half of a fresh Lime half of a fresh lemon crushed ice and a splash Cran-Cherry ocean Spray

NA: Arnold Palmer

New to my "gotta start doing this at home" list (especially the part with the butane torch, cloves and cinnamon): https://www.phillymag.com/foobooz/2016/02/04/double-knot-cocktail/

The Double Knot includes:

• Maker’s Mark Bourbon
• George Dickel Rye
• Carpano Bianco
• Punta e mes
• Angostura and orange bitters

Cinnamon and clove are then placed on a Makers Mark bourbon barrel stave and smoked with a torch. A snifter is then placed over the embers and delivered with the cocktail in a small carafe. The glass is flipped, a puff of scented smoke escapes the seasoned glass and the cocktail poured. The result is a slightly smoky and difficult to put down drink. Drink up.


Read more at https://www.phillymag.com/foobooz/2016/02/04/double-knot-cocktail/#mQMlWs5jUK7quoWA.99

 

[anon_xdc8rmuek44eq]

Fellow gin fans - has anyone had Daffy's? I've been seeing it a lot in social media posts lately and LOVE the bottle (drawing by famous James Bond poster artist Robert McGinnis). I checked out a place in DC today and they didn't have it. If any of you see it in DC/MD/VA/PA/DE/NJ let me know!

 

[anon_xdc8rmuek44eq]

For @Art and other whisky lovers - anyone have any experience with Suntory Royal? My wife just came back from a trip to Tokyo and picked me up a bottle (she said it was near impossible to find Yamizaki, and was told it was 'sold out'), which I wasn't familiar with. I think there are some different expressions of this, but she brought me the bottle below:

I looked around online and it gets really positive review for the most part, and retails for around $160 (I think she paid half that in Tokyo). I'm eager to give it a try tonight but was wondering if others have seen or had this, and if so, how it compares to other Japanese whisky offerings.

 

[rudedude]

For @Art and other whisky lovers - anyone have any experience with Suntory Royal? My wife just came back from a trip to Tokyo and picked me up a bottle (she said it was near impossible to find Yamizaki, and was told it was 'sold out'), which I wasn't familiar with. I think there are some different expressions of this, but she brought me the bottle below:

I looked around online and it gets really positive review for the most part, and retails for around $160 (I think she paid half that in Tokyo). I'm eager to give it a try tonight but was wondering if others have seen or had this, and if so, how it compares to other Japanese whisky offerings.

What time should we come over for a taste test?