Yes. I think as I age, I understand what I like and don't like better and are less inclined to get influenced by what experts tell me or whatever is in fashion at any given time. I enjoy the finer stuff too but in the end, it is what calls me at any given night(or day or morning). Maybe it's just me but I often enjoy my Jack Daniels and Wild Turkey 101 as much as more expensive older bottles. I guess same goes for a lot of things in life, not just drinks. Campari last night at home.
Made a Rob Roy with RedBreast Lusteau after I saw an advertisement suggest it. Really nice cocktail here guys.
Mtek, I know traditional Rob Roy is whiskey, bitters, and vermouth. You have any secret to your version? I only ask because you mentioned that it is a nice cocktail.
Same ingredients, just using a single pot still and heavily sherried whiskey. Most of the time a Rob Roy is made with Scotch. Garnish usually is a cherry or orange peal and I chose a cocktail cherry. I use standard unflavored bitters, Carpano vermouth. It’s not a game changer, but it is a nice alternative to the trad Scotch Rob Roy.
Got some Toki and a truly redoiciulious price $28! At least for Japanese juice, but it punches higher. Pretty good, opens well as it warms in hand quite well. Subtle sweet whisky heavily scotch influences of course. With a SKX on an amazingly high quality grey/silver NATO that came on my Sinn 903 purchased from a Japanese seller, with amazing wabi sabi from sitting in the sun in the store front. Hydroponic herb garden in the back for cocktail garnish, and ageing barrel currently doing rye and Montenegro at 50/50 to which black walnut bitters will be added.
https://www.hitimewine.net/suntory-toki-whisky-750-108478 Smooth for whisky, inline with Japanese base expressions. More flavorful then hibiki, but not as complex. For that price it’s a steal.
As I have posted before my favourite Scotch is Highland Park from Scotland’s most northerly distillery on Orkney. I am currently working my way through a bottle of Dragon Legend. The eighteen year old pictured here was a Christmas present from my eldest son which I have so far resisted the temptation to sample! However the main purpose of this post is to highlight my recent discovery of, in my opinion, a great gin also from Orkney, so in a way a matching pair. Although I am probably biased having grown just across the water on the north coast of Caithness. This will be my second bottle and I have found it very smooth with a good tonic although it does pack a punch at 57% proof!
Guys, I want to get a Gin...but there’s a lot of different types (London, Dry, etc) is this just marketing? What is a good mid shelf bottle? Tonight a RedBreast 21.
Botanist, made by Bruichladdich. Honestly Bombay Sapphire is pretty good. Far East Bombay is good too. I try to play around with small producers though. Gins pretty hard to mess up, and it’s often thier first product before the aged stuff is ready. It’s normally very affordable and worth trying. I also suggest fever tree tonic and mess with flavors and proportions. Also the added garnish can be anything. Spain is oranges, Scandinavia it’s cucumber, my house is cherries and basil flowers for nose. G and T works well in wine glasses esp stemless so you can enjoy the nose better. My proportions go from 1-1 to 1-3 gin to tonic but is normally around 1-2 depending on effect I’m going for and tonic flavorings vs the Gin. Dry just means the added flavors are done with non liquid ingredients. Normally botanicals put in bags and steeped in the distillate. But 90% of people will tell you it means not sweet. They are wrong...
I find gin to be a really personal taste because they use so many different flavors. Plymouth is my go to everyday gin. I also like Bombay Sapphire and Boodles as other examples of good quality gin that don’t overwhelm you with strong flavors. If you want to try something with a more distinctive flavor, Hendricks is a classic top shelf example of that.
Dunville 10yr Irish single malt pour tonight. I also got my first gin @Foo2rama , need to look up some good mixers. I order gin drinks a lot in the summer, but never messed with it at home.
Gin and Tonic as above! Want to go fancy try an aviation, but Crem de Violette is not easy to find everywhere. I juice my own lemons and store the juice for a few days in swing top bottles. Also 1-1 simple by volume with some vodka to keep it fresh. You can often find French soda at Sprouts or Whole Foods etc that comes in these bottles which is also a good mixer.