What's the best bottle of alcohol for under $20?

[otc]

I just picked up some nasty looking Frost vodka for like 15-16 (before tax) for a handle...have not tried it and don't expect much but I had noticed I was out of vodka (and I don't really drink it...and the people who do just load it with overpowering mixers anyways)...at the same store I noticed they wanted some ridiculous amount for a fifth of mount gay--27 or something...grrr I'll just have to stick to my bottles of extra old and mount gay white until I find another store.

gin: seagrams -I've heard it called the smooth gin in the rough bottle...I certainly wouldn't make a martini with it but for gin and tonics, it does the trick and is cheap.

What are your feelings on tonic? I've done a taste test and think schweppes beats canada dry hands down. Sometimes I wish I could find cans of it though. I hate being left with a flat liter/2-liter of tonic but I am unwilling to pay for those really expensive mini glass bottles.

 

[Skip87]

Originally Posted by thomazzz

Svedka was my first introduction to vodka--or liquor in general for that matter. I was 16 and was in a band that was about perform at some **** club in Dallas. One of my bandmates had procurred a bottle of this vile poison through his brother since we were playing with a well established band and there were sure to be a lot of people in attendence; you know, typical rockstar shinanigans

. I'll never understand why we thought this would be a good idea. Well we all start drinking straight from the bottle about ten minutes before we're supposed to go on. Since I had never had vodka and was unaware of it's delayed effects I thought that I was some kind of drinking badass who could hold his liquor like no other after 3 or 4 heavy swigs. I go on to to drink much more before going on stage and as we begin our first song Svedka hits me hard and I can barely stand, focus on my guitar, or really communicate effectively. Throughout the next 12 minutes--before getting kicked offstage and from the premises--I threw up twice, attempted to eat a microphone, fell on my face numerous times, and confessed that I was a virgin and would literally have relations with anything female right then and there. Our drummer passed out as well.

After we were kicked out we set up a little table outside the entrance, away from the clubs property but where people from the club walked past and we sold about 70 cd's that night. And when I say sold, I mean that there was a transaction; we did make a lot of money (for us) but not as much as we should have because apparently we just started trading people cd's for random crap people had on them and didn't mind trading. I still have and wear a black leather belt someone traded.

I'm not proud of that night... well I am a little proud but even in spite of that I really, really hate Svedka too. I'm not saying it isn't a tolerable beverage but I haven't really been able to enjoy vodka in any circumstance since.

Good story.

 

[ConcernedParent]

Everyone ******** on Svedka; I still have yet to find a readily accessible, cheap vodka that's better. Smirnoff, Skyy, Popov (god help me), Sobieski, Stoli, Finlandia, UV, Absolut- none were as drinkable. I have yet to try Seagram's, that'd be next.

 

[archetypal_yuppie]

a 750 of jack in NYC is typically around $38, so you're pretty lucky if it's $20 wherever you are.

i think whiskey is the only liquor worth paying decent $ for. meyers run is great and cheap, and who cares about vodka and most other pale liquors. i guess gin needs to be good, but its almost always mixed. i used to buy tanqueray 10, then decided it was pointless.

 

[whacked]

Originally Posted by ConcernedParent

Everyone ******** on Svedka; I still have yet to find a readily accessible, cheap vodka that's better. Smirnoff, Skyy, Popov (god help me), Sobieski, Stoli, Finlandia, UV, Absolut- none were as drinkable. I have yet to try Seagram's, that'd be next.

For the millionth time, Tito's Handmade vodka. Runs about $18 a fifth at local stores around here or $25 for a handle at Costco. Costco's private label vodka, a fair bit cheaper, isn't bad. I also got a handle of Russian Standard there for less than $40 last week.

 

[slappy]

Rittenhouse

 

[celticgent]

Powers Irish whiskey is pretty decent at that price point.

 

[Mblova]

Popov or some other cheap vodka.
+
Brita filter.

You'll have people thinking that they are drinking GG

 

[otc]

Originally Posted by Mblova

Popov or some other cheap vodka.
+
Brita filter.

You'll have people thinking that they are drinking GG

I did this many a time my first 2 years of college...Dmitri vodka through a brita gets pretty much to the desired taste for mixing.

Obviously there are diminishing returns to refiltering. The first one gets out the visible gunk (the vodka becomes noticably clearer). 5 seemed like the optimum number of passes but most of the work was done after 3 if you were in a hurry.

After those years, it just made more sense to buy whatever slightly nicer vodka was on sale rather than buying more brita filters...and even though we had our own photoshopped Brita(R) Vodka labels, people were a bit put off by the mystery vodka nature of it...

 

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

Sobieski vodka

 

[Invicta]

Originally Posted by slappy

Rittenhouse

This.

Rittenhouse BIB Rye whiskey is $19.95 for 750 at my place in DC and is a awesome Rye, especially considering the price. Makes the second best Sazerac I've ever had...

 

[billsayers]

Since rye whiskey was mentioned, I don't mind drinking Old Overholt. It only goes for $18 in Southern California.

 

[kaxixi]

White Horse gets my vote.

 

[Snidely Whiplash]

Great thread!

I'm gonna throw in a bottle of port wine [crash] - Graham's Six Grapes occasionally sells for under $20 in Socal.

 

[mystillwater]

loving this thread so far.

my picks:
vodka: Jacquins flavored vodkas for mixing, especially Vanilla for White Russians and 7up & Grenadines (the plain is reprehensible - also, these are apparently exclusive to PA)
Bourbon: Heaven Hill (i'll admit on not much of a Whisky/Bourbon guy but this is pretty good to me, very smooth and drinkable)
Gin: Gilbey's