I'm buying a lot of liquor & I want suggestions

[smudgex68]

To make a classic cocktail you're missing Campari. You see why don't you.

[turnipmonster]

get some maker's mark, I like it more than knob creek (but knob creek is good too).

[LALDAAS]

JAMESON! Thats all I need !

[MHarris]

If you're looking for a great scotch, go with Glenlivet. It's really smooth. Johnnie Walker Black is a good blended scotch if you prefer that. Bombay and Tanqueray both make a good gin frfom what I hear, but I don't drink that [censored]. It makes me see little pink Christina Aguilera monsters.

Other must-haves (since you'll still have a shitload of cash left over): Jack Daniels, Cuervo tequila, triple sec, lime juice, margarita mix, Black Haus, Bacardi, Capt. Morgan, Rumpleminze, Goldschlager, and a good bartending book.

[gilper]

I don't know [censored] about poker but liquor is my wheelhouse.

Gin- Plymouth and Hendricks are the best. Bombay Sapphire is adequate. Don't even think about buying cheap gin.

Single Malt Scotch - Too many varieties and too exspensive to just go out and buy one. Try some at a bar first to be sure you like it. Even better, if you can find some airline bottles get those. Several to try
From Speyside: Aberlour 10yr ~$30
Highland: Macallan 18yr or Oban 14yr
Islay: Laphroaig 10yr ~$50 or Lagavulin 16yr

Blended Scotch - Johnny Walker Black is good for a rusty nail. Don't forget the Drambuie.

Bourbon - Elijah Craig or Elmer T. Lee, both are cheap enough to mix good enough to drink neat. Top shelf try Old Rip Van Winkle or Blantons. Woodford reserve is a good mid priced option.

Vodka - For martinis or black russians my favorite is Kettle one. If your mixing don't waste your money and just get Luksusowa.

Tequila -Cantera is a good medium priced option. For margaritas a cheaper Sauza is a good

Check outThe Best Bar for good info.

[bholdr]

There are several bourbons out there that are worth your consideration, but any fully stocked liquor cabinet or coctail party lineup deserves several.

start with one of the basics, Beam, Evan Williams (black label 7 year, not the 4 year green label), or Old Crow. I personally prefer Evan Williams, It's cheap and smooth, and if you can find it, there's a 90 proof version out there that is a little less sweet than all of the others (80 and 86 proof). Beam is the standard bar Bourbon, but I personally feel that it's a little thin and the taste is too generic.

You'll also want a bottle from the next tier, at the 20-40$ level. There are really only a couple of legit choices- Woodbridge Reserve, which is kind of peaty (relitive to other bourbons) like scotch. Then there's Maker's Mark, which comes in a squat square bottle sealed with red wax. Maker's is the definitive mid-shelf bourbon, it's 90 proof, smooth as maple syrup, just the right consistancy for drinking on the rocks (which is the clasic way to sip bourbon), and the bottle lends some cachet to a liquor cabinet's appearance. Knob Creek is a little more expensive, and packs a wallop at 100 proof. It's worth the extra money if you like the flavor, which can be a little dense and cloudy. It's a Beam derivitive, aged, i believe, 12 years in french limosin oak Casks, but i'm not sure about that one.

And if you really enjoy a good bourbon and want to impress company with your knowlage of the original american whiskey, try some Baker's or some Booker Noe, each are Jim Beam bourbons that have been carefully selected by the barrel and aged 12-16 years. the proof on bakers is like 128.5 or something like that. this is a sign that it hasn't been reduced post-fermentation and conditioning, it remains in the form in which it came out of the barrel, and has a varying, but always super-smooth and unique flavor.

Those would be my personal reccomendations, but you may also want to try Wild Turkey (a brutally sharp 101 proofer), Jack Daniels (which isn't technicly a bourbon, sincce it's from tennesee), or Basil Haydens, another strong old Beam bourbon, and my personal favroite when I'm feeling spendy.

remember, bourbon is from kentucky, specifialy bourbon county, and nowhere else. accept no substitutes or immitators. It is traditionally brewed and distilled from corn, and matured in oak casks after being charcoal filtered. Bourbon has become such a well appreciated liquor that the barrels used to age it (always new barrels, flame toasted on the inside) are (after they're used to make bourbon)now used by the finest scotch makers, for the hint of sweetness that they impart on the scotch.

Always drink better bourbons on the rocks- lots of ice with the bourbon slowly poured over the ice to cool it to 32 degrees. some people like a splash of water in there, but i prefer to just let the ice melt a little bit. Cheaper bourbons may be mixed, usually with Coke, but that's way too sweet IMO. Try Ginger Ale, 7-up, water, or sipping it neat from a shot glass.
Do not take shots, you're wasting it- jack daniels only. and no fancy drinks. an occasional manhattan is aceptable, but why bother? Bourbon is by far best on the rocks with a butless ciggerette. you dip the butt end in the bourbon before you smoke it- try pall malls.


In case you didn't notice, i like bourbon

[Rhone]

[ QUOTE ]
Top shelf try Old Rip Van Winkle or Blantons. Woodford reserve is a good mid priced option.

[/ QUOTE ]

Blantons! That's the one I was trying to think of earlier. That's some goooood stuff. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] (Oh, and I love the Woodford Reserve too)

[tyfromm]

[Lazymeatball]

That bourbon post is now in my favorites folder.

I regualrly drink Jim Beam straight, and when I want to go upscale I drink Maker's Mark, but my tastes haven't really matured yet, I'm still young. I look forward to learning about Bourbon, followed by Scotch. If anyone could make a definitive post on Scotch varying from low to high price range, with consideration for a beginners level of taste, it would be appreciated.

[Gordon Bombay]