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[JayhawkCO]

In a bar setting, the Long Island Iced Tea is only to be ordered if we desire an especially rowdy evening...

I always find this mentality a little interesting.  A Long Island doesn't have any more liquor than any other cocktail.  It does have more liquors.  Just because it comes with vodka, gin, rum, and triple sec, the standard recipe only comes with a 1/2 oz. each of the vodka and gin and 1/4 oz. each of rum and triple sec.  1.5 oz. of liquor is the same that most restaurants/bars pour for a standard vodka & soda.

Chris

[kevinb1994]

Anyone here have had vodka icees? The ones you get at Costco (they came in a big container). Good Christmas gift.

[JayhawkCO]

Anyone here have had iced vodka icees? The ones you get at Costco (they came in a big container). Good Christmas gift.

I feel like that might give me three different headaches at once - one from the sugar, one from the liquor, and one from the brain freeze. 

Chris

[kevinb1994]

Anyone here have had iced vodka icees? The ones you get at Costco (they came in a big container). Good Christmas gift.

I feel like that might give me three different headaches at once - one from the sugar, one from the liquor, and one from the brain freeze. 

Chris

Yeah, one must be careful with it.

[OCGuy81]

Anyone here have had vodka icees? The ones you get at Costco (they came in a big container). Good Christmas gift.

My sister had bought those last year to take out on their boat.  Her and my wife seemed to enjoy them, I stuck with beer that day.

[jmacswimmer]

In a bar setting, the Long Island Iced Tea is only to be ordered if we desire an especially rowdy evening...

I always find this mentality a little interesting.  A Long Island doesn't have any more liquor than any other cocktail.  It does have more liquors.  Just because it comes with vodka, gin, rum, and triple sec, the standard recipe only comes with a 1/2 oz. each of the vodka and gin and 1/4 oz. each of rum and triple sec.  1.5 oz. of liquor is the same that most restaurants/bars pour for a standard vodka & soda.

Chris

Maybe it's just the bars I frequent, but when I watch the bartenders make a Long Island they typically heavy-hand all the liquors and then do the shortest blast of coke from the soda gun at the end (and at that point, it's definitely more liquor volume-wise compared to, say, a rum & coke or vodka cranberry).

[JayhawkCO]

In a bar setting, the Long Island Iced Tea is only to be ordered if we desire an especially rowdy evening...

I always find this mentality a little interesting.  A Long Island doesn't have any more liquor than any other cocktail.  It does have more liquors.  Just because it comes with vodka, gin, rum, and triple sec, the standard recipe only comes with a 1/2 oz. each of the vodka and gin and 1/4 oz. each of rum and triple sec.  1.5 oz. of liquor is the same that most restaurants/bars pour for a standard vodka & soda.

Chris

Maybe it's just the bars I frequent, but when I watch the bartenders make a Long Island they typically heavy-hand all the liquors and then do the shortest blast of coke from the soda gun at the end (and at that point, it's definitely more liquor volume-wise compared to, say, a rum & coke or vodka cranberry).

It is just supposed to be a splash of Coke, but there's also lemonade/sweet & sour in there for the other mixer.  Heavy-handed bartenders definitely change the equation.

Chris

[1995hoo]

I like various Scotches, Irish whiskies, and bourbons. I do not care for the heavily-peated Scotches (Islays, etc.); I prefer Speysides and Highland malts. I also love Springbank, but it's gotten extraordinarily expensive and is hard to find anyway.

But we don't keep any liquor at home on a routine basis for reasons I don't care to discuss, and usually when I need something for a recipe or similar I buy miniatures. An exception is sometimes when we have someone coming over. My mom came over for Christmas dinner and I got a bottle of Ron Zacapa Centenario rum as an after-dinner drink for the special occasion. I may get another bottle of that for Mother's Day this Sunday because she liked it so much. I can keep a bottle of that around because it's not something that lends itself to pouring as a before-dinner drink, at least not to my taste it doesn't, and it's too expensive to waste mixing it with Coke or similar.

In a bar setting, the Long Island Iced Tea is only to be ordered if we desire an especially rowdy evening...

I always find this mentality a little interesting.  A Long Island doesn't have any more liquor than any other cocktail.  It does have more liquors.  Just because it comes with vodka, gin, rum, and triple sec, the standard recipe only comes with a 1/2 oz. each of the vodka and gin and 1/4 oz. each of rum and triple sec.  1.5 oz. of liquor is the same that most restaurants/bars pour for a standard vodka & soda.

Chris

Maybe it's just the bars I frequent, but when I watch the bartenders make a Long Island they typically heavy-hand all the liquors and then do the shortest blast of coke from the soda gun at the end (and at that point, it's definitely more liquor volume-wise compared to, say, a rum & coke or vodka cranberry).

