Wine, Scotch, Rum, Tequila, Vodka, and the like

[count2infinity]

I filled a glass with ice, poured 4 ounces or so of Bulleit Rye, and went and played FIFA with @Juice who was sipping on warm bud lights. It was a good night.

[shmenguin]

I don't think gluten can make it through the distilling process... I could be wrong, but a big ole protein like that? I can't imagine it making it through.

Fine, college boy. Have it your way.

[Juice]

It was one warm pahnder that was on my nightstand from I don't know when... at the time 10/10 would do again. Now? 10/10 would do again.

[Sam's Drunk Dog]

I had a couple of these last night, made with Woodford Reserve:
https://www.nerdswithknives.com/beacon- ... -cocktail/

Bueno

I was drinking those all summer. Also good with some mint.

[shafnutz05]

Please watch this

https://twitter.com/bronzehammer/status ... 8555766790

"Calm down Jim Lahey, that's not 3 oz"

[slappybrown]

I don't see why I would buy wine from the PA state stores ever again, absent an urgent need like "on my way to a party and need to grab a bottle ASAP." I have been using Vivino for the past couple of months, and the selection is unlimited -- including hard to find stuff -- and the prices are better, even when you compare the supposed "Chairman's Selection" discounts that basically only bring state store pricing into the "competitive" range. I got so tired of seeing the same wines over and over again even in their "big" stores and paying a premium, no less.

[count2infinity]

If I drank more wine, I'd consider it. As it is, if the wine bottle costs more than $20, I ain't buying it anyways.

[columbia]

I don't see why I would buy wine from the PA state stores ever again, absent an urgent need like "on my way to a party and need to grab a bottle ASAP." I have been using Vivino for the past couple of months, and the selection is unlimited -- including hard to find stuff -- and the prices are better, even when you compare the supposed "Chairman's Selection" discounts that basically only bring state store pricing into the "competitive" range. I got so tired of seeing the same wines over and over again even in their "big" stores and paying a premium, no less.

I don’t know that even the good (here) grocery stores have a better selection than PA state stores, but the convenience is fantastic.

The game really opens up, in you have access to Total Wine and Costco (in the right state).

[shafnutz05]

I don't see why I would buy wine from the PA state stores ever again, absent an urgent need like "on my way to a party and need to grab a bottle ASAP." I have been using Vivino for the past couple of months, and the selection is unlimited -- including hard to find stuff -- and the prices are better, even when you compare the supposed "Chairman's Selection" discounts that basically only bring state store pricing into the "competitive" range. I got so tired of seeing the same wines over and over again even in their "big" stores and paying a premium, no less.

Yup. We use Heartwood and Oak. The selection is utterly terrible at the state stores, and as you mentioned, it is the same sht constantly. Hey, but at least they are consistently stocked with 18 varieties of Barefoot.

[columbia]

And Cupcake

[tifosi77]

I don't see why I would buy wine from the PA state stores ever again, absent an urgent need like "on my way to a party and need to grab a bottle ASAP." I have been using Vivino for the past couple of months, and the selection is unlimited -- including hard to find stuff -- and the prices are better, even when you compare the supposed "Chairman's Selection" discounts that basically only bring state store pricing into the "competitive" range. I got so tired of seeing the same wines over and over again even in their "big" stores and paying a premium, no less.

Have you used any other sites/apps for wine? We joined Tasting Room for a few months, but it wasn't delivering much in the way of quality. I've been pleasantly surprised at the value from Cameron Hughes wines, if you're not a label snob. But generally, when we buy online we tend to go directly to wineries we've visited.

[slappybrown]

I don't see why I would buy wine from the PA state stores ever again, absent an urgent need like "on my way to a party and need to grab a bottle ASAP." I have been using Vivino for the past couple of months, and the selection is unlimited -- including hard to find stuff -- and the prices are better, even when you compare the supposed "Chairman's Selection" discounts that basically only bring state store pricing into the "competitive" range. I got so tired of seeing the same wines over and over again even in their "big" stores and paying a premium, no less.

Have you used any other sites/apps for wine? We joined Tasting Room for a few months, but it wasn't delivering much in the way of quality. I've been pleasantly surprised at the value from Cameron Hughes wines, if you're not a label snob. But generally, when we buy online we tend to go directly to wineries we've visited.

Like you, I have bought direct from the winery, but the problem there is often times shipping costs for PA and/or they don't ship to PA period; this is obviously not a problem for you given you're an hour or two drive for UPS ground from wine country. Vivino waives shipping on $150 plus orders; you can sign up for Premium which waives shipping on all orders, but that's $5/month and I dont think its worth it since you can get to $150 pretty easily.

