What did you buy at the liquor store today? (2016 - )

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Not sure if it helps...I am fond of rye, mezcal, absinthe and Chartreuse, but I drink them neat.  For mixed drinks I seldom use anything but rum, cognac, apple brandy.  (OK, sometimes kummel.)

 

Edited January 26, 2018 by JoNorvelleWalker
Dam spell correct (log)

[Smokeydoke]

2 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Not sure if it helps...I am fond of rye, mescal, absinthe and Chartreuse, but I drink them neat.  For mixed drinks I seldom use anything but rum, cognac, apple brandy.  (OK, sometimes kummel.)

 

 

Yeah, little painful mixing Chartreuse, a $57 liquor, with anything.

 

But we're all a little mad here, aren't we? If we mix it with another $57 liquor, it's ok, right? 

[haresfur]

3 hours ago, Smokeydoke said:

So I'm going with Rittenhouse Rye, Mezcal and Green Chartreuse. If budget allows, I'll get the Costco scotch.

 

Personally, I'd consider bourbon and would buy a nice reposado tequila before Mezcal, but that's just me.

[Tri2Cook]

25 minutes ago, haresfur said:

 

Personally, I'd consider bourbon

Me too... but I like bourbon more than I like rye anyway.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

55 minutes ago, haresfur said:

 

Personally, I'd consider bourbon and would buy a nice reposado tequila before Mezcal, but that's just me.

 

Reposado tequila is quite OK but give me a good tobala mezcal any day.

 

[Fernwood]

1 hour ago, Smokeydoke said:

 

Yeah, little painful mixing Chartreuse, a $57 liquor, with anything.

 

But we're all a little mad here, aren't we? If we mix it with another $57 liquor, it's ok, right? 

 

Last Word  When I finally made my first one, my only regret was that it had taken me so long to invest in Chartreuse.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

1 hour ago, Smokeydoke said:

 

Yeah, little painful mixing Chartreuse, a $57 liquor, with anything.

 

But we're all a little mad here, aren't we? If we mix it with another $57 liquor, it's ok, right? 

 

$57!  I could only wish.  Try about three times that.  You must not be drinking the V.E.P.

 

[sbumgarner]

15 hours ago, Smokeydoke said:

 

Yeah, little painful mixing Chartreuse, a $57 liquor, with anything.

 

But we're all a little mad here, aren't we? If we mix it with another $57 liquor, it's ok, right? 

 

Due to its strong flavor profile, Green Chartreuse is rarely used in quantities over an ounce in a drink, and usually considerably less. A $57 bottle will help you make more cocktails than a $57 bottle of a base spirit where you might be using 1-2 ounces each time, just as point of comparison.

Edited January 26, 2018 by sbumgarner (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

I'd recommend going for smaller bottles of Chartreuse & absinthe since these last for a long while. And stock up on whiskey (bourbon & rye) since you don't have any currently.

 

Shopping list

1/2 bottle green Chartreuse - ~ $35

200 mL St George absinthe - $25 (or get a mini since you just need a few drops/spritzes for most cocktails)

Buffalo Trace bourbon - $25

Rittenhouse rye - $25

 

Over budget by $10, but I'd be very happy with that list!

 

For the things you are curious about, maybe try them at a bar first before buying a bottle.

 

[Smokeydoke]

1 hour ago, sbumgarner said:

 

Due to its strong flavor profile, Green Chartreuse is rarely used in quantities over an ounce in a drink, and usually considerably less. A $57 bottle will help you make more cocktails than a $57 bottle of a base spirit where you might be using 1-2 ounces each time, just as point of comparison.

 

 

Kinda missing the point, my mother, who ran a liquor store, told me that cocktails were for "cheap" liquors and anything over $50 was to only be drunk neat or you were defeating the purpose.

 

When I was younger and frequenting bars, this was accepted philosophy and when you ordered "top-shelf" cocktails, you were secretly laughed at, not to mention most likely swindled.

 

I know times have changed and people are ordering cocktails with $100 bourbons with reckless abandon, but I still feel a twinge of guilt, as it was something that was not done back in the day.