I'm lazy. When I make that, I use one shot of each liquor. Good thing I have not made one of those in a very long time.

You want a variant on a Long Island, make a Hawaiian Iced Tea: Instead of regular rum, substitute Malibu. I had that at a restaurant in Kapa'a and it was pretty good.

[kphoger]

Vodka - They're essentially all the same, so normally just what's cheap. 

Them's fightin' words!   

Vodka is meant to be an odorless, flavorless spirit.  So yes, they should all be basically the same.  The only differences in vodka are the water source (which obviously could have other dissolved solids giving different flavors) and the heads/hearts/tails ratio.  Outside of the absolute cheapest vodkas (Barton, McCormick, Viaka, etc.), those ratios are nearly the same with all other brands.  No need to spend $40 on a bottle of Belvedere when a $16 bottle of Monopolowa is the same quality level.

Oh, I'm not fighting it.  I just know people who would.

My sister says she can tell the difference between different vodkas.  But she is also very sensitive to mineral content in water as well, and can only tolerate certain brands of mineral water.  So, in her case at least, it's believable.

Also:  Gin is just flavored vodka.  Change my mind.

No need to change your mind. I'm in 100% agreement.

I love reading articles and blog posts that have something like "Is gin just flavored vodka?" or "What is the difference between gin and flavored vodka?" in the title.  They go on and on about how gin and vodka have different histories, how gin has a specific definition, the various production methods of each, etc, etc.  And then, at the end, they claim to have shown how gin is not just flavored vodka.  And yet nothing they wrote actually does any such thing.

Here's how I would word the question, and I challenge anyone to answer it:
If Smirnoff produced a vodka that was flavored with juniper berries, coriander, orris root, liquorice, and angelica—then give me one good reason it shouldn't be sold as "gin".

[JayhawkCO]

I like various Scotches, Irish whiskies, and bourbons. I do not care for the heavily-peated Scotches (Islays, etc.); I prefer Speysides and Highland malts. I also love Springbank, but it's gotten extraordinarily expensive and is hard to find anyway.

But we don't keep any liquor at home on a routine basis for reasons I don't care to discuss, and usually when I need something for a recipe or similar I buy miniatures. An exception is sometimes when we have someone coming over. My mom came over for Christmas dinner and I got a bottle of Ron Zacapa Centenario rum as an after-dinner drink for the special occasion. I may get another bottle of that for Mother's Day this Sunday because she liked it so much. I can keep a bottle of that around because it's not something that lends itself to pouring as a before-dinner drink, at least not to my taste it doesn't, and it's too expensive to waste mixing it with Coke or similar.

I love Springbank.  I think the 10 year is better than the 15 for my palate.

Ron Zacapa is probably my 2nd favorite rum after the Foursquare that I listed above (and Zacapa is much cheaper).  I also love Smith & Cross for making cocktails since it's so funky.

Chris

[jmacswimmer]

In a bar setting, the Long Island Iced Tea is only to be ordered if we desire an especially rowdy evening...

I always find this mentality a little interesting.  A Long Island doesn't have any more liquor than any other cocktail.  It does have more liquors.  Just because it comes with vodka, gin, rum, and triple sec, the standard recipe only comes with a 1/2 oz. each of the vodka and gin and 1/4 oz. each of rum and triple sec.  1.5 oz. of liquor is the same that most restaurants/bars pour for a standard vodka & soda.

Chris

Maybe it's just the bars I frequent, but when I watch the bartenders make a Long Island they typically heavy-hand all the liquors and then do the shortest blast of coke from the soda gun at the end (and at that point, it's definitely more liquor volume-wise compared to, say, a rum & coke or vodka cranberry).

It is just supposed to be a splash of Coke, but there's also lemonade/sweet & sour in there for the other mixer.  Heavy-handed bartenders definitely change the equation.

Chris

From what I've seen, the sweet & sour seems to go back & forth depending on bartender: some add it, some don't (and the ones without are the especially strong ones, since the missing mixer volume is essentially replaced with added liquor).


Re: icee discussion above, anyone here familiar with Smirnoff Ice's?  (And by extension, getting iced?)

[1995hoo]

I like various Scotches, Irish whiskies, and bourbons. I do not care for the heavily-peated Scotches (Islays, etc.); I prefer Speysides and Highland malts. I also love Springbank, but it's gotten extraordinarily expensive and is hard to find anyway.

But we don't keep any liquor at home on a routine basis for reasons I don't care to discuss, and usually when I need something for a recipe or similar I buy miniatures. An exception is sometimes when we have someone coming over. My mom came over for Christmas dinner and I got a bottle of Ron Zacapa Centenario rum as an after-dinner drink for the special occasion. I may get another bottle of that for Mother's Day this Sunday because she liked it so much. I can keep a bottle of that around because it's not something that lends itself to pouring as a before-dinner drink, at least not to my taste it doesn't, and it's too expensive to waste mixing it with Coke or similar.

