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I drank every cocktail

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Re: I drank every cocktail

#71

Post by mNovak »

yojo wrote: post #62
azhenley wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have a ranked list of items that pay off to spend a bit more versus doesn’t matter?

General rules for cocktails: - Avoid the big brands for Tequila and Rum (Cuervo and Bacardi). There are exceptions, but it’s easier to skip. - Cheap gin can be good or bad. Gordon’s is a reasonable entry. The step up is Beefeater or Tanqueray. There are a bajillion craft gins and you can skip them until you’re ready to go deep. - Tequila should always say 100% puro de agave on the bottle. If it does not say this, do…

I'll add to this, there's no reason to buy simple syrup! You can make it in a mug in the microwave in 30s, and it'll hold in the fridge for a while.

And the only counterpoint is pineapple juice, which you should just buy in the can -- it doesn't hold long at all once in air.

Re: I drank every cocktail

#72

Post by samdoesnothing »

stronglikedan wrote: post #16
MuffinFlavored wrote: post #13

> I have more than a drink or two in one night I'm curious the opinion of those here on this. Are you able to be classified as "having a problem with alcohol" if you "only have 2 drinks a night" a lot?

Can't know just from that one data point. A "problem with alcohol" is a lack of self control, like, if you're social and have dinner out with friends most nights a week, do you feel compelled to have a couple drinks on nights you're home doing nothing in particular.

Having just a couple of drinks is hardly a lack of self control. The whole bottle or 6 pack on the other hand...

Re: I drank every cocktail

#73

Post by scosman »

yojo wrote: post #62
azhenley wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have a ranked list of items that pay off to spend a bit more versus doesn’t matter?

General rules for cocktails: - Avoid the big brands for Tequila and Rum (Cuervo and Bacardi). There are exceptions, but it’s easier to skip. - Cheap gin can be good or bad. Gordon’s is a reasonable entry. The step up is Beefeater or Tanqueray. There are a bajillion craft gins and you can skip them until you’re ready to go deep. - Tequila should always say 100% puro de agave on the bottle. If it does not say this, do…

Rye refers to different things in Canada and the US. Canadian Ryes can be excellent, and Canada makes some excellent rye grain whiskey. Don’t sub it in the wrong ingredient assuming it’s equivalent, then claim it’s mostly not good.

Re: I drank every cocktail

#74

Post by psalaun »

Nursie wrote: post #50
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 t…

Longueteau white rhums can be sipped, they are very floral. Taste like pure fresh sugar cane, without the sweet side. Their 62° is great for ti'punch.

Re: I drank every cocktail

#76

Post by avanai »

crystal_revenge wrote: post #54
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…

My advice would be: Every cocktail has an unlisted ingredient that makes or breaks the drink - ice water. Shaking or stirring a cocktail doesn’t just make it colder, it dilutes it as well. Getting this right is very often the difference between a good and bad drink. I demonstrated this once when a friend complained that it was so hard to get a good cocktail, especially getting good ingredients. All they had in their…

The other magic ingredient is salt. A tiny pinch of salt can balance out sour and bitter flavors in surprising ways, and be otherwise undetectable. I’ve “fixed” a lot of cocktails that way.

Re: I drank every cocktail

#77

Post by antognini »

If anyone is interested in getting into cocktails I really can't recommend Cocktails with Suderman enough. The early posts are free and go into the theory of how cocktails are structured and why they work. Once you start to understand the structure of the major cocktails it makes it a lot easier to understand how you can play with the ingredients and make something new.

For instance, tons of cocktails fall into the "sour" category. They usually have proportions of 2:1:1 or 3:1:1 of a liquor, a sour, and a syrup. If you have rum, lime juice, and simple syrup it's a daiquiri. Swap out the lime juice for lemon juice and the rum for whiskey and you get a whiskey sour. Swap out the simple syrup for honey syrup and you get a Gold Rush. Use tequila, lime juice, and a blend of agave syrup and Cointreau and you have a margarita. Gin, lime, and simple syrup is a gimlet. And so on.

Also, as others have mentioned, the quality of the ingredients and the brands often matter a lot. A Manhattan calls for whiskey, sweet vermouth, and bitters, but the choice of whiskey and vermouth makes a big difference in the character of the drink. (And if you are using old vermouth that has been sitting out on the counter for a few years, or making a drink with bottled lime juice, it's just not going to turn out all that good.)

https://cocktailswithsuderman.substack.com/

Re: I drank every cocktail

#78

Post by lordleft »

I found this to be a pretty charming blog post & an enjoyable read. Does anyone else feel like some of the newer entries in the IBA list seem a bit contrived, maybe to promote a particular type of spirit?

Re: I drank every cocktail

#79

Post by dluan »

Nursie wrote: post #50
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 t…

Generally with rum, you have to be wary of undisclosed dosing. Spanish distilleries are the worst with this, but even Plantaray (fka Plantation) does this. Single barrels from reputable producers will give you good results.

Re: I drank every cocktail

#80

Post by yojo »

scosman wrote: post #73
yojo wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

General rules for cocktails: - Avoid the big brands for Tequila and Rum (Cuervo and Bacardi). There are exceptions, but it’s easier to skip. - Cheap gin can be good or bad. Gordon’s is a reasonable entry. The step up is Beefeater or Tanqueray. There are a bajillion craft gins and you can skip them until you’re ready to go deep. - Tequila should always say 100% puro de agave on the bottle. If it does not say this, do…

Rye refers to different things in Canada and the US. Canadian Ryes can be excellent, and Canada makes some excellent rye grain whiskey. Don’t sub it in the wrong ingredient assuming it’s equivalent, then claim it’s mostly not good.

A lot of Canadian Rye uses a lot of grain alcohol. If you pick a bottle at random off the shelf (assuming US market), it’s unlikely to be good.

There are many great Canadian Ryes. But if you’re new to cocktails, odds are against you finding them at your local liquor store, and you probably don’t need them for the drink you’re trying to make. I didn’t mean to disparage the category. Lot 40 and Alberta Dark Horse/Dark Batch have earned their accolades.

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