 

And I agree with @JoNorvelleWalker Chartreuse is something that "should" be drunk neat to fully appreciate the fine nuances of flavor. YMMV.

[Smokeydoke]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I ended up with:

 

Chartreuse, 750 ml, that was all they had and they don't do special orders for the 375 ml. Strange, but true.

Rothman & Winter Creme de Violette

Rittenhouse Rye per @blue_dolphin recommendation. The sales manager agreed, it is a fine rye.

Absente Absinthe 100 ml - it was all they had for 100 ml.

La Cana Grande Silver Rum - I asked the sales manager for Flor de Cana White and she personally handed me this bottle of La Cana Grande and promised me great daiquiris. I kid you not. Of course, she's the manager, she's in the know, right? I did track down some Flor de Cana at a local liquor store, so I'm going to return the La Cana today. I just thought it was hilarious. The $9 should've tipped me off.

[FrogPrincesse]

R&W crème de violette! You are going to have that bottle for a loooong time.

I think it's the only thing I have in my home bar that I have never had to restock, and it's still at least 80% full after many years of very active cocktail explorations...

[Tri2Cook]

1 hour ago, Smokeydoke said:

 

Kinda missing the point, my mother, who ran a liquor store, told me that cocktails were for "cheap" liquors and anything over $50 was to only be drunk neat or you were defeating the purpose.

With no insult or disrespect to your mother intended, I completely disagree. While I don't see a reason to go with over-the-top expensive (which is a relative term based on the buyers point of view and bank account) spirits for most cocktails, I don't particularly see any reason not to either. I definitely think it's worth using something you actually like even if it's in the more expensive range. I don't drink anything neat and I've never once felt I was defeating any purpose by using the more expensive stuff in my cabinet in a cocktail. That's the main reason for it being in my cabinet.

[Smokeydoke]

1 hour ago, Tri2Cook said:

With no insult or disrespect to your mother intended, I completely disagree. While I don't see a reason to go with over-the-top expensive (which is a relative term based on the buyers point of view and bank account) spirits for most cocktails, I don't particularly see any reason not to either. I definitely think it's worth using something you actually like even if it's in the more expensive range. I don't drink anything neat and I've never once felt I was defeating any purpose by using the more expensive stuff in my cabinet in a cocktail. That's the main reason for it being in my cabinet.

 

No disrespect at all, opinions, everyone has them.

 

I don't know how old you are, but this craft cocktail movement is new, there's still a lot of people that think like my mom. Just today, I was ogling at the fine spirits counter when the manager, an older gentleman, came up and we started chatting. He asked me what I drank. I said, "I like cocktails."

He said, "you're in the wrong place for cocktails. this is you and a glass."

And I said, "I completely agree. But I just saw the other day a cocktail using Appleton Estate 21 Yr Old."

 

He looked at me like I'm crazy.

 

Well, he wasn't too far from the truth...

[Smokeydoke]

1 hour ago, FrogPrincesse said:

R&W crème de violette! You are going to have that bottle for a loooong time.

I think it's the only thing I have in my home bar that I have never had to restock, and it's still at least 80% full after many years of very active cocktail explorations...

 

Probably. If you've noticed, I also have a bottle of Chambord (why?) and I forgot to mention a bottle of Frangelico, not to mention 750ml of sloe gin.

 

[Smokeydoke]

I'm at Total Wines so much now, I'm getting to know all the managers by name.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

35 minutes ago, Smokeydoke said:

And I said, "I completely agree. But I just saw the other day a cocktail using Appleton Estate 21 Yr Old."

 

What?  You don't use Joy??

 

[Smokeydoke]

@JoNorvelleWalker What is Joy?

 

If that's the nickname for Appleton 21, I've never tasted Appleton 21, but I'm always open to donations.

 

I'm not joking about the cocktail. Here's the link.

$300 Mai Tai

[JoNorvelleWalker]

1 hour ago, Smokeydoke said:

@JoNorvelleWalker What is Joy?

