Your favourite tipple

The subforum description is "Your neighborhood bar but without the booze", but fuck that shit, let's have booze!

This thread is for your drink recommendations for the discerning sort (so no paintstripper, Enlisted Person!).

I'm currently rolling this around on the tongue:

https://www.masterofmalt.com/whiskies/aberlour/aberlour-a-bunadh-batch-55-whisky/

Drinkable neat, good flavour but leaves a hot trail down the throat. Nicer on the rocks. Mild smoke but the nutty, rich caramel flavour of the sherry comes through once the ice gets in there... Like a very strong Amontillado sherry with a hint of woodsmoke.

I'm a big fan of this:

https://www.masterofmalt.com/whiskies/laphroaig-10-year-old-whisky/

Incredibly smokey, salty, medicinal and caramel-scented at the same time, you feel it's either shortening or lengthening your lifespan and you don't care which.

Also trying this later tonight once the tonic water and it have chilled nicely:

https://www.masterofmalt.com/gin/professor-cornelius-ampleforth/bathtub-gin/

Gin is having a renaissance in the UK at the moment with lots of companies adding select botanicals to try for a richer flavour. My favourite so far is Hendricks gin (https://www.masterofmalt.com/gin/hendricks-gin/?srh=1) but have heard good things about this one... It smells good so will report back later.

Meanwhile, post your drinks of renown: beer, wine, tequila - go for it! This is the thread for sharing good stuff.

Good single malt scotch, straight up. No other foofery is needed.

I drink a lot of margaritas and a lot of gin gimlets and gin rickeys.

Most single malts. Not huge on double or blended. I normally take a black label in a restaurant, otherwise scotches such as the ones above. Loath bourbon. I like mine on the rocks.

Also gotten more into gin as the years have passed. Usually with tonic and lemon. Also like it sometimes with, get this, grape juice! usually go with Bombay Sapphire or Tanqueray.

Particularly found of champagne. Don't drink much wine these days after it started giving me bad hangovers, but still enjoy a good red from time to time. A good rioja, pinot noir or shiraz. Like a chianti if having steak.

I also like my monthly delivery of meth from John Castle.

Everclear, straight up in a highball glass. No other foofery is needed.

@matthunter if you like laphroaig, then try lagavuelin. Its similarly smokey, without the paintstripper. Much more smooth and thata why its recognised as one of our classic malts.

For Gin, yes Hendricks is often the better one sitting in a non gin bar, but get out and try the new offerings. My favourite gin right now is 'Botanist'. Its an Islay gin (snap your smokey whiskies) and is really nice. First time i tasted it, the bar tender put a bit of red grapefruit in it. Really set it off well.

Add a lit match for more fun, especially if you have a moustache!

I don't do booze nearly as often as beer, but when I do, I prefer a good gin (Bombay Sapphire, Tanqueray, or Hendricks), the occasional margarita (possibly w/ a tequila shot on the side). I can't do many whiskeys, but I do like both Fireball and Southern Comfort.

Have tried Botanist but with gin I prefer a bit of softness as it slips down, so the spikyness of the Islay actually hindered it for me. The Bathtub one I linked to earlier has gone down a treat - rich, coats the mouth and has a hint of citrus so no actual lemon or lime needed. About time for a second glass I figure...

I tried Lagavulin but my notes weren't that appreciative looking back:

"Lagavulin 16yr old - caramel and smoke but quite a medicinal aftertaste. Alright (on par with Talisker) but a lot more expensive and for no apparent reason..."

Where Laphroiag gets it right for me is that the saltiness offsets the really harsh notes of the smoke. This one, and Talisker, both have an almost sulphurous aftertaste. Possibly I needed to try it on the rocks but as it's £52 a bottle I went for a 3cl taster order first.

If I want a really easy-drinking single malt I switch away from the Islays to Balvenie Doublewood. This is really smooth and, again, matured in sherry casks which adds a richness.

