An AH Booze Cruise

[spike.t]

In light of how popular the Whiskey Appreciation thread has been... I thought I'd ask about other spirits...

Whats everyone's preferences? Any particularly excellent bottles out there that are little known or heard of that you really like or enjoy?

When a fine whiskey isnt available, or youre just looking for a nice alternative, whats your go-to adult beverage of choice?

I'll start with fine rums.. having spent a good bit of time in the Caribbean and scooting around latin america over the years I have learned to appreciate a nice sipping rum...

What I think is probably the finest rum ever bottled surprisingly comes out of Haiti of all places.. Rhum Barbancourt 15 year is absolutely divine.. and extremely affordable for an aged spirit (about $50 for a 750ml bottle).. the challenge is finding it anywhere in the US.. not a lot of places carry it.. so on the rare occasion I see it, I always grab a bottle..

Up until about 2010 I was still traveling to Haiti for work fairly regularly (have been traveling there off and on since the mid 90's).. you could pick it it in liquor stores around Port Au Prince for as little as $12 a bottle back then.. I miss those days (and also miss Haiti sometimes in a weird sort of way..)...

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another absolute favorite is Ron Zacapa XO... I was just in Guatemala last week and managed to catch 2x liter bottles on a special at the duty free for $199 out the door.. most places in the US carry the 750ml for about $100 a bottle here.. so getting 2 liters for roughly the same price as what 1.5 liters would have cost here I thought was a good deal.. Its been a few years since I have sipped Zacapa XO, so I poured a couple of fingers last night over a single cube of ice.. it was just as wonderful as I remembered.. silky smooth, just slightly sweet, with rich toffee notes on the finish...

I think I'll be pouring a couple of more fingers of the XO tonight!

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Yeah zacapa is good....another nice rum is mount gay from Barbados

Mount Gay Rum | The Collection

www.mountgayrum.com

Bit busy at moment but I will be back to this thread....

Ps... @mdwest when I read the header I got very excited at the thought you were organising a full on booze cruise.....oh well never mind

 

[BeeMaa]

A beautiful Irish whiskey that I discovered a couple years ago is the Teeling Small Batch. Incredibly light and smooth with an almost fruity finish. Hard to beat for the price.

 

[PARA45]

@mdwest, have you tried the Nicaraguan Rum, Flor de Caña? It’s a fine rum, the distillery was about 10 miles from the town I was born.

 

[cpr0312]

Belle Meade regular and cask strength bourbon! Not super well know but very very good for the price!

 

[Bsto270]

I don't drink much anymore, but for me a good gin with a bit of plain seltzer water and a slice of lime is hard to beat. For a good gin, at least in the eastern USA, I have found Dogfish Heads micro distillery makes a great one for mixing. Another excellent one is Conniption out of NC. Both to me are a bit more citrus forward. I also had an excellent one from Manatawny still works in PA that was aged in tequila barrels.

 

[mdwest]

@mdwest, have you tried the Nicaraguan Rum, Flor de Caña? It’s a fine rum, the distillery was about 10 miles from the town I was born.

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From 2014-2017 I made annual trips to Esteli, Nicaragua in support of a little non profit I was running. I was introduced to Flor de Cana by Jonathan Drew of Drew Estate (we would stay in the DE villas when we visited)…

Wonderful stuff…

FdC is another label where there were always great deals at the duty free in the airport in Managua…

 

[PARA45]

Oh, you were in tobacco land. That area is quite beautiful, and the temperatures are always pleasant. Drew State makes some fine cigars, I am a huge fan of Liga Privada, and their Undercrown lines.

 

[mdwest]

A beautiful Irish whiskey that I discovered a couple years ago is the Teeling Small Batch. Incredibly light and smooth with an almost fruity finish. Hard to beat for the price.

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We visited the teeling distillery on our last trip to Ireland. The tour was ok.. the tasting at the end of the tour was outstanding!

My wife brought home some mixed drink/tea recipe that feeling provided.. we served it at our Bos en Dal DSC party last year… I’ll see if I can find it.. if I do I’ll post it here… it’s a delicious treat.

 

[Canebrake]

I was just stopping in to see if anyone had mentioned Flor de Cana but y'all are a step ahead of me. I had it for the first time on a spearfishing trip to Big Corn and was pleasantly surprised.

 

[mdwest]

Oh, you were in tobacco land. That area is quite beautiful, and the temperatures are always pleasant. Drew State makes some fine cigars, I am a huge fan of Liga Privada, and their Undercrown lines.

Right in the heart of my favorite tobacco plantations and favorite cigar factories on the planet

When someone hit me up with a charitable concept that would “force” me to visit Esteli every year to check on our projects… they didn’t have to twist my arm too hard…

 

[Brent in Az]

When I saw "Booze cruise" in the title, I was envisioning a bunch of drunk guys flying a private jet to Africa.....or some such....LOL

 

[mdwest]

Ps... @mdwest when I read the header I got very excited at the thought you were organising a full on booze cruise.....oh well never mind

You know… there are a lot of large lakes in the DFW area…

Renting a couple of oversized houseboats with well stocked bars and doing an evening “cruise” during DSC….

That could be a fun event!

 

[Red Leg]

You know… there are a lot of large lakes in the DFW area…

Renting a couple of oversized houseboats with well stocked bars and doing an evening “cruise” during DSC….

That could be a fun event!

Someone would be sure to drown.

 

[wesheltonj]

Or could just head to Sneaky Pete's on Lake Louisville.

 

[mdwest]

Or could just head to Sneaky Pete's on Lake Louisville.

Thats actually an outstanding recommendation!

(although someone would still likely find a way to drown )....

 

[buck wild]

In lieu of Blanton's @Backyardsniper , I'll sub Forrester 1910

I also like a little

MAYBE I"M JUST PARCIAL TO BLUE LABELS . If anyone wants to donate a Johnny Walker Blue let me know !!

 

[WAB]

We are visiting family in Nova Scotia. This is a local gin that is outstanding. The dulse gives it a very unique flavor.

 

[BourbonTrail]

Hmm, I think variety is my favorite spice in this life, besides adventure. If I am abstaining from whisk(e)y, here’s my quick roundup:

Vodka - Titos is really the only one I drink, because vodka is only used to make other drinks (bathtub gin and nocino)

Gin - Hendricks is my favorite, followed by The Botanist and Castle & Key

Rum - I don’t really care for much, but Koloa Rum & Ron Zacapa 23.

Brandy/Cognac - Almost all of them

I enjoy various kräuterlikör type drinks. I also like a good bottle of Porto when it’s cold outside (usually Sandman because it’s all I can find).

 

[Aaron N]

We can talk about all the top shelf booze we want, but there’s still nothing like a cheap well rye!

 

[spike.t]

For @sgt_zim and @Just Gina Ethiopian coffee flavoured amarula...