Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

I drank every cocktail

aaronson.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

41–50 of 229 posts

Re: I drank every cocktail

#41

Post by b_e_n_t_o_n »

BSOhealth wrote: post #7

Very cool motivation around personal “lists” generally! Gin took me the longest to “get” and subtle cocktails that play to its strengths seem to have had the most lasting appeal. Whiskey drinks are great but I’d usually just rather have a nice whiskey straight, versus diluted with sugar. Whiskey+wine has some good combos. Likewise with tequila. Rum/rhum I still don’t get the sipping side, so cocktails is still the go…

Vodka is for adding to juice or simple drinks (oj, cranberry, lemonade etc), and when you don't want to muddle up the flavour of something else. Or for shots of course :)

Re: I drank every cocktail

#42

Post by TheBoozyGenius »

Jtsummers wrote: post #33
shpongled wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you cropped out the important part of the quote: > It’s rare that I have more than a drink or two in one night. I don't drink that often any more, but 2-3 drinks in a night, done occasionally is not a problem. I've had weeks where I drink a beer (or two!) every night, and also don't struggle with any alcohol problems. 2 drinks every single night? Leaning that way - and not great for you just from a health/cal…

I always wonder why people would make such obvious selective edits that completely change the meaning of a sentence and quote it as if it was what the author intended. Do they not think people will notice? Or do they not notice that they've even done it?

Maybe they got really excited while reading...

Re: I drank every cocktail

#43

Post by gms »

aaaronson wrote: post #32
jamestimmins wrote: post #9

Such a fun and entertaining read. I'd never suggest someone give up a software career to become a food writer, but I'd love to read more of OP's writing as he pursues these goals.

Writer of the post here, really appreciate this! When I was really little I did say I wanted to be a food critic when I grew up...

I also found this to be a fun read! Was intending to skim but ended up reading the whole thing. The level of care shines through - nice work.

Re: I drank every cocktail

#44

Post by bryanlarsen »

owenversteeg wrote: post #19

For those that are getting into cocktails, by far the best piece of advice I can give is: know when the quality of ingredients matter and when they don’t. If it’s a very sugary/salty drink, or people are smoking, or already drunk, most people won’t care, but for a lot of cocktails the ingredients make a massive difference. The best bang for your buck is Carpano Antica, a sweet vermouth with real complexity to it; the…

> worst value is high end vodka.

For mixing, definitely. If you're drinking it straight, the subtle complexity of a good vodka is nice.

Re: I drank every cocktail

#45

Post by addaon »

BSOhealth wrote: post #36
addaon wrote: post #8

Did you, though? Many great cocktails (including ones on the IBA list) are really show cases of a very specific liqueur or spirit... and when that product dies, you may have something similar, or something inspired by, or something attempting to recreate... but you haven't had the classic cocktail. For example, unless you stir up a new-old-stock bottle of Kina Lillet (and its flavor has held up over time), I'd argue…

I get the downvotes, kind of omitting his qualification in the very first sentence. but if this really interests you it seems like an obvious opportunity for something like “the 102 impossible drinks” or something. figure out the DIY recipes and go to YT

> his qualification

Are you referring to "every" cocktail meaning "every IBA" cocktail? No complaints there, that's just headline writing.

But there's a reason I called out the Vesper -- it's on the list! And I'd argue it's the cocktail on the list that, most obviously, no one can make today. It's not a cocktail that allows creativity or substitution in its ingredients -- it's specifically a showcase of Kina Lillet -- and its key ingredient isn't available today. The correct response to someone ordering a Vesper should be "I can't make you that, but maybe you'd like a ." (Or, honestly, "meh, we can do better than that" -- it's a mediocre cocktail at best, but that's not the point.)

Re: I drank every cocktail

#46

Post by miketery »

bryanlarsen wrote: post #44
owenversteeg wrote: post #19

For those that are getting into cocktails, by far the best piece of advice I can give is: know when the quality of ingredients matter and when they don’t. If it’s a very sugary/salty drink, or people are smoking, or already drunk, most people won’t care, but for a lot of cocktails the ingredients make a massive difference. The best bang for your buck is Carpano Antica, a sweet vermouth with real complexity to it; the…

> worst value is high end vodka. For mixing, definitely. If you're drinking it straight, the subtle complexity of a good vodka is nice.

