Derp. Just realised that I meant Rioja when I wrote Shiraz earlier in the thread. Shows how cultured I am! Yeah, Guinness is certainly made for the Irish climate! Weizenbier is very nice, I agree. Ever tried Kölsch? It's a beer made with ale yeast but still a lager. Kind of half way between a lager and a bitter, and very refreshing on a hot day.
Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout is really nice too, and vegan for those who are looking for booze that doesn't contain animal products.
...though speaking of Guinness in a hot climate, one of the good things about living in a city with a large Caribbean community is easy access to Jamaican Guinness. It's a strong export version of Guinness Original, and has that barley wine kind of taste that you get from strong Belgian beers. Speaking of which, I do like a Duvel or a Judas if I'm in the right mood.
I am the AntiSmitfire in that I really enjoy the taste of many alcoholic drinks. I love almost all forms of bitter. So I'll enjoy a dark Porter or a stout, similarly a traditional Best Bitter, right through to a full on IPA at 7%+ and enough hops to exhaust a rabbit. I've enjoyed brewing my own in the past, and love the whole process. Lager I can take or leave; to me it doesn't have the variety and depth of bitter, but on a hot day a cold lager can be good. Can't drink Pilsner Urquell anymore though, after a stag week in Prague. I did try some from an open barrel on the brewery tour that was remarkably IPA-like though. I enjoy dry whites, and reds that are full bodied without going to New world excess. So a good Sancerre or Rioja would always go down well. Spirit wise I only really drink whisky. I don't drink much, but will often get a good whisky or two around Christmas. I used to enjoy the very peaty Speysides and similar most, but have been moving to the Highland styles in recent years, not sure why. Can't do Tequila at all after events many years ago. Rum all tastes the same to me, as does Brandy and both give me horrible indigestion. Like Hannibal I enjoy Makers Mark, and a few other Bourbons. The only cocktail I order more than one of is an Old Fashioned, I discovered them onboard a short cruise as part of my honeymoon and have enjoyed them ever since.
I'm not a big drinker, but I am partial to a nice mead - warm mead is wonderful. I like creamy and/or sweet cocktails that don't really taste of alcohol. I drink the occasional beer/ale - Peroni, Tiger, Hoegaarden to name a few. I can't stand whiskey. I do like Tia Maria and coke or Kalhua and cream.
So serious question...I can remember, as a kid, sneaking into my parent's alcohol stash. Sampling the stuff that lived in the side cabinet that mainly come out at Christmas. Gin, whisky, bacardi, advocaat, etc All of it, to a bottle, tasted and smelled disgusting. Like eye watering, full facial grimace, "never drinking that" disgusting. It has never tasted any better than that to me. No switch ever flicked where all of a sudden it actually tasted nice where previously it was horrible. So are there people where the first time they take a shot of whisky think "Oooh that's lovely that is! More please". Or people where it was disgusting as a kid but now is nice? If so when does the switch happen?
I stole a miniature bottle of bells whisky when I was four, and my parents found me asleep next to an empty bottle, but I'm unusual..... Shandy has always been tasty, (remember it's actually sold as a kids drink still) but full fat booze for normal people tends to be like cheese and pickled herrings etc, it gets better with exposure.
I was about 15 years old or so when I first tried hard liquor. A friend of mine was over at my house and my parents had gone to bed. I forget how it came up, but I knew where my parents kept their liquor and we decided to try some. So we took all of it that was left (a little bit in maybe 5 different bottles, of different types of alcohol) and poured them all together into large cups. I tasted mine. It was absolutely disgusting. I flushed it down the toilet. My friend was shocked that I wasn't going to drink it... he drank his, despite it being really gross. A while went by (months), and I noticed the liquor cabinet remained empty. My parents hadn't said anything to me about it. I recall being brash enough to ask my parents when they were planning to restock it... my dad said something like "as soon as you move out". It was quite a while until I started enjoying the taste of some liquors. In college I found I liked some tequilas and most rum/whiskey.
I remember stealing whisky with my best mate from hus dad's cabinet at maybe 8 years old, I hated it. I tried the odd sip of lager from 13 or 14 with parental blessing. Buy mainly I think it's something you grow into as your taste buds mature.
Yeah taste buds change dramatically as you age. I recently tried grapefruit after not having had any in 15+ years due to not liking it. It was just way too sour for me. Now I don't get the overwhelming amount of sour, and I find they are not bad.
I'm going to necro this! Makers mark neat blew my mind at Christmas It's a nice slow one, there's no rush to drink it, and I honestly enjoyed the taste Jack Daniels and cheap bitter lemon (45p bottle from spar) was one of the nicest mixers I've tried in ages, and good as Jack and Ginger.
I've been making dark & stormy's with a Kirk & Sweeney 23 year aged rum & fevertree ginger beer. Quite good.
Good call. I haven't had it for a long time. A few months ago I flew on American Airlines and just had to sample the Woodford Reserve Kentucky Bourbon available on the flight. I liked it so much I got a second glass!
