Like @Yuv said, the best bet is probably Lindeman’s. Assuming you stay away from the artificially sweetened ones, I think they’re quite good. In particular, these are cheap and excellent:
Cuvee Rene:
Oude Kriek Cuvee
Probably the other one I’d point to is Boon. I don’t like them as much as a lot of other people do, but they’re legitimate geuzes, widely available, and inexpensive. Either their Mariage Parfait or Mono Blends are probably the highest quality:
I’m not a big fan of dry vermouth, and even though I’ve tried a few expensive ones I haven’t tasted much of a difference with using Dolin in a Martini.
of all the good sweet vermouths, two I mess around with the most in different drinks are for sure cocchi and carpano antica. For me cocchi is more balanced and carpano antica is more dramatic (and can steamroll some drinks), but they’re both awesome
three solid dry vermouths are Vya, Noilly Prat, and Dolin. Of those three the Dolin is prob the most neutral, while for me Noilly is tasty in a brackish spicy way, and Vya (extra dry) is tasty in a more fruity floral winey way.
To name one popular brand, I think Martini & Rossi is bleh compared to all these
and as yall probably know: vermouths are way better refrigerated after opening. They’ll keep out of the fridge for a little while but they lose a lot of zip. Probably we should be refrigerating all lower-proof stuff (lillet blanc, cynar, st. germain, campari, aperol, etc) but I don’t have the fridge space or the energy, so mostly I just try to not let any of those open bottles limp along for longer than say a year? But I do refrigerate vermouth and try to kill the bottle in a month or two (so I sometimes grab the 375 ML ones)
So im a huge fan of marzipan flavor. Which also makes me a big amaretto fan. The problem is i dont like overly sweet drinks so the only use for amaretto i have is godfather cocktail (2:1 whiskey to amaretto).
So double question:
a) any none super sweet drinks with amaretto?
b) what whiskey/scotch do you guys use for cocktails? I only have single malts (nothing super high end but probably a waste in cocktails?)
My grocery store actually has Oude Geuze, Tilquin and 7 fontainen at I guess slightly more expensive than your import prices. So I’ll just consider myself lucky and enjoy the beer!
Thanks for the reply!
I use bourbon instead of Scotch and it’s great.
of all the dumb college drinks the one that held up the best for me is an amaretto sour. I go:
1.5 oz amaretto (disaronno is totally fine, I like lazzaroni), 0.75 oz cask-strength bourbon, 1 oz lemon juice, 1 teaspoon simple: dry shake with some egg white (or use immersion blender!) then wet shake with ice, strain onto fresh ice, garnish w brandied cherry and/or lemon peel. I think this is Morgenthaler’s recipe but it’s been so long I don’t remember. This is less sweet than classic amaretto sours and then the cask strength gives it some spine. I don’t drink these much but they’re a good one to have in your “houseguest who wants to drink but hates booze” arsenal.
for blended scotch I know people are really into the Compass Box stuff (especially “hedonism”), but idk compass box at all honestly. If I was doing a taste test for cocktails I’d want it to include monkey shoulder, dewar’s 18 (which has marzipan notes btw), and idk maybe naked grouse? Sorry not much help; I should learn too because my favorite scotch cocktail rn is a penicillin, holy moly when these are done well they are super balanced and hit a big range, spicy, sweet, sour, salt, smoke (Renly: “Is he a ham?”). Penicilins use blended scotch as the base and then you’re supposed to float a little islay (but Talisker 10 would be awesome too)
thanks for your reply in general. I can get these 3 close to my house, but Dewar’s 18 cost 3x as much. Don’t think i’ll splurge that much on a “cocktail scotch”.
Acquire gin, maraschino luxardo, and limes - stat
Very smooth and quite tasty, but this is very noticeably boozy at 11.6%.
Might be an unpopular opinion, but I think beer peaks at around 7 or 8 percent.
Don’t get me wrong: This is very good, and I will have no problem finishing it all. I’m just making an observation.
I can get behind that statement i’m not a fan of high ABV beers
I don’t know if beer peaks at 7-8%, but I think it’s fair to say that it’s way easier for things to start going wrong once you get north of that. Super big beers run the risk of being too syrupy, too cloying, too hot, too hoppy (to try and counterbalance everything else), too much of a commitment (because just one is going to lay you to waste), too much tootsie roll flavor, too much of whatever gimmick they’re doing with it, etc. It’s pretty well solved how to put out a 7-8% IPA that is consistently good and will sell. There’s a lot more duds at 11% and above, even if there are some real gems up there, too.
I tried out Ryan Reynolds’ Aviation gin tonight. It was on sale, and between that and having it to rep Portland over the holidays, it was enough for me to pull the trigger. I tried it double-blind against Lewis and Clark, a no-nonsense, low cost local brand that tastes really good for the price, $18 for a liter (vs. $25 for a fifth for the Aviation). It only took me one sip of the first gin of the two I tasted to know it was the Aviation, because it’s unconventional. The Lewis and Clark is very traditional, leading with flavors of juniper and lemon with some je ne sais quoi on the finish, the Aviation leads with anise and then a lot of complexity. So, I guess I expect a lot of people to hate this gin, because black licorice is polarizing. I used to hate the flavor, but I’ve come around to it somewhat. If you like it, this is a really interesting gin! For me, I think I’ll stick with Lewis and Clark, but I don’t regret the purchase. Like I said, it’s a really interesting gin, but I don’t love it enough to pay the extra money for it.
Yes, if you’re looking for a traditional lambic, this would be one to avoid. That being said, people seem to rate it highly so if you’re just looking for a fun fruity drink this could fit the bill. (I don’t think I’ve ever had it.)
Hanssens is traditional. Their fruited lambics are often mouth-puckeringly, enamel-strippingly sour (and I will not buy them anymore), but I think the basic gueuze is fine.
I had it (lindemans). It’s nothing like a true lambic having tasted one recently
Here’s a bottle that’s been staring at me for a while:
I finally gave in and opened it. My first impression:
“Yes, this is exactly what I expected. I am constantly disappointed by fruit lambic - the base gueuze is almost always cheaper, more available, and better. I need to stop chasing the fruited lambics just because they’re more limited.”
For the first half bottle, this judgment was exactly right - the grape contribution was a big negative. It took the standard Tilquin and made it drier, tarter, and left me with a worse aftertaste. Part of the problem is that I have the preferences of a 5-year old. I rarely drink wine, but when I do, I like big fruit bombs, not delicate wines with lots of tannins (I assume that’s what leaves the bitterness?)
BUT, as the bottle warmed I appreciated the grapes more, and now, after having finished the whole thing, I’m convinced that I would have liked it much more if I had left the bottle out for about 30-60 minutes before opening it. I still don’t think I’d choose this version over the straight gueuze, especially given the relative prices, but having this at a much warmer temperature would have bumped up the rating quite a bit. (This shouldn’t be a surprise - it’s the same as drinking a red wine that’s far too cold.)
Already had my hands full when I saw these Bourbon County variants. How are the prices on these? $25 for variant, $55 for toasted, $40 for 30th anniversary. Also, isn’t it extremely odd to still see desirable variants on the shelf?
Where is that? Looks like a Kwik-E-Mart?
It is a total hole in the wall place you wouldn’t expect to make it on any “best of” listicles, which is why I think their selection has some rare and unexpected brews. I was in this strip mall to go to the produce store next door, but decided to stop in and grab a few beverages for the weekend.