Straight from the nipple?

I like craft ales, which unfortunately aren't stocked in all of the pubs in Ireland. They're more an English thing. Must be served room temperature.

Theres a booming craft beer industry in Scotland at the moment.

English or Welsh. Look for CAMRA pubs (CAMpaign for Real Ale) when visiting. Some really nice brews out there. Beer ain't really my thing as the gassiness gets me, but these are often light enough on the froth to enjoy the flavour.

@Stallion, have you tried 58 gin? I bought some for Mum for Mother's Day but although she liked it I'm not sure her taste is that well-developed (her idea of a classy gin used to be Bombay Sapphire - not her fault, on a pension paying more than £15 for a bottle of gin is a special occasion)... She said it was like Hendricks. If so, will not buy again as it's the same price but for 50cl instead of 70cl.

Suppose I could splash for a few gin tasters though... Any recommendations other than Botanist? This Bathtub one really IS going down nicely... I've heard tell it's even better in cocktails than a straight G&T but am lacking any vermouth...

I got a bottle of Caorunn gin back at Christmas, i like it but its sharp so if shes a bombay saffire or gordons lady, not sure she'll be into it.

The new Edinburgh gins are maybe worth a shot?

Buffalo Trace. If they made a non-alcoholic version I'd drink it too!

I like a good Margarita, or a Mojito. But also prefer a good IPA. Don't really care for wines.

Well I don't know about laphroig. I had some and it wasn't my style. But a week later j had an urge for more. So I bought a bottle. And it took a year to drink. Not sure where I stand.

I drink mostly bourbons and single malts. I enjoy a blended such as Johnie Walker, Chivas (18), and a Dimple Pinch (though it's gone up I price about 30% but not I quality).

For bourbon I drink a lot of Bulleit. I have a four roses right now as well as a makers Mark my friend gave me cuz her uncles bar closed down and she has too much inventory. I have a Glenfiddich up there too and some red label for mixing.

Gin has alcohol, so it can be drank, but unless there is no other alcohol around why would you?

I usually go for a Tennessee Sippin' Whiskey neat. Usually George Dickel White Label, but recently I've been a Kirkland Signature man. Currently without. Saturday I realized my handle had been open a couple weeks and was about to go bad, so I did what I had to do. Waste not want not and all that.

For fancy drinks Old Fashioneds and Manhattans are good.

If warm out a good Marg (on the rocks of course, blended folks should be shot) hit's the spot.

Just googled the Caorunn, sounds good. Will give it a shot next time I mail order (Aber's shit for drink choices, our largest supermarket is Morrisons ffs)

As for the Red Ripple posted above, I had to look that up - seriously? It's on Bum Wine Reviews ffs! It came up alongside an image of Thunderbird, which I haven't seen in this country since I was a student in 93-96 (probably because they discovered you could dissolve bodies in it).

They're getting classy with gins over here these days. Cheaper gins I agree with you on, but now brewers are either adding botanicals/spices/herbs/fruits straight to the ferment or infusing with them after the fact, adding a lot of flavour and smoothness to the taste. Most are designed to be mixed 1:2 with tonic water for the classic G&T, but gin cocktails are also making a comeback in UK bars.

If you mix Ripple and ginger ale, you can call it Champipple.

Classy Gin is an oxymoron. Here is where gin leads:

I mostly only drink beer and wine. But I do very much like Scotch, gin, tequila, vodka, and increasingly rum. But for whatever reason, I rarely hit the hard stuff. Maybe I should change that habit.

A good gin can be enjoyed straight. Clearly Alabama boy has never had anything out of a glass bottle.

I've heard tell of this, but am unconvinced. Despite being very nice with tonic, I've just tried a bit of the Bathtub neat - it's sippable, but there's still a harshness from the juniper. And I'm saying that as someone who will roll neat peated Scotch around on my tongue.

Try it with ice. That will soothe the perceived juniper harsh.