Recommend me a Hard Alcohol

I'm in the only dorm on campus that allows drinking. I'm entitled to a 12 pack or a decent size bottle of hard liquor. I have an 8oz metal flask that has been empty and dry for 3 years now. There is a liquor store 5 houses down this very street, I can walk out onto the front porch and look at it. What should I get that you can recommend, brand wise? Bourbon, amaretto, whiskey, scotch, etc. Anything specific to the region? North East US, Massachusetts. Come on, help Tzeentch choose his poison, till I'm brave enough to walk into an Irish bar and shout that American whiskey is better.

 

Rum

 

Any specific brand there buddy? I kinda gotta make a choice when I get there, I can't just take as much as I damn please. Inspections of the dorm are regular so I get written up if I have to much.

 

The Kraken. Pretty much the best spiced rum there is (at least for the price, never had anything much more expensive).

 

If you're into vodka I can strongly recommend Russian Standard. Get the normal stuff- the extra filtering on the 'premium' ones (Platinum, IMPERIA) just take away from the flavour. Gold is a special case- it has extra ingredients added, although I haven't managed to procure a bottle myself so I can't tell you how it tastes.

How you enjoy it is up to you. Obviously don't neck the bottle but you can down the shot in one or sip it, whichever you prefer. I usually sip to savour the flavour.

 

Johnny Walker black. Good price and smooth. I tend to drink it straight, but is damn good mixed with coke.

 

This! I also recommend referring to it as 'Charlie 601' (the NATO missile designation for the Kraken missile). It makes it 10 times cooler.

 

How could shouting "release the Kraken!" every time you start drinking not be cool enough. Does it really need a nickname?

 

I second the Kraken.

 

Doubled vision requires that I third and fourth Kraken.

Be ye warned, however, 'tis a treacherous beast.

 

If you're going for Vodka, I recommend Tito's vodka. Its awesome value, it tastes (or doesn't, which is what vodka means when it tastes good) good, and is fairly cheap.

 

Blanton's Bourbon. not too expensive... but damn good stuff.

 

I have a special place in my heart for bourbon, being that it's distilled here in Kentucky. Wild Turkey 101 is nice for packing a nice kick and mixable, but for easy sipping I would have to go with Special Reserve bit pricing but 108%, and needs no mix or chaser!

 

Don't see a post like this often on "what's good" to a newcomer to alcohol. I may as well share my preferences, although everyone develops their own personal tastes of course over time. I usually dink around in the garage with a good old fashioned Coors Light, but here's what I like on the liquors:

Whiskey:
I'm a whiskey sippin' guy who doesn't skimp on quality. When money is good, it's Macallan 12 scotch ($50 US). Although it's a highland scotch, it's still very dark and you can taste the peat bog quite well. Further aged versions are for snops really. It was referred to me after a sit-down drinking time with a company CO years ago worth billions who likes to drink. Best advice I ever got from him. An affordable high quality dark scotch.

When money isn't there, it's Seagrams VO Gold ($20 US). Seagrams is a US whiskey, however Seagrams VO is Canadian. The gold version is an aged signature blend and incomparable to the others IMO, also darker due to sitting in an oak barrel much longer. Canadian whiskeys are typically smoother, which I prefer.

Tequila:
Tequila and I don't get along anymore. However, Hurradura is well worth the coin. It's dark and very sip-able.

Vodka:
Crystal Skull claims to be the most pure vodka out there. Dan Aykroyd helped start that company and it comes with a cool bottle, lol. It is indeed very smooth. Here's a trick though if on a budget; take a bottom shelf crap vodka and filter it through a Brita filter 5-6 times. It'll taste like top shelf after the impurities are removed from the carbon. Works.

Aquavit:
If you want to get all Norse, aquavit is predominantly and uniquely Norwegian. The Lenae brand we get in the US is pretty crap, but if you can find Løitens, game on. It's very sweet and will deliver one hell of a hangover in quantity. Very much a light sipper to be really appreciated.

