What's your tipple?

OSS 117 said:
Shots are silly. Alcohol is best enjoyed in a medium sized glass and the shot poured into it. Or more if you like to pretend shots don't exist. ;)
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I agree. Anything that is so bad that you have to throw it down your throat without tasting it isn't worth drinking.
 
OSS 117 said:
Suntory. The bottle says it's distilled in Japan, and I've only found a few forum threads on the brand, and not about the bottle mark I found. Does anyone have any idea how it's like?
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Luck you. I never really liked the idea of Japanese whiskies, until we attended The Whisky Festival at some point. My wife got suckered in by this small Japanese lady, who was promoting Yamazaki. I eventually reluctantly took a sip of the 18 year old Yamazaki, and it blew me away. It was incredibly complex, and just thinking back makes me want to run and get a bottle of the stuff.

I am not sure I tried your particular whisky, but overall, the Japanese whiskies are very high quality.

Personally, I'm a big sucker for single malts, especially the smokey/peaty Islays, but a RoseBank, Highland Park, are also very welcome. I also keep a bottle of Johnny Walker Black Label around.
 
Neat vodkas, I have all sorts of vodkas from all over the world, I think the subtlties in vodkas rival that of some whiskies, most people cannot appreciate vodka neat though.

Amaretto and blue curaco... can drink this stuff all day :D
 
I remember ordering a vodka in Kazakhstan once (it was minus 25C outside so vodka seemed appropriate) and the guy behind the bar handed me a bottle.

I had a few small shots and took it back to the bar.
The guy first asked me if there was anything wrong with it and when I explained that I was finished, he just didn't understand. Apparently it's not usual for almost full bottles to be taken back :D
 
Brogan said:
I remember ordering a vodka in Kazakhstan once (it was minus 25C outside so vodka seemed appropriate) and the guy behind the bar handed me a bottle.

I had a few small shots and took it back to the bar.
The guy first asked me if there was anything wrong with it and when I explained that I was finished, he just didn't understand. Apparently it's not usual for almost full bottles to be taken back :D
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Yup,

In some parts of Asia it is considered insulting to not finish a bottle that you were offered. When I took a trip to Moscow (beautiful city btw, definately worth going) I went to a bar in my mates home city Khimki and nearly got into trouble with a rather large and bearing barman for not finishing the bottle, fortunately my mate was at hand to explain the situation :eek:
 
Slavik said:
Neat vodkas, I have all sorts of vodkas from all over the world, I think the subtlties in vodkas rival that of some whiskies, most people cannot appreciate vodka neat though.

Amaretto and blue curaco... can drink this stuff all day :D
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I hear that ...I died once for a short while (5 mins) drunk as a skunk on some vodka....at the time I was young and not observing subtleties at all :-) (thanks to people who know to flip the drunk over after reviving him so he can yak..I owe you one, maybe two). I cannot as well fine tune my tasting ability or observe the sensations on my palate with whiskeys either...in fact my body pretty much rejects any thing that isn't distilled fiercely regardless that it goes up in proof after. The problem with that is for the most part I can't drink your average shelf stuff so having a night becomes expensive.

Which brings me to a question...connoisseurs please respond here...

If I were to go to the packy (Spirit shoppe), price not being a factor (but no more than 1000 USD) what would be a top notch bottle to get if I wanted to pour glasses of something really "wow"...say in the situation of sitting with an important persons father and sorting out ...umm.. plans for the future. This person unfortunately does not drink tequila which is the only thing I have a quality bottle of right now. I need something that people would call "a man's drink" as this person IS 'the man' and am leaning towards impressing gratitude through actions.

No champagne , looking for maybe a vintage wine, or anything that is of limited availability and high desire.

No rush...I have some time.
 
Guinness, Stella Artois, Murphys, Caffreys... Can't think of any more at the moment :)
 
EQnoble said:
If I were to go to the packy (Spirit shoppe), price not being a factor (but no more than 1000 USD) what would be a top notch bottle to get if I wanted to pour glasses of something really "wow"...say in the situation of sitting with an important persons father and sorting out ...umm.. plans for the future.
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First of all, congrats with your... uhm... plans :D Make sure you know where he keeps his shotgun, so if he promises he'll return in a minute, you'll have a bit of distance between you :D

A bottle of Highland Park 18 years old is probably available under 100 USD, and while not extremely limited, it's an extremely nice whisky. It's a bit stronger than your average whisky, but not overly peaty. It has a bit of saltiness to it, due to it being from Orkney (and if I am not mistaking the most Northern currently producing distillery in Scotland), but it's not over the top by any means. I'm guessing that Brogan, who indicated he's not into peaty Scotch would enjoy this. If that's not exclusive enough, try finding an older bottle of Highland Park. They typically will have issued 25 y/o and sometimes older as well. It'll set you back 150-200 USD (I'm guessing), but it's a nice dram. A nice story to tell with it is that Highland Park uses nothing but traditional whisky producing methods.

The Rosebank I mentioned earlier is a typical Lowlands whisky. It's lighter, more crisp, and easier for those not accustomed to Scotch. But Rosebank is a fantastic whisky. Unfortunately, the distillery has been completely dismantled, making it harder to get, but bottles still can be found, with bottles from the better batches going for around 200 USD (again, a guess). Expensive, depends on your budget. Exclusive? Mwah. So-so, but for sure more exclusive than the stuff you'll typically be able to buy. Keep it sealed, and in ten years, you're looking at a neat little nest egg.

If you want some tasting tips, ways to impress him with some newly obtained knowledge, or have any questions, have a peek at www.scottishdelight.com. ;) Yes, the layout sucks, but I'll convert it soon.
 
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