Re: the app, I tried a couple others, but have found that Vivino is the best mix of both (1) information about the wine itself (you can take a pic of the label and it uses its tech to identify the wine, provides reviews from users/critics, and gives you a price comparison, sometimes with helpful points like "this wine at this rating is normally in the $120 range, so this is a huge value at $45, etc); and (2) pricing, as it immediately identifies the lowest price for that wine from reputable wine merchants. There's stuff on there that I have bought despite never having heard of the winery (and sometimes even the varietal when it comes to South American or Spanish wines) that were great deals for wines that are sneaky good and rightfully highly rated. I bought a few bottles of some $28 dollar Barolo a couple weeks back that was as good as the ones between $60-70 in the state store and that I would like to bathe in. You can explore by varietal, style, price, food pairing, vintages, etc. so you can find all kind of stuff that is limited only by your willingness to experiment.

Delectable was the only other one I used that I thought was in Vivino's class, but after a few weeks, I deleted it as I liked Vivino better and it was a better experience -- more information, better at scanning labels, and better pricing in some instances (for the most part on pricing they were close).

[tifosi77]

https://sanfranciscowineschool.com/

This place is, to my knowledge and according to their marketing, is the only school of its kind in the country. (I have not fact checked that, but it sounds neat) They have a facility in South SF near our house, and Mrs Tif signed us up for a class last weekend. We showed up, and the place was full of somms-in-training that were about to start hour five of their program that day; two of the students were in from out of the country. I asked Mrs Tif how much she read about this particular class ('Thin Skinned Reds') before paying for it, and she said, "The title sounded fun". It's part of a curriculum geared at turning out wine professionals; we can argue whether or not it's wise for the school to offer that class a la carte with no roadblock in the shopping cart ("Are you sure you want to purchase this class?"), but when I checked the website it said right under the course description "This workshop is part of the Advanced Blind Tasting program." They were kind enough to let us reschedule for a different class that's more 'enthusiast' in scope.

The guy that runs the place is one of only twelve people in the world that is a Master Sommelier and a Certified Wine Educator. They have like three other Master Somms on staff (and multiple others who are mid-course on that program), and one of the other teachers is the black goateed dude in the documentary Somm.

[columbia]

I can certainly see why one of fellow posters hopes that SF will fall into the ocean.

[shafnutz05]

The Heartwood and Oak orders we get are shipped here, via either FedEx or UPS. I was kind of surprised at how easy it is.

[Dickie Dunn]

Nice to see the mentions of Four Roses Small Batch in here from 2+ years ago. Wife bought me a bottle for Valentine’s Day. Big fan of it so far.

Friends of ours make a pseudo “smoked Old Fashioned” by adding a splash of Islay scotch to an Old Fashioned. It’s pretty fantastic and while I’m not willing to drop money on Laphroaig to add it to an Old Fashioned, I’ve found that Famous Grouse Smoky Black does the trick.

[columbia]

Oldest brother was in New Orleans this week for their 25th anniversary. I gather that they enjoyed a number of pimm’s cups.

Anyone here make that?

[blackjack68]

One of the few drinks in NOLA that I have yet to experience.

[Shyster]

Huh. I wasn't aware that Pimm's cups were a thing in New Orleans. One wouldn't usually think of British drinks and New Orleans. But Pimm's is a great hot-weather drink, so it would certainly work well there.

If anyone likes gin, then they should like Pimm's. It's basically gin with extra ingredients. As someone who really likes gin, I really like Pimm's, and I usually buy a bottle or two over a summer. It's a great drink to make in bulk for something like a summertime cookout. Take a big-ass pitcher or jug, pour in maybe a third of a bottle of Pimm's No. 1, add some cut mixed fruit like orange, strawberry, apple, etc., and top off the pitcher with lemonade and some ice. Cucumber and mint are also traditional additions, but I often leave them out. One could also use something like raspberry or watermelon lemonade to add even more fruit flavor. Pimm's is only something like 50 proof, so the resulting drink isn't overwhelmingly alcoholic.

[LITT]

not a fan of pims cup

[Silentom]

That sounds delightful. I love gin.

[Dickie Dunn]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9YLIXN ... tu.be&t=25

I have no idea how to embed YouTube on this board anymore, but that's the first thing I think of when I hear "Pimm's Cup".

[count2infinity]

So Wigle won a gold medal for their "Pennsylvania Bourbon" and their "Ginever" won best gin from the American Craft Spirits Association. I've pretty much stayed away from their stuff, but I'm always intrigued to try their gin. Anyone ever had it? Worth the title of best gin?

[Lemon Berry Lobster]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9YLIXN ... tu.be&t=25

I have no idea how to embed YouTube on this board anymore, but that's the first thing I think of when I hear "Pimm's Cup".

Ditto.

[tifosi77]

So we went back to that SF Wine School thing for a special tasting event hosted by Vega Sicilia, one of the top Spanish wine producers. The lady presenting the wines was like Spanish Hallie Jackson, which was fun. But some of the wines they had on offer were outrageous.



And here is the price sheet for those who might want to order some of their products.

The bottle pictured is the first listed on the sheet.

Most of the people in the room - which included a lot of industry people - audibly sighed when they first looked at the sheet. Needless to say, this was the first and likely last time we'll be having any of their grape juice.