The Booze Thread

[Jack Aidley]

*hands up* another Scotch snob here. I like good wines too - preferably red.

Mostly at the moment I drink whatever homebrew I've made most recently. Which is currently some strong Cider I call Mr. Jack's Doddering Yokel.

[Matt Machell]

Real Ale of a variety of kinds. Hobgoblin is probably my favorite, as is anything from Wychwood (plus they all have cool names). Green King IPA if I fancy something lighter. We have a great pub in Brum that does Real Ale and Thai Food, what a marvellous combo.

Mead (Lurgashall), or the Chocolate Mead they hand round at LARPs is a great winter warmer.

Any cocktail with Grenadine in.

-Matt

[Thor Olavsrud]

I'm pretty eclectic in my choices these days:

Wine - preferably a Russian River Valley or Willamette Valley Pinot Noir.
Though since Mario Batali's Otto Enoteca became like a second home, I've been drinking some amazing Italian appelations.

Becherovka - Was introduced to this czech liquor by a friend who spent some time as the press secretary for the mayor of Prague. Can't get enough of it. There are even czech beer gardens in NYC that serve it!

Whiskey - bourbon (usually maker's, but Woodford Reserve is my favorite when I can find it) and single malt scotch (Cadenhead's No. 3 Bond if I can find it).

Gin - Sapphire (Tanqueray is acceptable) with tonic and a twist of lime.

Vodka - Grey Goose -- either with tonic and lime or in a dirty martini.

Beer - I'm all over the place in this category. I'm particularly fond of czech and belgian beers, but never turn my nose up to a Guiness either. That said, I probably drink more Yuengling than any other type of beer.

[Shawn De Arment]

My favorite: Homebrew Mead (Buckwheat is my preference) & Cyser*
Mixed drink: Gin & Grapefruit or anything Cici the mixologist suggests.
From the grape: Port. 20 year old Tawny if I can afford it, reasonably priced Australians otherwise.
Beer: Gueuze. Fruit Lambics are nice too but is nothing compares to Gueuze.

* Cyser is made with Apple Cider and Honey. No dangerous water is used in the making of this product. A ratio of 4 gallons of Cider to 1 gallon of Honey works great. Use Pasteurized Cider so you don't have to worry about pectin.

[Matt Wilson]

At this very moment I'm enjoying  a Fat Squirrel Nut Brown Ale.

I was a little worried that when I left the Northwest behind, I left all the good beer as well, but I'm happy to have been wrong about that.

Also, Europeans take note: your mass-produced beer tastes better than our mass-produced beer, but I don't know that there's a cause for pride there.

Be sure to check out the pic of the brewmaster in that link above. Is Wisconsin the only place in the world where people still have moustaches?

[Jason L Blair]

If you discount gay bars and Magnum PI conventions, yes, Matt, it is.

[Lee Short]

Wine - more specifically, the Russian River Valley, especially the reds. Wow ... Guerneville, Healdsburg, etc ... that's wine. (Now who's the snob? It would be me)

Bah.  You want wine snobbery, come hang out with the gang at Wine Therapy.  For a taste of Therapy and some superlative writing talent, check out //www.compleatwinegeek.com.

[groundhog]

I'm not a snob for Scotch, but I am snobbish about which brands of Scotch I like. In addition to the Glenlivet, Glenmorangie, Aberlour, or Glenfiddich 18 are good single malts. Regular Glenfiddich is 8-12 year married together. It's not bad, but the 18 is superior to it. I haven't tried the Glenmorangie 18 yet, but it's supposed to be excellent. Maybe that'll have to be my next Scotch purchase.

Blended Scotch is generally part malted barley whiskey and part unmalted grain whiskey. While your Chivas might be good, it's not all Scotch. If I want to mix Scotch and grain whiskey, I'll mix my Glenlivet with some Bourbon or sour mash myself.  For one, the Scotch used in blendeds is often what failed the taste test to be bottled under its distiller's name as a single malt. This can be hidden by a master blender, but I'd prefer to stick to my singles. It's the same snobbery at work here as with small-batch bourbons.

[Asrogoth]

What are your favorite drinks these days?

In college, my group of homies used to make something (secret recipe) that was the equivalent of about 40 gallons of Long Island Ice Tea, but with Kool-aid instead of Ice Tea.  It was THE DRINK of my campus.

Sounds like you went to Sewanee....

I am getting ready to go pick up some Sam Adams Cherry Wheat...

Also, I like your general sissy drinks or your straight shots of hard liquor.

Wines are pretty much out, unless it's a dessert wine (Port, for example).

I like my beers sweet and medium to dark.