Whiskey - It's the water of life!

[Takayuki Yagami]

protip for ice cubes: to get nice clear cubes you want to put the water through a few cycles of boil-cool-boil before you toss them in the tray or whatever, and use a covered ice tray

The way I’m considering is to take an insulated cooler, ripping off the lid, removing the waste water and cutting rocks to fit my glasses with a serrated knife and an ice pick. The one directional cooling from the lost lid means you’re pushing any trapped gasses in the bottom with the still liquid portions. This’ll produce really clear ice, but it takes a full day for the ice to set, and I need to clear out my freezer for room. For now silicone molds that I can leave in the shelves on top of other things is fine. I don’t make enough things on the rocks to care much about it being clear so long as I can keep the freezer taste out with plastic bags.

 

[Takayuki Yagami]

In my autistic quest to expand my bar I’ve finally learned why Jose Cuervo is terrible. Just like any kind of spirit you need to convert the starches or carbohydrates you’re using into sugar so it can ferment. There are 3 main methods to do this with tequila. The most classical method is giant brick ovens. The more modern and more effiecient, but resulting in less character usually, is using autoclaves, which if you’ve never done lab or medical work before is a massive steam oven. The third method is called a diffuser. In those you take all of your agave and submerge them in sulfuric acid. This is extremely efficient, but as you can probably imagine makes something that tastes like it’s been macerated with chemicals. You can also use younger agave plants in this preparation, which is important because said plants can take up to 12 years to mature. The tequila drinkers are so terribly insane that they’ve made a site to track the particular methods used by each distiller.

Tequila Matchmaker

tequilamatchmaker.com

Espolon and Olmeca Altos are apparently good bargain brands in addition to the ones I listed in my post about home bars.
I’d also like to ask mods or OP if we can add a subheader of “and everything else” or something like that considering the thread had already devolved into the general liquor thread before I started posting in it.

 

[TFT-A9]

In my autistic quest to expand my bar I’ve finally learned why Jose Cuervo is terrible. Just like any kind of spirit you need to convert the starches or carbohydrates you’re using into sugar so it can ferment. There are 3 main methods to do this with tequila. The most classical method is giant brick ovens. The more modern and more effiecient, but resulting in less character usually, is using autoclaves, which if you’ve never done lab or medical work before is a massive steam oven. The third method is called a diffuser. In those you take all of your agave and submerge them in sulfuric acid. This is extremely efficient, but as you can probably imagine makes something that tastes like it’s been macerated with chemicals. You can also use younger agave plants in this preparation, which is important because said plants can take up to 12 years to mature. The tequila drinkers are so terribly insane that they’ve made a site to track the particular methods used by each distiller.

Tequila Matchmaker

tequilamatchmaker.com

Espolon and Olmeca Altos are apparently good bargain brands in addition to the ones I listed in my post about home bars.
I’d also like to ask mods or OP if we can add a subheader of “and everything else” or something like that considering the thread had already devolved into the general liquor thread before I started posting in it.

Espolon is quite decent in my experience.

One of these days I'm going to get my hands on a bottle of Clase Azul. This is like a nearly-200 dollar bottle of reposado tequila. I imagine half that cost is the bottle, really, but I hear good things about it.

It doesn't seem to be rated especially high, which is interesting, but the El Nivel repo has about the same rating and I'm very pleased with that.

 

[Takayuki Yagami]

Espolon is quite decent in my experience.

One of these days I'm going to get my hands on a bottle of Clase Azul. This is like a nearly-200 dollar bottle of reposado tequila. I imagine half that cost is the bottle, really, but I hear good things about it.
View attachment 2017944
It doesn't seem to be rated especially high, which is interesting, but the El Nivel repo has about the same rating and I'm very pleased with that.

I’ve always been taught that you shouldn’t spring for stuff like that because it means thsy’re probably putting money in marketing instead of product.

 

[TFT-A9]

I’ve always been taught that you shouldn’t spring for stuff like that because it means thsy’re probably putting money in marketing instead of product.

It's probably the case here, yeah. I want the bottle more than the tequila itself really, wonder if I could get a bottle from some place for significantly less.

 

[Takayuki Yagami]

It's probably the case here, yeah. I want the bottle more than the tequila itself really, wonder if I could get a bottle from some place for significantly less.

