foodnerd

When visiting Beijing, I picked up an assortment of chinese beers in a can from a local supermarket. After returning home, here in the US, I had a little beer tasting session with my friends...I would have to say that they were the worst beers I've ever had. Give me Olympia over them any day. Incidently, one of those beers was Pabst Blue Ribbon brewed in China. I sent that one to my father, since he used to be a PBR drinker when I was growing up. He said that the chinese PBR was horrible, consistant with the others I had tried. The bottled beers I had over there were fine, though, so don't be shy to try some of those.

In addition to some basics (vodka, gin, rum etc), I would suggest picking 4 or 5 drinks to make your specialty, and then keep your bar stocked with the liquers etc needed for those drinks. By concentrating on a few cocktails you can perfect your recipe/technique for these, while avoiding a mistake I'm definately guilty of: filling your apartment with bottles of stuff you hardly ever use!

Oh how I love Plymouth gin, although I must admit that I find it best in a Martini. For G&Ts, I like a complex, smooth gin like Citadelle or Magellan (another tasty french gin that might turn a few people off because of its blue color). I never buy Bombay Saffire; Citadelle is a superior gin, in my opinion, and is the same price. I also really like Junipero, although the bold flavor of this hard-to-find gin (at least in my area) is not for everyone.