 

If that's the nickname for Appleton 21, I've never tasted Appleton 21, but I'm always open to donations.

 

I'm not joking about the cocktail. Here's the link.

$300 Mai Tai

 

 

http://www.camparigroup.com/en/joy-spence

 

 

The blend is in honor of Joy Spence.  I've been known to use 21 in my mai tai when I must make do.

 

 

[Smokeydoke]

6 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

The blend is in honor of Joy Spence.  I've been known to use 21 in my mai tai when I must make do.

 

 

 

This forum cracks me up.

 

I'll need a donation of the Clement XO Rhum Agricole too.

 

And no, I've never had Joy, honestly I've heard about Appleton Rum and I know it's a good brand, but I exclusively bought Myers for years, just to make Rum Cake. I never drank rum till a few weeks ago.

Edited January 27, 2018 by Smokeydoke (log)

[sbumgarner]

6 hours ago, Smokeydoke said:

 

Kinda missing the point, my mother, who ran a liquor store, told me that cocktails were for "cheap" liquors and anything over $50 was to only be drunk neat or you were defeating the purpose.

 

When I was younger and frequenting bars, this was accepted philosophy and when you ordered "top-shelf" cocktails, you were secretly laughed at, not to mention most likely swindled.

 

I know times have changed and people are ordering cocktails with $100 bourbons with reckless abandon, but I still feel a twinge of guilt, as it was something that was not done back in the day.

 

And I agree with @JoNorvelleWalker Chartreuse is something that "should" be drunk neat to fully appreciate the fine nuances of flavor. YMMV.

 

If you have a personal threshold for what you'll spend on a bottle to be used in cocktails that's perfectly fine, but I'm not missing the point. I don't mix with $100+ bottles of anything (and let's not pretend the $300 Mai Tai or any other big bucks cocktail is commonplace), but unless you drink nothing but Chartreuse Swizzles that $57 bottle is going to get you a lot farther as far as the number of cocktails it can contribute to than a $57 bottle of rye/rum/some other base spirit. Again, if it's a philosophical thing about not spending x amount on any cocktail ingredient then we'll probably never agree, but I'm trying to point out that it's not necessarily a 1:1 comparison.

[Smokeydoke]

@sbumgarner Got it.

 

Can we (the universal we, as in everyone) get back to liquor store purchases again? I'm afraid we're going to get zapped for going off-topic, although this would be a great topic for another thread.

[Tri2Cook]

44 minutes ago, Smokeydoke said:

@sbumgarner Got it.

 

Can we (the universal we, as in everyone) get back to liquor store purchases again? I'm afraid we're going to get zapped for going off-topic, although this would be a great topic for another thread.

Sure we can. I'd have to back up through the posts to be sure but I thought it was you that asked for opinions and posited the arguments regarding said opinions that spawned the discussion. I don't think we took it off track, we just didn't all agree on all of your viewpoints on the matter. Funny how that happens sometimes when people ask for opinions...

[Smokeydoke]

@Tri2Cook,  don't take this the wrong way, but you and I disagree on everything.

 

I asked for opinions on my purchases, which I got feedback for, which I heeded and changed my purchases accordingly. So far, so good.

 

You and @sbumgarner went off on a tangent, which, in spirit, was a light joke between @JoNorvelleWalker and I. I completely understood what she was saying but somehow it blew up into a debate about what alcohols should be used in cocktails. Not good.

 

Don't take this personally, but I'm putting you on ignore. I don't see how this forum is benefiting from our interactions.

 

 

Edited January 27, 2018 by Smokeydoke (log)

[Tri2Cook]

6 hours ago, Smokeydoke said:

 

Don't take this personally, but I'm putting you on ignore. I don't see how this forum is benefiting from our interactions. 

 

All you had to say is "I want to hear exactly what I want to hear and nothing else" and I would have been happy to comply by saying nothing at all. Nothing blew up or went off on a tangent. We just expressed our opinions on what was said and, as tends to be a trend with you, when people disagreed with something you said, you wanted the conversation to end. But we agree completely on one thing, let's let this get back on the conversational track it's supposed to be on.