alphaiii

Yeah Cointreau is just too expensive. That's why I'm going to go with the Marie Brizzard instead. Which 1800 are you refering too? The Anejo is very "woody" and is definitely not a tequila I'd use in a margarita. It's good for sipping though, since it's incredibly smooth. The Reposado (which is the one I used) makes a good margarita. I think I like Hornitos a little better though. I do plan to try the 1800 Silver at some point, I just have way too much tequila to justify buying another bottle. I think the best margarita I've had was with Gran Centenario Reposado. I got it for like $20 in Mexico, but just the fact that it's $40-50 a bottle in the US makes me want to savor the bottle a little more instead of pouring it all into margaritas.

The PLCB catalog had it listed as 50 proof, so that is why I referred to it as a lower proof liqueur. Won't be the last time their catalog is incorrect though. Either way, even with the bitterness of the Cointreau, I still think I prefer it over Grand Marnier or Gran Gala. So I'll probably be picking up some Marie soon.

I have always used a Grand Marnier type liqueur, often Gran Gala (it's just over 1/2 the price) but sometimes real Grand Marnier, in my margaritas. I recently picked up a little 50ml mini of Cointreau to try in my margarita. I wanted to get a little more tequila taste to shine through. Here's what I thought - Gran Marnier/Gala is clearly sweeter, and I like the sweetness, but the cognac/brandy flavor overpowers the agave flavor too much. Cointreau has adds good orange flavor without the cognac/brandy flavor, but is a bit more bitter than I like. Now, since I'm too cheap ( ) to buy Grand Marnier, I obviously won't buy Cointreau either. I was planning to use Marie Brizard triple sec, after reading JAZ's recommendation. So I have 2 questions: First, is Marie Brizard triple sec as bitter as Cointreau? I would guess it'd be a little sweeter and less bitter due to the lower proof, but not sickly sweet and artificial tasting like cheap triple secs. In this case, I think it'd be a perfect fit for my tastes. And second, just out of curiosity, which orange liquor to you fellow margarita drinkers prefer - Grand Marnier (and the like) OR Cointreau (and the like)?? BTW, I did the taste comparison using both 1800 Reposado and Sauzua Hornitos (my usual margarita tequilas).

I've never had Bombay, so I really can't answer your question, but I've only every heard good things about it, mostly because of it being a good value. I recently tried Sapphire, and have to say that it seems to be a bit overpowered by the tonic, as opposed to Tanqueray which seems to be more bold in an G&T. Sapphire is alot "lighter" of a gin than Tanqueray, to me at least. I'd like to try it in a martini. I'm not a fan of Tanqueray though, and I guess I need something in between the 2 for use in gin and tonics. I think I'm going to pick up a bottle of Broker's gin for this.

I've heard good things about Pampero, but it runs $32 a bottle in PA. And the Matusalem is on sale for $22 next month.

From my freshman year of college: Kool-Aid shots - cheap vodka (usually White Tavern) with kool-aid mix (usually grape or lime) dumped in. Extremely sour and burned terribly. A nameless shot a drunken floormate poured me - cheap vodka, Seagram's 7, and Goldschlager

I have read alot of good things here about this rum. However, I also heard alot of good things about Flor de Cana rums, and I tried the 7 year and do not like it. I actually like Mt. Gay Eclipse better. However, I don't really enjoy either enough to sip straight or buy them again. And I much rather have Captain Morgan Private Stock for mixing (I know, it's not a premium rum like Flor de Cana, but I like it....just my tastes). I am hoping the Matusalem would fit the bill for a sipping rum. It's about at my upper limit pricewise that I can swing. I just can't go out and spend $35 on a bottle of Zaya or Mount Gay Extra Old. So, should I even bother buying the Matusalem (having an idea of my taste in rums)? I'd hate to drop $25 on a bottle and not like it, since I just did that with the Flor de Cana ($20).

Well it's now in the PA liquor stores. Apparantly it's an orange flavored spiced rum, and it's more expensive than the original spiced. I will definitely walk right by this stuff. I'm not even curious about it anymore.

I tried the Van Gogh Chocolate vodka and the Rhapsody liqueur today. The chocolate taste is very mild in the vodka. I can see why you would say some may think the alcohol overpowers it. Nonetheless, like original Van Gogh, it's a very smooth vodka. I haven't tried the Chocolate Rhaposdy martini yet, but did try the Chocolate Amaretto one. I'm not too impressed with it though. I think the Chocolate Rhapsody will be alot better. I also think the vodka will make for a nice mudslide. The Rhapsody liqueur has a very very good flavor, IMO. It's hard to describe, but it's almost like the raspberry and chocolate flavors come through somewhat separately. It's definitely sweet, but not in a bad way. I'll update how I like the Chocolate Rhapsody martini.

For some reason, from reading somewhere, I got the impression that Gosling's wasn't bad straight either.

I like the mango straight, on ice. For me, it's too weak (alcohol wise) for mixing, although the mango flavor is very strong and would hold up in a mix. I like it as is though. Maybe I'll give the pineapple a try too. Cruzan mango, on the other hand, needs to be mixed. A little higher proof, but alot more alcohol taste. Malibu mango I just didn't care for at all.

