Wherein we discuss 'adult beverages' of all varieties......


Wine is the king of my table. I've been obsessed with this sacred ichor since the late 80s, and can never learn enough about it, having a small library with the likes of Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson in it on the subject.


I love red better than white [my personal list of over 600 different wines shows a 7 to one ratio of red to white], but I won't turn my nose up at a decent white by ANY means!

Current favourite reds:

Any red from the Bandol region of France: packs more quality for the dollar than any comparable wine at the price.

Argentinian Malbecs.

Some southern Italian reds like Montepulciano D'Abruzzo, Centare and Aglianico.

Pinot Noirs from Oregon.

Favourite white:

ANY Riesling from almost ANYwhere where the grape thrives, but especially from its homeland: Germany. For me, the KING of the white grapes! Especially in its late-harvest forms, and when infected with 'noble rot', it can produce a dense, intense wine naturally sweet wine that is unforgettable!

Personally I am not much for adult beverages because of how stupid they make those who do not restrain themselves. Personally my favorite drin is a Virgin Strawberry Daiquiri.

However there was a time in my life when i dd experiment breifly with the stuff and here are the only two I really liked:

Tequila Rose
Bailey's Irish Cream

There was also a froze drink that had strawberry/kiwi licqor in it that i loved and would not mind drinking again since i could not taste the actual liquor.

And though i hate the taste (minly because it tastes just like licorise to me and i hate that stuff), i find that i love the idea of Absinthe, but mostly because of how sophisticated it is and that is was banned in America until recently.

though i would not mind having a drink now and then with one of the drinks mentioned above, i refuse to because of my husband's current problem and why no family/ friends can drink here anymore.

annwn, if you love red wine so much you should try the Burson. This wine is very rare to find, because it comes from an ancient vigne found out in Bagnacavallo (near Ravenna, Italy) and grown up only in that town, the last record about burson before they found the vigne recently is more then a century ago, so this is not just wine, it has history in it. It is a red strong dry wine like Sangiovese, but with a drier taste.

I'm not so much for wine anymore, because red wine gives me an allergy taking me almost to death, and even if I love talking about death, I'd rather experience it later in life ^^.

However I love beer, wodka and Bailey's Irish cream.

I don't do any sort of liquor anymore with a single glorious exception: Margaritas. I love a good margarita made with Sauzo or 1800 tequila and Grand Mariner.

Annwn - I agree with the red wine over white. Again, I don't drink it very often but I find that I am still a huge fan of a dark, dry robust Merlot or a tasty Shiraz. Usually I go for wine from S. America.

My real, unabashed poison is now Beer. My favorites are Stouts and Porters with Murphy's Irish Stout topping my list closely followed by Guinness, and Anchor Steam Porter rounding out the category. I can't drink American beers (like Budweiser or Coors) and I hate sweet beers like Hefeweissens.

Tonight I start my job down at the local Liquor store so I am sure my tastes will be expanding since I have access to knowledge and a hefty discount.

~spidey

If your store is one of the few (that I've been able to find in the States) carrying Stone's ginger wine, then you're in for a treat. Mmmm...

-- Nephele

Next to wine, I love beer!

I've had Ancho Steam and Liberty Ale. They rank as two of my favourite American beers, and I'm really looking forward to trying their porter as soon as I can get my paws on it.

Murphy's and Guinness ditto.


But for me, there is no beer like Belgian beer! Their complexity matches that of some of the finest wines! And their alcohol content can be pretty high as a rule also.

Some Belgian beers are the best I've ever had PERIOD. Top of the list is:

Chimay Blue Label

Duvel

Orval

Hoegaarden

[All of the above except Hoegaarden are Trappist beers, made in monasteries--don't remember how many of them are still made by actual monks].


Next for me rank German beers:

Salvador

Aventinus

Schneider & Sohn Weissbier

-- Mon Mar 08, 2010 3:25 pm --

As for spirits....

Good brandies/cognacs and armagnacs come first on my list.

I grew up with the Italian brandy 'Vecchia Romagna' always in the cabinet, but I didn't care for it until I bought a ten year old one last Christmas, and it made a huge fan of me.

Generally, good Spanish and Portuguese brandies are both first rate and affordable. For the former, Soberanno or Carlos V, and for the latter Macieira. Long, rich, earthy and sensual brandies both.

Calvados, an legendary apple brandy from Normandy, France, is a favourite alternative for me to grape-based brandies. Not sweet, but with a really nice apply nose.


