I like booze. Obviously. And while I am un-snobby about a lot of it (my well-documented and abiding love for High Life Light is Exhibit A for the jury), I am insufferably elitist about cocktails. Personal favorites: scotch on the rocks (not so much a “cocktail” as a hobby), French 75, manhattan, gin gimlet, dirty martini, Hendrick’s martini with a cucumber slice.
I had a cocktail party some months back that devolved into me doing some light shaming of a guest who was baffled as to the proper ratio of whiskey to sweet & sour. (Hint: the drink should still look like whiskey, not lemonade.) I am still dreaming of the day I acquire a bar cart for my apartment--how civilized would that be? Oh so civilized!
The main calculus when thinking about stocking one’s home bar is defining the balance between cheap and good. Where can a lady cheap out a bit so she’ll have enough money to splash out for a good bottle of scotch?
A Lady: when (re-)stocking a liquor cabinet, what should every fine filly make sure to have on hand?
so far I have: scotch (Macallan 12), gin (Plymouth)
D: also, Hendrick's gin, bourbon (Bulleit is my jam. But I am experimenting with Old Overholt right now with an infusion of sour cherries, and may switch for thriftiness purposes), scotch (I am a devotee of Laphroaig- smokysmokysmoky), vodka –it can be cheap, Smirnoff is totally fine. And snobby homemade meyer lemon sweet & sour!
A Lady: how do you feel about brandy/cognac? I feel like Calvados is a must.
D: I don't do much for brandy lately
But Calvados is a good cocktail accoutrement
A Lady: and speaking of accoutrements: vermouth (Martini and Rossi, dry)
D: + sweet vermouth
And fee bros bitters
A Lady: argh, sweet vermouth. you would.
D: for manhattans! It’s necessary!
A Lady: tequila: Don Juan?
D: My bar is understocked at the mo’. And I have zero tequila knowledge.
A Lady: I also like something unusual. Like pisco. Mine's lemon-infused.
D: Mmmm pisco! Yes! And maybe cachaça?
A Lady: mm, yes
Apparently we cheap out on vodka (quite possibly because both of us like our martinis with gin, and vodka is pretty much limited to mixing for others in my apartment, or for my own bloody mary slushies) and just go with Smirnoff. I’m eternally in love with Hendrick’s gin, but since that cucumbery-rosewatery flavor is not good for everything, I will also note that New Amsterdam is cheap and yet good. Not the best gin of all time, but my corner bodega stocks it for under $15, and it’s not discernibly cheap when one drinks it. I don’t have Plymouth around at the moment, but if it’s good enough for A Lady, it’s most certainly good enough for me. (Oooh, now I want gin.)
Bourbon: I am highly opinionated on this. Bulleit, in my estimation, is the superior bourbon. But Old Overholt has been recommended to me as a fiscally-responsible alternative, and thus far, I’m not totally horrified by it. I’ve got a batch of Old Overholt being infused with fresh sour cherries, and when I crack that open, I’ll report back.
Scotch: A Lady goes for Macallan 12-year; I go for Laphroaig and as old a bottle as I can afford. (Right now that’s 10-year. Sigh. Someone could buy me a bottle of Laphroaig Cask Strength, hmm?)
Tequila: opinionate with A Lady and educate me.
Rum: Hmm. No idea. I don’t drink much for rum. I think everyone I know drank one of those dorm-room concoctions of Captain Morgan and Diet Coke in Nalgene bottle at age 19, and then we quit drinking rum because of that, save for the occasional mojito when we want to torture a bartender by making them muddle mint leaves and sugarcane and have to spend 8 minutes making one damn drink.
Others: Pisco, Calvados, vermouths (sweet and dry), cachaça, bitters. And if you’re willing to juice a million meyer lemons and some limes by hand, I highly suggest making one’s own homemade sweet & sour mix. It’s so, so good. And after you juice all that damn citrus by hand, you will most certainly want a cocktail.
I am also of the belief that one must always keep a bottle of cava on hand, just in case. In case… you are thirsty? (Cristalino: cheap but good. And it makes a damn fine French 75, friends.)
Addendum from A Lady: a decent bottle of rioja, at least a couple years old. It’s the kind of wine you can splash out into little juice glasses or re-purposed votive candle-glasses and slam on the table emphatically when needing to make a point at 1 a.m. on a hot summer night.
I love Hendrick's martinis, but finding the right gin for your basic martini is tricky. Have you tried Boodles? Also, there is a new small batch gin called No. 209, made in San Francisco. Their distribution list is gaining and we are able to get it in Atlanta now. It makes a wonderful martini.
ReplyDeleteI love the French 75 - very happy to hear it mentioned. As for tequila, try Milagro. Reasonbly priced, great for cocktails and smooth enough to sip on its own, particularly in amber.
for rums, i vote for ron del barrilito- great for sipping over ice. http://www.ministryofrum.com/rumdetails.php?r=25
ReplyDeletei've only ever had it straight from PR so i'm not sure you can purchase here, but.
Rum: Depaz Rhum Agricole. It's the shit.
ReplyDeleteCheap vodka without sacrificing taste is difficult, but not impossible. Monopolwa vodka tends to be around 10 for a fifth. It's a polish potato vodka recipe so it is very very good. I refrain from rum when I can, but go for Gosling's if you ever get a chance. Black Seal for dark rum and Golden Rum for anything else. I found the golden variety to be surprisingly cheap, when I could find it. The Black Seal is perfect for a dark and stormy.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on the Hendrick's and Laphroaig, but if I'm budgeting, I'll go for a blended whisky, particularly Famous Grouse. And for cheap wine I tend to swing towards a cheap nero d'avola, but I do realize that's a bit specific in taste. Luckily the cheap ones don't taste much different from the mid-range ones, as I've never had an expensive one.
That is about as far as my expertise goes, but I hope it keeps you from tarnishing your taste-buds with Smirnoff.
-aspiringexpatriate
I have absolutely NO drink expertise. I drink what would be the Hamburger Helper and Mac-N-Cheese of the booze world: Morgan and coke, vodka and cranberry, misc. juices mixed with misc. boozes.. you get the idea. So my choice of booze might not be impressive, but for tequila, Patron is good. Tequila kind of reminds me of how sweat would taste if you drank it, but Patron is a little better. Some fancier types consider Patron to be dirt, soo.. take that with a grain of salt.
ReplyDeletejessie