Try a thrift store or etsy. Looks mostly like mezcal copitas.

 

[Boris Blank's glass eye]

I’ve always been taught that you shouldn’t spring for stuff like that because it means thsy’re probably putting money in marketing instead of product.

As is the case with Tullamore DEW or Dew of Ben Nevis and their crocks. Take a $20 blend, pour it into a ceramic crock, and voila, there you have a $60 product.
I'd rather buy a half liter Art Deco bottle of House of Hazelwood 18, it's supposed to be pretty good.

 

[TFT-A9]

I love Art Deco. There are a number of distillers that use that style for their bottles - Aviation and Citadelle gins both have that look, and Opulent vodka kind of apes it a bit, though I doubt I could justify the vodka purchase to myself EVER and while Aviation is ok (if a bit overpriced) I'm not sure about Citadelle.

 

[Boris Blank's glass eye]

I love Art Deco. There are a number of distillers that use that style for their bottles - Aviation and Citadelle gins both have that look, and Opulent vodka kind of apes it a bit, though I doubt I could justify the vodka purchase to myself EVER and while Aviation is ok (if a bit overpriced) I'm not sure about Citadelle.

I don't really drink gin, but I do buy a bottle every once in a while as a gift. The review sites I usually look them up are The Gin is In and The Rum Howler.
The former rates Aviation at 4,5 stars and Citadelle at 3,5 stars, the latter rates Aviation at 79 points - "You may begin to serve this to friends, again probably still cocktail territory." - and Citadelle at 88 points - "Excellent for sipping or for mixing!". I think it's a matter of tastes.

 

[Takayuki Yagami]

I don't really drink gin, but I do buy a bottle every once in a while as a gift. The review sites I usually look them up are The Gin is In and The Rum Howler.
The former rates Aviation at 4,5 stars and Citadelle at 3,5 stars, the latter rates Aviation at 79 points - "You may begin to serve this to friends, again probably still cocktail territory." - and Citadelle at 88 points - "Excellent for sipping or for mixing!". I think it's a matter of tastes.

My understanding is that The Botanist is a rather ineresting bottle as far as dry gins go. If you’re looking for other ones to give as gifts look into stuff that’s not a London Dry like old toms, or malted gins, or barrel rested gins, or genever.

 

[Takayuki Yagami]

Picked up a 375 ml bottle of Olmeca Altos Reposado. Don’t have a lot of experience with tequila but the nose and mouth are really earthy, which I’m assuming is the agave, and the finish is a lot of pepper which I like. I’m assuming that’s part of why a lot of people take it with salt. Might try the blanco at some point. Found out while buying it that Old Forrester has 100 proof bourbon and rye. Something to try later considering most of the liquor stores here don’t stock Rittenhouse.

 

[Boris Blank's glass eye]

I've bought my April stuff in advance since it included a limited bottling. The rest were a liter bottle of WT 101 which doesn't need any introduction and a miniature Peat's Beast.

Peat's Beast
It's a 46% ABV, no colouring, non chill-filtered, mystery distillery single malt from... somewhere. I found conflicting information about the region where it's being distilled. Allegedly 35PPM.

Nose: wood smoke, salt, a bit of tar, a pinch of spice, and faint fruitiness. Quite earthy.

Taste: sweet in the center, sour on the fringes, smoke and spices everywhere, with a pinch of salt over it. Honey and licorice, a bit of butter, citrus notes, pepper and cinnamon, peat - tar and kippers.

Finish: quite long. Bitter, pepper, ashy smoke.

Quite pleasant, but isn't priced very competitively - around here a full bottle costs a bit more than Laphroaig Select, Talisker 10, or a couple different mystery Islays; around the same as Laphroaig 10; and a bit less than Kilchoman Machir Bay or Sanaig, and Ardbeg 10 or Wee Beastie.

 

[ClownBrew]

Tequila team here...had just about every brand on the market over the years and yet my two favs are both cost savers. Centenario and good ole Cuervo!

About the only brand I have never done is that shit Sammy Hagar puts out.

 

[Takayuki Yagami]

Tequila team here...had just about every brand on the market over the years and yet my two favs are both cost savers. Centenario and good ole Cuervo!

About the only brand I have never done is that shit Sammy Hagar puts out.