Cognacs and Armagnacs, at least those good enough to drink, are a tad expensive for everyday sipping at my pay grade, but Montal Armagnac is comparatively cheap for a decent Armagnac.

Most of my favorites are red wines also, although I do love a good Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand or Chile, Albarino from Spain, Torrontes from Argentina. I was also trying various whites from Northern Italy (Arneis comes to mind). I am not a big fan of butterscotchy Chardonnays. I don't think wine should taste like honey.

I've tried a bunch of reds from Spain (Tempranillo, Monastrell, Garnacha) and Italy (Aglianico, Nero d'Avola, Sangiovese - although I hear that there are several THOUSAND grape strains in Italy! How did they sort them out? )
Oregon Pinot Noirs are good too - although I've had good ones from California (the Santa Ynez Valley - about 2 hours' drive north of Los Angeles). New Zealand makes some good ones too, although for some odd reason they taste rather smoky-resiny. Not that I mind at all.
I did not like the first Pinot Noirs I'd ever tasted - they had an odd chemical taste, which a wine seller explained was phenol.
One wine I went nuts over was a Chateauneuf-du-Pape - it smelled of raisin toast and tasted somewhere between cherries and violin-bow rosin.

I am definitely a wine connoisseur! I like the sweeter wines when it comes to reds. With whites, I like a drier wine. Not a big fan of cabernets...too oaky. My favorite is a good riesling.

Red Zins? Shiraz?

I really want to try that one but I can't bring myself to spend the $10 on one bottle. It got a 100% rating in Draft Magazine. Maybe now that I have a 15% discount i will splurge....

~spidey

I've enjoyed Hoegaarden and Chimay Cinq Cents. Must try some of those others.
As far as beers go, my favorites tend to be the IPAs and double IPAs - more hoppy, some resiny/citrusy as well. One favorite is Moylander Double IPA. Actually tastes somewhat like grapefruit.

Zins are my preference. I've also come across a few good Italian sparkling reds.

I can't help but think of one of my favorites. I had a bottle of it on my wine rack, and my daughter's cat thought it would be a good idea to claw at the cork! Needless to say, her claw got caught, she ended up pulling the cork out, and got the wine everywhere!!! This is when I learned that water mixed with a little liquid detergent and hydrogen peroxide will take red wine stains out of white upholstery (as it was all over my white dining room chairs)!!! A few months later, I noticed that the wine now had a screw cap, and I asked the guy why they changed it. He said, "Oh, too many people had complained that it was too difficult to open." I laughed and told him they were using the wrong tool...all they needed was a cat with good claws! LOL.

I had a very good wheat beer here: http://www.gordonbiersch.com/restaurant ... tion_id=19 It blew my socks off (I got very, very drunk). Mouton Cadet and Chateauneuf (not all are equal!) are my faves. For champagne its Dom Pérignon as I like whites that are dry.

-LS

Plain, ordinary Stolichnaya vodka for me. Or the odd shot of absinthe mixed with creme de cassis.

My favorite wines are all red, I can't stomach white for some reason. The fumes give me a headache.

Wines:

Vampire Merlot

Werewolf Merlot

Ravenswood Merlot

Seven Sinners Syrrah(Australia)

Favorite mixed drink is Crown & Coke, but I'll drink Crown Royal straight. It's one of the few liquors that I can tolerate the taste of by itself. I also like a decent vodka, Grey Goose, Ketel One & Belvedere are favorites.

If anyone wants the bottle of Hardy Cognac sitting on my counter you're welcome to it! I actually threw out the rest of my Absinthe a few months ago after it sat around for a year making me nauseous with the thought of imbibing any more of it. One of the few things that made me feel sick while I was drinking it(white wine does it, too). The 'ritual' is cute, but it's not worth the hassle. Cognac is just....nasty stuff, bleh.

All beer tastes like piss to me, no matter what country it's from. The only beer I came close to liking once was something called 'Arrogant Bastard Ale'. It tastes a little less like piss than your average beer. I actually prefer what my friends affecionately term 'bitch water'(Smirnoff Twisted/Bacardi Breezers/Jack Daniels Country Cocktails), despite the fact that they have more alcohol in them than the lite beer my friends drink. Coincidentally, the term 'bitch water' actually refers to lite beer according to Urban Dictionary!

-- Tue Mar 09, 2010 3:13 pm --



I do NOT understand people who want to drink wine, but not learn the proper way to open it! I prefer a wine with a cork instead of a screw top. Screw tops take away some of the charm for me.