A few months back I was able to procure a bottle each of Zubrowka Bison Grass Vodka from Poland, and Antigua English Harbor Rum (5 Year Aged). Also got a bottle of Tokaji Aszu wine from Hungary, and Holiday Spiced Wine from Brotherhood Winery. I finished off the Polish vodka mostly using it as an ingredient in sauces and in preserving spiced cherries, but am holding on to the others for more special occasions. But this got me to thinking, what are some finer liquors you've had or keep in stock? What do you like about them and why?
I like cooking with Angel's Envy whisky. It's a bit on the sweet side for drinking, not bad stuff for cooking. A bit expensive for either, so I don't use it often. When I do, it's for pork chops with a whiskey cream sauce. Koloa Kaua'i Coffee rum, far better than Kahlua. Got to try it at the distillery on my honeymoon, and have kept a bottle on hand ever since. Glenmorangie La Santa. I'm partial to single malt whiskies, and this tops the list of my favorites. It's finished in Sherry casks, if I recall correctly. The best drinking alcohol I've ever tried was a home brew with a "Pure Old Panther Piss" label. It was an apple and berry brandy. I've never been able to find a good commercial alternative. Pacifique Absinthe is my go to for Absinthe. It's a Pacific Northwest brand, so local to me, but still hard to find. Other than that, Crown Royal and Captain Morgan are staples in the cabinet for the rare occasional mixed drink. I always keep a bottle of Bordeaux Supérieur on hand for French onion soup. Brand doesn't matter so much, as pretty much all Bordeaux Supérieurs are good wines. If it's not good enough to drink it, why would you cook with it? As for white wine, Barefoot Bubbly Muscato is what my wife keeps around for sauces, and the rare drink. It's not what I would call a finer wine. I seldom drink recreationally, and I'm not a big beer drinker either. When I do, it's either cider (partial to Two Towns cider) or Killian's Irish Red, which has become near impossible to find locally, as craft brews have pushed the mainstream brands almost completely out of stores; and being neither a fan of dark brews or hoppy brews, I find most of those to be undrinkable. I'd have to look at my cabinet to see if there's any other drinks worth mentioning. We also keep a bottle of Maker's Mark around for drinking and cooking with.
Zubrowka is delicious mixed with cold apple juice. The Poles call is it szarlotka. (Possibly spelled wrong.)
I'm not a fancy drinker, but I like what I drink. Black label Evans Williams whiskey for Highballs and assorted mixed drinks. I like to make Kamikazes with equal parts Seagram's vodka, De Kuyper triple sec and Nellie Joes Key West Lime Juice I enjoy the molasses taste of Myers rum in our Strawberry Daiquiris And for wine we like Barefoot Muscato or Riesling . I also enjoy the occasional scotch and enjoy a beer or two socially, but don't buy it only drink what is served to be polite.
Having a glass of Glenmorangie's La Santa this evening. I love this mellow, keg-charred whisky, with it's fruity, lingering, smokey aftertaste. I hold in my hand man's best friend and worst enemy, depending on how you use him. Glenmorangie has been my friend these past twenty years, but I've never seen too much of him. Any friendship will go sour if you see them too often. That goes for people too.
I have not had a Killian's Irish Red since I left Colorado in 1998. I have not looked for it either. Good stuff, IIRC.
We did the Kentucky Bourbon Trail tour of distilleries, and hit a few others on our next vacation. We did some more blind taste testing later at home when we had lots of extended family in the house. It was a very expensive experiment, I might add. We tested them all straight; no mixers to dilute or pollute the bourbon. After sampling a WIDE variety of bourbons and tallying up the blind votes, Rebel Yell won as the best wheated bourbon, and Ancient Age won as the best rye bourbon. This was surprising because they're both incredibly low-end bourbons. Some of the more expensive bourbons (one bottle of Weller 12 Year cost almost $200) were awful. We tried a couple of Scotch whiskey varieties (Glenfiddich and Glenlivet that are supposed to be awesome) and they were terrible, too! What can I say... I'm a cheap date! - Bottom Shelf Bax
Rebel Yell bourbon has won quite a few awards in the past. Ancient Age bourbon whiskey is distilled in Frankfort, Kentucky at the Buffalo Trace Distillery. I'll have to try these out.
I can't speak for Brit, but I found it to be alright. It's nothing special. It has a punchy flavor. Better for mixed drinks than used as a straight sipping whiskey, though it works fine for that too. I tried this one recently, and it impressed me. A bit more complex than Bushmill's typical offerings.
The last one I tried as a decent sipping whiskey was ..... I thought it would make a great gift, but not for regular use.