I love Springbank.  I think the 10 year is better than the 15 for my palate.

Ron Zacapa is probably my 2nd favorite rum after the Foursquare that I listed above (and Zacapa is much cheaper).  I also love Smith & Cross for making cocktails since it's so funky.

Chris

The Springbank I really like is the 21-year, but I haven't had it in a very long time because the price spiralled completely out of control. It was my father's favorite as well.

[JayhawkCO]

Re: icee discussion above, anyone here familiar with Smirnoff Ice's?  (And by extension, getting iced?)

The best "icing" of all time was a buddy who put a pencil or something under the flapper in his roommate's toilet.  So it was constantly running and when the roommate lifted up the tank lid to investigate, a delicious Smirnoff Ice was waiting for him.

Chris

[jmacswimmer]

Re: icee discussion above, anyone here familiar with Smirnoff Ice's?  (And by extension, getting iced?)

The best "icing" of all time was a buddy who put a pencil or something under the flapper in his roommate's toilet.  So it was constantly running and when the roommate lifted up the tank lid to investigate, a delicious Smirnoff Ice was waiting for him.

Chris

That is some serious dedication, A+ for effort!

My college roommates & I got fairly aggressive with icing during our last semester once we'd all completed degree requirements. One of them, knowing my affinity for mixing Hershey's syrup into milk to make chocolate milk, put an ice in the fridge where I normally kept the Hershey's. 

(And similar to your story, I think one of them once iced another by finding a way to suspend an ice in the toilet bowl.  But more often than not, it was as stupid simple as putting one on a chair right behind the apartment door when we knew someone was about to return from campus.)

[kkt]

Vodka - They're essentially all the same, so normally just what's cheap. 

Them's fightin' words!   

Vodka is meant to be an odorless, flavorless spirit.  So yes, they should all be basically the same.  The only differences in vodka are the water source (which obviously could have other dissolved solids giving different flavors) and the heads/hearts/tails ratio.  Outside of the absolute cheapest vodkas (Barton, McCormick, Viaka, etc.), those ratios are nearly the same with all other brands.  No need to spend $40 on a bottle of Belvedere when a $16 bottle of Monopolowa is the same quality level.

Also:  Gin is just flavored vodka.  Change my mind.

No need to change your mind. I'm in 100% agreement.

Chris

There are lots of flavored vodkas as well as the flavorless kind.

[kkt]

Vodka - They're essentially all the same, so normally just what's cheap. 

Them's fightin' words!   

Vodka is meant to be an odorless, flavorless spirit.  So yes, they should all be basically the same.  The only differences in vodka are the water source (which obviously could have other dissolved solids giving different flavors) and the heads/hearts/tails ratio.  Outside of the absolute cheapest vodkas (Barton, McCormick, Viaka, etc.), those ratios are nearly the same with all other brands.  No need to spend $40 on a bottle of Belvedere when a $16 bottle of Monopolowa is the same quality level.

Oh, I'm not fighting it.  I just know people who would.

My sister says she can tell the difference between different vodkas.  But she is also very sensitive to mineral content in water as well, and can only tolerate certain brands of mineral water.  So, in her case at least, it's believable.

Also:  Gin is just flavored vodka.  Change my mind.

No need to change your mind. I'm in 100% agreement.

I love reading articles and blog posts that have something like "Is gin just flavored vodka?" or "What is the difference between gin and flavored vodka?" in the title.  They go on and on about how gin and vodka have different histories, how gin has a specific definition, the various production methods of each, etc, etc.  And then, at the end, they claim to have shown how gin is not just flavored vodka.  And yet nothing they wrote actually does any such thing.

Here's how I would word the question, and I challenge anyone to answer it:
If Smirnoff produced a vodka that was flavored with juniper berries, coriander, orris root, liquorice, and angelica—then give me one good reason it shouldn't be sold as "gin".

There's a lot of peculiarities in naming of wines and spirits.  There's the regional names:  if the grapes are from the Champagne region, it's champagne, but the same variety with the same process somewhere else is only sparkling wine.  Then there's the fruit:  grapes that are fermented and then distilled makes brandy, but distilled other fruits get their own special names, or just lumped together as eau de vie.  The liquor business tries to hold on to traditional names for the various liquors, rather than using a strictly logical classification system.

[kphoger]

There are lots of flavored vodkas as well as the flavorless kind.

Exactly.  Vodka starts its life as a flavorless distilled spirit.  Flavored vodka has its flavors added to that base spirit in one of a variety of ways.  Our point is that gin is simply one specific flavor profile of vodka.

