Another elite hazy IPA. I love it when they smell like passion fruit.
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Had to look this beer up and they say it’s got some Sabro hops (among others) which is the weirdest tasting hop I’ve ever had
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Interesting. I almost tagged you in the post in case you had tried it before.
I don’t think I have as refined a palette as you do when it comes to recognizing and differentiating between types of hops.
I’m on to the next beer now, a Ommegang NE-Style IPA. Prettay prettay prettay good. Not as good imo as the Mother Earth Flawless that I posted above.
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I had a single hop Sabro IPA here and it was fucking weird. It tasted like a pina colada or something. Very distinct coconut flavour. I didn’t like it.
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I don’t get coconut at all with Sabro. A local brewery does a single hop sabro pale ale and I get nothing but melon. I love it.
I didn’t know Ommegang was even doing hazys. I mean I get it because I’m sure they like money but its weird to me. One of the most eye opening beers I ever had was Three Philosophers on draft back in the day.
There aren’t too many good hops to know and you’ve probably drank all of them and know your favorites. Also not that many are grown in large quantities.
I was lucky enough to try many different newly released IPAs every day for years so I can tell when a beer is well done but I don’t give a very good beer review or have a great tasting ability.
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The only hops I would say I know the flavour of well are Mosaic and Citra - Mosaic is one of my favourites and Citra I tend to avoid.
that is crazy talk
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I remember citra because several times I was like oh citrus that sounds cool, but then when I have it I realise it doesn’t deliver the dank piney, herbal flavours I’m looking for. I’m the biggest West Coast homer since Tupac and Citra just doesn’t make the grade in a classic WCIPA.
This shouldn’t be taken as a ringing endorsement, but the only one I’ve ever heard of is Wild Turkey so that’s where I’d start.
Eta: I missed the Sagamore. That would be a coin flip with the WT
Given your preferences, I’d almos certainly pick at least one rum, one whiskey, and one agave spirit, and then you get one more wild card? There’s only one rum, so that’s an easy choice. For the other 3, I’d maybe just sort by price and take the most expensive of the agaves, most expensive whiskey, and then the most expensive remaining in any category.
If the list changes every time, I’d probably take the rum first, as there’s way more chance that there’s a quarter without any rum than there is without any agave spirit or whiskey. Well, unless something on that list jumps out when looking at prices. I checked a few, and they were all $40/fifth, give or take, but maybe there’s something that stands out that you may not want to miss out on.
I think I gave away my bottle of Yellow Rose Rye when I moved, but I remember liking it, although it had a bit of an unusual flavor palate for a rye, almost minty or grassy. But I got my bottle five years ago or so so maybe the process is different now.
I don’t think I’ve had any of the others. Yeyo Silver does have high marks on Tequila Matchmaker.
For mixed drinks none of it really matters. No one can tell the difference between 100 dollar tequila and 15 dollar tequila in a margarita. Same with a Mojito, dark and stormy, Mai Tai, whiskey sour, whatever. A Manhattan? Maybe. I like old fashioneds better than Manhattans, and for those I really like rye because that spiciness really shines through. But a Manhattan or an Old Fashioned are the two drinks that I think the liquor would really make a difference, because there’s so much liquor in them and the liquor has so much character and flavor that it can shine through the ice and the bitters and the vermouth.
But my advice would be to take up drinking scotch, the king of liquors, and start drinking it neat.
If you like that El Dorado you may enjoy the Bombo; it’s pretty much the perfect rum for that cocktail.
Yeah, I’m with you on this one. Sure, there are plenty of drinks that can mask really terrible liquor, but there are many that benefit from something that’s at least decent. I do agree that diminishing returns kick in really fast, though, and there can’t be many cocktail+liquor combinations where spending more than about $30/fifth is anything but a total waste.
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Tried a White Claw for the first time ever today. Gotta admit, it wasn’t bad at all. I mean that in a sense of comparing to a 7-UP or Sprite or something like that. Could I drink them all day? Probably not. But I can understand the seltzer craze.
Yeah, they’re not something I would reach for, but they’re not bad if I don’t have any other options. My friends were really into them back in 2019 so I’d have one from time to time. Drop a shot of tequila into a grapefruit one and you’ve basically got a stronger paloma.
(I did have a hilarious time at a 2019 Christmas party when I was back visiting home where they didn’t have any beer I liked, so I opened a Whiteclaw to see if something funny would happen. My friend got really steamed by it, so it worked. You kinda had to be there, unfortunately.)
Speaking of tequila, a few more recommendations of late, sorted by price (most to least). These are all blancos; can’t vouch for the other styles but they’re probably going to be good as well:
Fortaleza
Pasote
Azunia
Don Abraham
Haven’t had 'em in a while but for the lower end as I recall Don Cosme and Matli are good brands as well.
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