Absinthe:
An experience all should try. Do not drink it straight; there's a very important preparation. Don't bother with the spoon thing. A little sugar in the glass, pour the absinthe in half full, and then from a distance pour in cool water quickly to create about a 75/25% mixture not filling the glass. Properly it should look cloudy light green. In excess it'll fuck with your head, but not to the extent that fables tell of. In a good way.


Well there's my book, haha. Have fun.

 

The only thing I took away from this ia drink Absinthe straight.

 

Whiskey needs a bunch more categories:

American/Bourbon--many of these (especially cheaper ones) tend to have a nasty bite, most other varieties are smoother but more expensive. Gentleman Jack is a nicely smoothed out version of the Old Number 7 standby. In bourbons, I really like Buffalo Trace, and Evan Williams will do nicely as well.

Irish--lighter in color and mouth feel, not as harsh of a burn than most American whiskeys. My go to here is a regional whiskey distributed in the Midwest called Two Gingers. Bushmills and Jameson are the two national standbyes. For whiskey, I think this is a good place to start. If you want a more oakey and powerful flavor, go to the American whiskeys, if you want more subtle and complex flavors, you need scotch. Both Irish and American work very well as shots or with mixers. Ginger Ale or Coke with Irish, Coke with American whiskey. Never use Pepsi, it's an awful mixer.

Scotch--honestly this is the one that I like best. There is such a huge variation, but it gets pricey in a hurry. I also wouldn't recommend it as a bottle to share with a college party. In order to get full flavor, drink it at room temperature. Chilling any drink kills off some of the extra flavors you would otherwise get to experience (a damn necessity with shit American beer, but a mortal sin against finely crafted whiskeys). Many scotches are higher alcohol percentages than your typical 80 proof liquor. In fact, some are meant to be watered down before drinking. If you're getting too much of a burning taste, use distilled water to dilute it slightly. Start by adding about 10% of the volume of scotch as extra water. This often tones down the alcohol enough that the scotch "opens up" and other hidden flavors start to appear.

Also, there are two main types of Irish and Scotch whiskeys: blended and single malt. This is mostly a matter of personal preference. Blends tend to be cheaper (at a given age, but a 25 year blend like Johnny Walker Blue is going to cost more than a 12, 45, or 18 year scotch) but single malts have a stronger personality with things like heaviness, peat (smoke) flavor, sweetness, etc.

For a great lighter single malt, I recommend Dalwhinnie 15 (~$40), for a really heavy, dark and smokey single malt, try Bowmore's Darkest (~$55).

Also, for rums, I really like Bacardi Anejo (aged). This is not the same as Bacardi Gold (the morons who work at cheap liquor stores often think it is). Anejo is oak aged, so it has some of the tastes you get out of whiskeys, but is smoother than most other bottles at the ~$20 range and has a very pleasant vanilla note that goes very well with Coke. I personally am not a fan of Kracken or most other spiced rums. I prefer aged Caribbean rums like that Anejo or Appleton Estate.

 

Also, I forgot to mention gin. You either love it or hate it, but I like gin better than vodka in every possible way. You can basically substitute gin for anything you can use vodka in (alright, not white russians, but that's about all I can think of) and it will taste better. That is, if you like the juniper flavor which dominates in the most commonly found British style gins (there are also Dutch gins which are very different).

The other nice thing about gin is that it's not that expensive. Aside from the common juniper flavor, they vary quite a bit depending on the number and balance of herbal flavors which are added. There are two different gins I buy frequently for different drinks. First, I really like Beefeater for Gin n Tonics. Best warm weather drink on earth. Beefeater has a fairly noticeable citrus flavor, I think it's probably orange peel. Other brands use lime, but Beefeater is a slightly sweeter flavor than many other gins. For martinis, I always use Hendricks. It's got a noticeable cucumber flavor which works really well in a bone dry martini. All you need is Hendricks, dry vermouth, ice, and a shaker. Simple but great drink.

 

http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/story/2...ttsdale-costco-selling-17000-bottle-of-scotch

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