[JayhawkCO]

There's a lot of peculiarities in naming of wines and spirits.  There's the regional names:  if the grapes are from the Champagne region, it's champagne, but the same variety with the same process somewhere else is only sparkling wine.  Then there's the fruit:  grapes that are fermented and then distilled makes brandy, but distilled other fruits get their own special names, or just lumped together as eau de vie.  The liquor business tries to hold on to traditional names for the various liquors, rather than using a strictly logical classification system.

Technically eau de vie is before the spirit has been aged, since it's "fresh" and the "water of life" at that point.  So you can still have a grape-based spirit that's called eau de vie and specifically eau de vie de vin.

Chris

[Mr_Northside]

For the most part, I mostly just have vodka & coffee liqueur to do up some White Russians.  I still remember on my second or third trip to a liquor store (here in PA, aka "State Store") EVER, a helpful clerk schooled me right.  I went to the counter with actual Kahlúa brand coffee liquor, and absolutely bottom shelf vodka (Vladimir or some shit like that).  There was no line at the register, so he took me back to where the bottles were located and told me to get the lesser known brands of coffee liqueur (usually either Kamora or Kapali) - which were a good bit cheaper, and then even it out by getting a more mid-shelf vodka.  True knowledge that has served me well for a couple of decades now.

I have Rum, but haven't touched it in over a year. 

I don't usually do anything straight up either - Occasionally shots of something if it's sort of a celebratory situation out with people....... maybe.

That being said, there is the Frank Reynolds motto: 

[kphoger]

Besides wine, I also keep gin in the house.  Each weekend, either Saturday afternoon or Sunday afternoon, I make a cocktail.  Either a Gin & Tonic (with a squeeze of lime and a few dashes of Peychaud's bitters), a Tom Collins (with a few dashes of Angostura bitters), a grapefruit gin fizz (with an egg white), or a Salty Dog.  Usually one of the first two.

I've tried several different gins:
  Gordon's London Dry
  Tanqueray Rangpur Lime
  Beefeater London Dry
  Bombay Sapphire London Dry
  Bluecoat American Dry

Of those, the ones that mix the best into my cocktails are Beefeater and Bombay Sapphire.  Those two don't impart any "off" flavors to the drink.  The Bombay Sapphire adds some interesting other flavors, so I think that's going to be my go-to gin from now on.  (Beefeater is basically all juniper, which is fine too.)  I find it interesting that Bombay Sapphire is also the brand I grew up seeing in the house for my dad's occasional martini.  It's also the brand my sister and her husband buy.

I've rounded out my liquor cabinet a bit more since posting this—mainly in preparation for a family vacation to Galveston a couple of months ago, at which I played bartender at the beach house.

Currently in possession:

Gin — Bombay Sapphire
Tequila — Espolón blanco
Rum — Cruzan aged dark
Sweet vermouth — Punt e Mes
Triple sec — Paisley & Sage
Amaretto — Di Saronno
Campari
Aperol
Angostura bitters
Peychaud's bitters
Orange bitters

... and "Kinky":  a god-awful, super-sweet, bright blue liqueur that's impossible to drink straight but completely overpowers anything it's mixed with or anything within a ten-meter radius.

Other stuff on hand:

Tonic — San Pellegrino citrus
Ginger ale — Schweppes bold
Mineral water — La Croix pure

Lemons
Limes

One of my new favorite drinks is the Americano, which is equal parts sweet vermouth and Campari and then topped with mineral water.  Last night, I had one but used Aperol instead of Campari, and that was great too.

[JayhawkCO]

Punt e Mes is nice vermouth.  If you can ever track down a bottle of Del Profesore, that stuff is life changing.

Chris

[Daniel Fiddler]

Not currently in my cabinet (I wish), but my favorite liquors:

Lagavulin 16
Grand Marnier (the 150 year anniversary is my absolute favorite liquor of all time, but I've only had it once, when visiting a friend in NYC and NJ)
Jack Daniel's (especially single barrel)

[kphoger]

Forgot to add...  I also keep pineapple juice, orange juice, grapefruit juice, and maraschino cherries on hand too.

(Can you tell I like citrus fruits?)

[Daniel Fiddler]

Oh, I was not counting the wines, beers, and mixers / juices I kept on hand, only liquors.  When I did drink.  I used to have almost a full mini-bar at my house at one time.

And I forgot to mention absinthe, that's also one of my favorite liquors, or used to be, believe it or not, it takes an acquired taste.

[JayhawkCO]

Forgot to add...  I also keep pineapple juice, orange juice, grapefruit juice, and maraschino cherries on hand too.

(Can you tell I like citrus fruits?)

Do you use amarone cherries like Toschi or Luxardo? Or just the generic neon-red Shirley Temple types?  If the latter, I highly recommend purchasing some of the former for things like Manhattans, Aviations, etc.

Chris