The Booze Thread V2.0

[Monte Carlo]

I have been suffering from an illness that requires meds that are, frankly, a sonuvabitch when it comes to side effects. I have occasional periods where my day goes seriously Hunter S. Thompson, and as somebody who has assiduously avoided recreational pharmaceuticals all his life it has not made me regret the decision whatsoever.

 

Anyhoo, one of the prohibitions in the early phase of treatment was no alcohol. It is now meds +1 month and I am allowed to have a moderate, infrequent intake of booze.

 

And, ladies and gentlemen, I do like a drink. It's now been a month without one. One. Whole. Month. Four weeks. 31 days. Etc.

 

What shall I have? The anticipation is genuinely part of the fun, it will probably be beer of some description but not necessarily. Please post your most recent libations to see if they might feature in my falling off the wagon.

 

Cheers

MC

[Enoch]

From a post I made this weekend in the "What did you eat" thread:

 

Tried two different styles of Old Fashioned. My preference follows:

 

Combine 1/2 oz. simple syrup (equal volumes plain sugar and water, mixed until totally dissolved) with a few dashes of Angostura Bitters in an Old Fashioned glass. (Yes, this drink is so good, they named the glass after it.) Half-fill the glass with ice and stir. Then, holding it over the glass, peel off a 2-3 inch long section of orange peel with an ordinary vegetable peeler. You want the citrus oils in the skin to end up in the glass. Then take the peel you've removed, give it a good squeeze (orange side down) over the glass, and drop it in. Add 2 to 2.5 oz of whiskey. I'm using bourbon, but rye works well, too. (Save the scotch for sipping.) Stir. Add more ice. Garnish with a maraschino cherry. Enjoy slowly.

 

The variant that involves using solid sugar and starting by muddling it with fruit leaves a mess at the bottom of the glass that never really integrates with the rest of the drink. You get a drink of slightly sweetened whiskey on the rocks, followed by picking out bitters-soaked fruit pulp from between the ice cubes. I like bitters-soaked fruit, but this method creates a better, more consistent drink in my book. Other variants use some soda to top the drink, which I think is unnecessary dilution-- if the glass isn't full enough, just make another after you finish it.

I'll add one comment about the cherry: the bright-red maraschinos that you see in most bars and stores are terrible. I've been using a brand called Tillen Farms that makes an all-natural maraschino, which is an improvement. But a better approach would be to buy some dried cherries, and rehydrate them by soaking in the fluid of your choice. (Brandy, I'm told, works well.)

[Monte Carlo]

I'm liking it a lot, bourbon is a firm favourite. I wonder what hard liquor is going to do to me though.

[HoonDing]

Belgian beer.

 

/thread

 

(Hey, it's pretty much the only thing I can be proud of in my country)

Edited March 31, 2010 by virumor

[vault_overseer]

Belgian beer.

 

/thread

 

Oh god, I almost want to go to my local Belgian bar(one of the best in US) and endure the crowd for some St. Bernardus Abt 12 or Tripel Karmeliet.

 

Scottish perfected whiskey, Belgians perfected beer.

[Shryke]

i vote a nice single malt whiskey on ice

[Gorth]

Belgian beer.

 

I'm not really a beer drinker (except on warm summer days), but I do like the odd Stella Artois.

 

I'm mostly a Cognac person though, so my knowledge of the other "stronger" stuff is limited to brand recognition and primitive consumption in moderate quantities on special occasions.

[Deadly_Nightshade]

How about some absinthe? Or wine, a nice wine is always good.

[Enoch]

Scottish perfected whiskey, Belgians perfected beer.

I've never been much a fan of Belgian beers. They tend to be too sweet for me. I want more bitter hops and/or richly toasted barley, not something that tastes like some apricots have been rotting in it.

i vote a nice single malt whiskey on ice

Ice has no place in a fine single malt. Coldness reduces the sensitivity of your mouth and nose to the flavor.

I do like the odd Stella Artois.

Stella is too yuppyish and overpriced. It's the watery beer of choice for people too highbrow to drink Miller.

[~Di]

I'm a Southern Comfort fan! Ummmm....

[vault_overseer]

About to poor me another glass of Glenlivet, so I thought I'd pop in and say cheers.

 

Cheers!