I lumped Burnett's into the cheap vodka hangover category due to the low price tag, but recently saw that it is quadruple distilled and triple filtered. Considering the "cheap vodka hangover" is supposed to be due to impurities such as methanol, propanol and the like, increased distillations and filterings are done to remove these. Perhaps Burnett's really doesn't fit the vodka from hell category after all. It must be a mental thing, but I just can't get past the cheap price. It's just too low for me to think it can be any good. Damn marketing and premium liquor prices for making me feel like I have to spend more money for a decent liquor!!

How much raspberry per what volume of vodka did you use? And how long did you let the infusion go for? This is one infusion I would like to try.

after 5:00.... ...A Van Gogh vodka martini with Noilly Prat and an olive, a little dirty.

Thanks for checking into that. It's interesting they say it is only available in Canada, since the PA LCB said it'd be in stores end of Sept.

Is Quintessential a quality gin? I saw some at the liquor store on sale and thought about picking it up, but I don't know much at all about gin. I haven't drank it in probably 6 years. Would it fit the bill of a good mild gin for a non-drinker, or would others be a better choice? I would probably use it mostly for gin and tonics, but I have the urge to try a gin martini, so I would want something smooth and no overpowering, like I get the impression Junipero is. For an idea of my tastes, I never liked Tanqueray straight, although I didn't mind it with tonic. Aside from that I've had Gordon's and Seagram's, which weren't any better.

As a side not, my mother grabbed me a 1.75L bottle of Pinnacle vodka while she was in NY last weekend. For $18.99 with a $10 rebate, I won't have any problem using this as a mixer. I hope this vodka stays cheap and makes its way into PA. I doubt I'd buy anything else for mixing purposes. I think it's a fairly good vodka (as you saw in my rankings), and the price makes it all the better.

This is what I figured I could fall back on if I didn't like the chocolate martini. I think it'd add some good flavor to a mudslide or black russian. I just hope I like the Rhapsody liqueur, since I could've bought the vodka by itself at the store near me. Oh well, if you count the vodka at full price, the liqueur only ran me about $8. I would imagine it'll be worth that.

This rum is now listed in the PLCB liquor catalog, but supposedly won't be in for sale until the end of Sept. Has anyone heard of, or better yet, tried this new Captain Morgan? I know Captain isn't a big hit among most of the rum lovers here, but I do enjoy Private Stock with diet coke (regular coke is just too sweet for me). Just hoping may this new Captain is just as good, since it's a little cheaper, so I won't have to spend quite as much on a rum for mixing with coke.

Well I got a little adventurous today and ordered in some Van Gogh Dutch Chocolate with the Van Gogh Rapsody liqueur. I really have no idea why I got the urge to try chocolate vodka, or how it is actually gonna taste, but curiosity got the best of me. For some reason that Chocolate Rapsody martini was calling to me. Plus, I was so impressed with regular Van Gogh that I figured why not try one of the flavored line. I'll be sure let you all know how I like it, whenever it gets in. Katie, do you know how long an SLO usually takes to get in? BTW, I went with the SLO since the vodka ended up only being $14.59 that way, and the Rapsody sounded interesting.

No, it's a different product. I just can't seem to find anything about it. No reveiws or taste tests, no opinions on here. It just suprises me that a Mount Gay product seems so unknown.

There is a vodka, Danzka, using this same idea. The company claims that the aluminum bottle will all the vodka to chill much quicker in the freezer, and stay chilled longer. I wouldn't doubt this is where IC got the idea. So I guess it comes down to how the bottle is made, whether or not it will actually do what it says. And I agree about there being a difference in taste between can and bottle. In some beer it is more pronounced than others.

.....Guy here, depsite the fact I plan my liquor buying around the monthly sales. Hey, gotta save the money where I can. It's not like I buy the cheap stuff.

The Patron #3145 is the anejo. I swear I have seen it, but I can't remember where. Just have them transfer it to your nearest store. I emailed the LCB asking about El Grito Anejo once, since it was listed in the catalog but I couldn't find it anywhere, and the response said there were still a few floating around and one could be shipped to my closest store free of charge.

The El Tesoro I have is the Reposado. I've heard the Platinum is good though, and I would like to try it. I went with the Reposado though since I have a taste for them. But I do need to do some sampling of Blancos/Platas (whites/silvers), since I haven't had any premium ones aside from Cabo Wabo Blanco. As far as the Patron, I find it interesting the way PA does that with several tequilas. Don Julio Anejo and Blanco are available but Reposado isn't. El Tesoro Anejo and Platinum are at regular retail stores, while the Reposado is only at the specialty stores. Maybe Reposados aren't don't sell as well or something. It just sucks for me since I prefer them to the Anejos. But the jury is still out on the whites/silvers for me. According to the LCB product catalog, you can only get the Patron Reposado by SLO. I assume that is the one you meant by "GOLD". The Silver and Anejo are readily available though.