What’s your opinion on Tapatio? My understanding is that it’s very good for the price and is the fave in Mexico. Thinking of making palomas tonight.

 

[ClownBrew]

What’s your opinion on Tapatio? My understanding is that it’s very good for the price and is the fave in Mexico. Thinking of making palomas tonight.

I'm a fan. In fact the only label I really avoid is Luna Azul...enough people online rave about their brand but it gave me nothing but trouble and tasted like rubbing alcohol from CVS.

Let us know how you like the Tapatio. Cheers!

 

[Takayuki Yagami]

I'm a fan. In fact the only label I really avoid is Luna Azul...enough people online rave about their brand but it gave me nothing but trouble and tasted like rubbing alcohol from CVS.

Let us know how you like the Tapatio. Cheers!

It’s something that my state’s stores don’t stock unfortunately. I was asking in case I have to cross lines and a place has it. Is Luna Azul the same one as Lunazul or is that just a brand with a similar name. My places do have Olmeca Altos and Espolon. Which of those 2 would you recommend for blanco and repo.

 

[Boris Blank's glass eye]

I've read and watched several reviews where the reviewer revealed their fondness of well-aged grain whiskies.
The opportunity to see just how good they are presented itself in the form of a bottle of Douglas Laing™ Old Particular™ Spiritualist Series™ Harmony™, which is a 28 year old single cask single grain from Cameronbridge.

All natural, no chill filtration and no added colouring. Despite all those years in the cask it's just a healthy, golden honey colour.

The nose is fairly shy - faint spices and honey sweetness.
Medium body - oily, but not too oily. Very easy and pleasing to drink. Honey is going to be overused here, but it really feels a bit like eating a spoonful of honey after it melts and dilutes in the mouth. No alcohol burn at all.
Taste: a medley of sweet and spicy all right. Vanilla, honey, and unflavoured hard candy balanced with some vibrant spices. Cocoa, not so much, just a hint of it in the background.
Finish: yeah, this is where the cocoa takes the stage, along with some sherry nuttiness (finally). Medium length, shorter than what I though I'd get from this kind of age.

All the unpleasant grain qualities are absent. No sharpness, no immaturity, I can see why people like it. However, there's also nothing mind-blowingly breathtaking here either - just pleasant sweetness with a great balance of spice and medium body. And I guess this is why they named it Harmony, because it definitely lives up to that name.

Water does nothing to it, and it doesn't really change with the passing hours either. I don't know if it's specific to this particular Old Particular or to single grains specifically. I might try and get an Asta Morris 2006 Girvan Ardmore Cask Finish to test it - or maybe an older blend. Ballantine's 17/21, Chivas 18, or JW Gold Label are much easier to find than aged single grains.

Presentation issues:

The cardboard tubes are uniform all throughout the categories (single malt or single grain) of the Old Particular range, with only the labels differing - and those labels are stickers. Which, in this case, already started peeling off.

And a plastic-topped cork stopper.

Closing thought, out of thin air: this almost tastes like a very sweet bourbon. The overall feel and flavour is different, and so is the finish - but it isn't that far off from a bourbon.

 

[Mal0]

Not much of a drinker, I usually stick to beer. I had Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey a while ago, that was pretty good. Any recommendations for stuff like it that'll go down smooth?

 

[TFT-A9]

Not much of a drinker, I usually stick to beer. I had Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey a while ago, that was pretty good. Any recommendations for stuff like it that'll go down smooth?

I'll say you're starting from something that's fairly sweet, and as for smoothness... honestly not too difficult to get smoother than JD (though it's not as bitey as Jim Beam or ryes/Canadians IMO). So far some of the smoothest whiskies and such I've had the pleasure of drinking are Tomatin Dualchas (scotch, and usually not much more expensive than JD because for some reason Tomatin is criminally underappreciated) and Willett Pot Still Reserve (bourbon, bit pricier than JD but worth it if you want something bourbony).

 

[Boris Blank's glass eye]

Not much of a drinker, I usually stick to beer. I had Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey a while ago, that was pretty good. Any recommendations for stuff like it that'll go down smooth?

Writers Tears Copper Pot for Irish. Arran 10 or Tomatin Legacy (WW)/Dualchas (US) for an entry-level single malt that's not generic overpriced Glenfiddich or Glenlivet.