[Walsingham]

Although it's far from number one on my list I'd suggest a soft fruity red wine. Probably French, and a blend including Merlot. I'd steer clear of the hard stuff until your system has got it's legs back. A Merlot mix will be easygoing and very enjoyable. Then the next day I'd suggest some German style lagers. Then the day after that some light ales, like the ones from Bath Ales. Then on the fourth day of your resurrection move on to stout/imperial porter and whiskies.

[Rostere]

This is what I would drink:

 

 

Cooled to about 2-5

[HoonDing]

I'm surprised people abroad even drink Stella. It's hardly considered more than sewer water here.

 

Scottish perfected whiskey, Belgians perfected beer.

I've never been much a fan of Belgian beers. They tend to be too sweet for me. I want more bitter hops and/or richly toasted barley, not something that tastes like some apricots have been rotting in it.

Duvel

 

Most Belgian abbey beers have a bitter, blond variant too, as opposed to the dark, sweeter kind.

 

Best beers though are the 'trappist', that are only brewed in abbeys. There are only 7 of those: Orval, La Trappe, Westmalle, Westvleteren, Chimay, Rochefort & Achel. Westvleteren, IIRC, can only be bought directly from the abbey.

Edited April 1, 2010 by virumor

[vault_overseer]

I'm surprised people abroad even drink Stella. It's hardly considered more than sewer water here.

 

Scottish perfected whiskey, Belgians perfected beer.

I've never been much a fan of Belgian beers. They tend to be too sweet for me. I want more bitter hops and/or richly toasted barley, not something that tastes like some apricots have been rotting in it.

Duvel

 

Most Belgian abbey beers have a bitter, blond variant too, as opposed to the dark, sweeter kind.

 

Best beers though are the 'trappist', that are only brewed in abbeys. There are only 7 of those: Orval, La Trappe, Westmalle, Westvleteren, Chimay, Rochefort & Achel. Westvleteren, IIRC, can only be bought directly from the abbey.

 

Or resellers.

[Hurlshort]

Is Hoegaarden an Abbey beer?

[Rostere]

Is Hoegaarden an Abbey beer?

 

Nope.

[Enoch]

I had a grapefruit in the fridge that I decided was unlikely to get eaten, so I juiced it and started looking for recipes. First up is a classic-- the Brown Derby.

 

4 parts Bourbon

2 parts Grapefruit juice

1 part Honey Syrup (basically honey diluted with hot water until it is pourable)

 

It's tasty, but a little too sweet to me. The grapefruit gets lost.

[Walsingham]

I have been experimenting with some gin which I have infused with szechuan pepper. So far the only thing which works is mixing it with ginger beer.

[Enoch]

A much better grapefruit-based drink:

 

1.5 oz. Gin

.75 oz. lemon juice (about half of a large lemon)

1 oz. simple syrup

4-5 dashes of Angostura Bitters

3 oz. Grapefruit Juice.

 

Shake over ice and strain into an ice-filled highball glass. This just blends beautifully-- a very nice summertime lemonade substitute.

 

(Note: Lifted from Dale DeGroff's The Craft of the ****tail. He invented it as a more flavorful alternative to the Salty Dog (vodka, grapefruit juice, salted rim), and calls for the rim of the glass to be similarly salted. He called it a "Salt and Pepper Highball." I don't particularly care for the salted rim, so the name really doesn't fit my version. Also, I added more bitters than was called for, because bitters are awesome.)

 

 

@ Wals, that infused gin sounds like it would be great in place of the vodka in a Bloody Mary.

[Walsingham]

Good thinking on the bloody mary. We may try it.

 

When I was in Thailand we used to get served fruit witha littel bag of mixed salt, sugar, and finely chopped chilli. Withe the acidity of fruit like pineapple and apple it worked extermely well. I wonder if if would work as an alternative to the pure salt on the rim of your glass?

[vault_overseer]

I usually drink Glenlivet, but yesterday I bought a bottle of Glenmorangie and was pleasantly surprised. I'd recommend to any scotch drinkers.

Edited April 8, 2010 by vault_overseer

[Pope]

Last week on my snowboarding trip, I drank more Ricard (a French pastis) than I did in whole my life before. Man I love that drink, it's perfect for sunny afternoons. I had trouble convincing my companions that I'm not such a drunk in real life, but fortunately I could blame it on the all-you-can-booze formula.

 

In real life I'm more of a beer man. If you ever get the chance to try Tripel Karmeliet, I highly suggest you do, it's the best damn beer out there.

Edited April 11, 2010 by Pope