You don’t need to spend anything more than kettle one. It’s a super simple lab process it’s not like whiskey which has a lot of complexity.

Re: I drank every cocktail

#47

Post by TheBoozyGenius »

bryanlarsen wrote: post #44
owenversteeg wrote: post #19

For those that are getting into cocktails, by far the best piece of advice I can give is: know when the quality of ingredients matter and when they don’t. If it’s a very sugary/salty drink, or people are smoking, or already drunk, most people won’t care, but for a lot of cocktails the ingredients make a massive difference. The best bang for your buck is Carpano Antica, a sweet vermouth with real complexity to it; the…

> worst value is high end vodka. For mixing, definitely. If you're drinking it straight, the subtle complexity of a good vodka is nice.

Finally someone who ''Gets It''.

Re: I drank every cocktail

#48

Post by ChadNauseam »

maest wrote: post #30

> First semester that year, I took a Beverage Management class, which was ostensibly about managing bars, but it was no secret that everyone took it because of its tasting component. Is this breadth of topics common for the American higher educational system or did the author go to a special university?

Sure. My alma mater (Michigan State) offers a minor in "Beverage Science and Technology" https://reg.msu.edu/academicprograms/ProgramDetail.aspx?PTyp...

It requires all the following courses:

  CEM 482 Science and Technology of Wine Production 3
  CHE 483 Brewing and Distilled Beverage Technology 3
  FSC 481 Fermented Beverages

Re: I drank every cocktail

#49

Post by senjin »

whiterook6 wrote: post #18

This was a pleasant read. I want a goal like this to try and achieve. Neat!

I agree! It's really nice to have a goal like this that could take you years to accomplish because you have no deadline. I did the same thing with a list of some of the best scifi [1] over the course of 15 years or so. I would get into a series and read the whole thing before moving on or really get into an author for a while. Some books are the 2nd, 3rd or 5th book in a series (looking at you Murderbot...) so you kind of have to read the preceding books. You could read the whole list in a couple years but it was really nice to work through it really slowly.

Anyway, I think this list of cocktails will be my next long term goal

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_joint_winners_of_the_H...

Re: I drank every cocktail

#50

Post by Nursie »

BSOhealth wrote: post #7

Very cool motivation around personal “lists” generally! Gin took me the longest to “get” and subtle cocktails that play to its strengths seem to have had the most lasting appeal. Whiskey drinks are great but I’d usually just rather have a nice whiskey straight, versus diluted with sugar. Whiskey+wine has some good combos. Likewise with tequila. Rum/rhum I still don’t get the sipping side, so cocktails is still the go…

> Rum/rhum I still don’t get the sipping side

There's a vast variety and some is great, some not so much. There are very sweet, delicious rums like Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva, which is tasty but a little bit on the syrupy side. Then there are delicious but less sweet rums like Appleton Estate, Flor de Cana, Havana Club, Mount Gay, El Dorado etc. Ron Zacapa is very sippable too, and very approachable, and I think their solera 23 makes a really good entry point to the 'genre'.

As with whisky, the older the rum, the more complex and in general 'better' they tend to be, and the various 'XO' versions of Zacapa etc are more refined again.

I prefer to stick to the bigger names like those above, which is not to say there aren't good rums from newer or smaller places, but if you're just starting out these are some good, solid makers to begin to develop your palate. I guess a bit like recommending someone start an exploration of Scotch with a taste of Ardbeg, Highland Park, Macallan etc - get to know the big names a little before you experiment.

Spiced rums can be delicious sipped, but the cheaper end of the market often use their flavouring to mask a poor underlying spirit. See Sailor Jerry, Kraken, and other highly-flavoured rums like Pink Pigeon. Bumbu is good though and (surprisingly?) so is Captain Morgans Private Stock. I generally stay away from anything else labelled Captain Morgan. Purists will argue that any/all spiced rums are not really rum, because they are flavoured and almost all are heavily sweetened and so should be called 'rum liqueur'. It's not an argument I'd like to partake in particularly.

Avoid white rums unless mixing, IMHO. Anything claiming to be Navy rum is probably a bit rough (I'm not a fan of Pussers). And stay away from "Stroh 80", that stuff tastes like burning tyres.

I don't really drink rum any more, but when I did ... I drank all the rums!

Post reply on HN