What's in your liquor cabinet?

[whodini]

mwrenchd, that's a solid, solid collection.

Party at your place.

 

[Fuuma]

All these scotch fans and no bottles of Lagavulin

 

[Nantucket Red]

Originally Posted by Fuuma

All these scotch fans and no bottles of Lagavulin

Believe me, I have every intention of rectifying this oversight.

 

[AlexP415]

Someone above asked about Fernet. Here in San Francisco, it enjoys what amounts to a cult following, particularly within restaurant and bar industry circles. In fact, I've been told that R Bar on Sutter St. sells more Fernet than any other single restaurant or bar in the world (including Italy).

I worked in a few restaurants in college, and I picked up the Fernet bug along the way. I still order it quite often when I'm out, usually after dinner, but sometimes just on it's own - always neat.

As a side note, my girlfriend is of Czech ancestry, and lived in Prague for 3.5 years. They drink a ton of Fernet over there, although it's not of the Italian "Branca" variety - it's a little sweeter and has a lower alcohol content.

Cheers!

 

[Newton]

Wow.

Some nice cabinets, people. Mine is just starting out and I make all of my own.

Currently, it is:

Bourbon.
Coconut Rum.

and Melon Schnapps (for the girls that come over and can't get enough of the stuff!)

Soon to be:

Tequila
Vodka
Mango Schnapps (for those Down Under summers)

and a few other things. It's very exciting.

 

[Newton]

Originally Posted by Huntsman

Gotcha. Thanks. Speaking of AA, I've actually never been drunk. Control freak, you see.

That is my alcohol consumption habit defined to a T.

 

[Fuuma]

Originally Posted by Nantucket Red

Believe me, I have every intention of rectifying this oversight.

I tend to rectify the very same oversight very often, maybe I drink too much

 

[Huntsman]

Originally Posted by Fuuma

All these scotch fans and no bottles of Lagavulin

I only cited the bottles that have something in them.

~ Huntsman

 

[Nantucket Red]

Last night I added Oban.

Today, I'm determined to be the first on my block with a bottle of Lagavulin.

 

[Huntsman]

I imagine the selection may leave something to be desired. I was in NYC today, and, oh! there is some amazing stuff. There is a distillery reserve Cragganmore and Dalwhinnie that are going to be on my hit list for when I am getting the fulltime paycheck (two months! two months!).

BTW, I'd be interested in your feel for the Oban. That and Glenfiddich are really the two scotches I am least fond of. I think the Oban may have been cut at the one and only place I had it; it tasted methol-y, and that can't be good. Or normal.

~ Huntsman

 

[Nantucket Red]

With the addition of Lagavulin, I now have a bottle each of the Classic malts.

Oban is like a Highland with a hint of the peatiness of an Islay or island whisky. I detect notes of licorice, which I could imagine taking on an anise quality when cut, but menthol seems a bit far afield somehow.

Lagavulin reminds me of summers on the Maine coast during my childhood.

 

[GQgeek]

I'm not a big drinker but i do have an interesting question for you guys. If I wanted to be well-stocked for entertaining (dinner parties and single women, mostly) what would be the bare minimum?

 

[Thomas]

Originally Posted by GQgeek

If I wanted to be well-stocked for entertaining (dinner parties and single women, mostly) what would be the bare minimum?

In order:
Light rum (such as Bacardi)
Vodka (such as Finlandia)
Bourbon (such as Jim Beam)
Tequila (...Chinaco, Herradura, etc...)
Canadian (rye) Whiskey (Crown Royal)
Gin (such as Bombay sapphire)

...and mixers (tonic water, limes, Coke)

For dinner parties: wine - white and red. Many better people than myself to answer the wine question, but you'll do well getting vino suggestions from your invitees.

That should keep many people relatively happy. After that, additions depend upon your tastes and your guests' tastes.

 

[pejsek]

Originally Posted by AlexP415

Someone above asked about Fernet. Here in San Francisco, it enjoys what amounts to a cult following, particularly within restaurant and bar industry circles. In fact, I've been told that R Bar on Sutter St. sells more Fernet than any other single restaurant or bar in the world (including Italy).

I worked in a few restaurants in college, and I picked up the Fernet bug along the way. I still order it quite often when I'm out, usually after dinner, but sometimes just on it's own - always neat.

As a side note, my girlfriend is of Czech ancestry, and lived in Prague for 3.5 years. They drink a ton of Fernet over there, although it's not of the Italian "Branca" variety - it's a little sweeter and has a lower alcohol content.

Cheers!

Yes, the Czechs really adore Fernet. One of the more interesting concoctions I recall was Bavorske pivo (Bavorak, in the colloquial) or Bavarian Beer--Fernet mixed with seltzer water. A possibly refreshing summer drink, I suppose, but certainly also a not-so-subtle jab at one of the few other people that might lay claim to the beer drinking crown.
I wonder, though, Does anybody else have a bottle of Zubrowka (Polish vodka flavored with bison grass) in the freezer? Also, what about all of the Central European herbal liquers? The Czechs have Becherovka--supposedly started as a medicine--and I know the Hungarians and Swiss make similar things. My own bias is towards armagnac, scotch, or a nice Alsatian eau de vie, but there's also something to be said for a little breadth. Vodka drinking, I think, is sui generis.

 

[Nantucket Red]

Recently added The Macallan, a fresh bottle of The Glenlivet, and Remy Martin XO Excellence.