Drinking 2009

[faster]

and



Still loving the Islay whisky & recently getting into shochu. This one's sweet potato based. I blame Unami & Iida for turning me on to this stuff on my b-day last year at Iida's bar. I still want to find that tomato one I tried there, man, it was weird (& good).

[Alastair]

It's St George's Day.

(the export version is stronger than the domestic version - 4.7% ABV to 3.8% ABV. It's noticeable.)

[Stephen]

Bought this to bribe someone into helping me sort out my electronics. Turns out they're not into scotch, so I got to keep it.

[Salty Swift]

It's St George's Day.

(the export version is stronger than the domestic version - 4.7% ABV to 3.8% ABV. It's noticeable.)

I think our version is 4.4%...not bad compared to the water served up on the Isle

[Paul C]

recently getting into shochu

Good stuff, huh? I usually favour mugi (barley) varieties, but it seems there are so many different breweries in the south & west of Japan producing "high-end" shochu nowadays, you're always likely to find something different to try anywhere you go. Lots of people actually claim it's good for your health...here's hoping.

[faster]

Yeah, the sweet potato ones are good, and I've been drinking one that's 20% black sesame seed, too. Great.

[Gaendaal]

Had a pint of Williams Bros. Brewery's 'Joker' at the PJ Harvey gig last night and, by Crom, if this isn't one of my favourite beers right now. Lovely, mellow IPA with masses of flavour and pretty much spot-on levels of sweetness vs sharpness. Highly recommended if you can find it; even in Scotland it's not widely available at the moment (although the Queen's Hall in Edinburgh has the entire Williams Bros range in stock, as I discovered last night!).

[Paul C]

I've been drinking one that's 20% black sesame seed, too. Great.

Sounds good - can you give any more details on this one - brand name or brewery, or anything?

[faster]

I'll try to figure it out--I get it in a tiny shochu specialty bar in Hongdae. Haven't been in a few weeks, but I have a bottle on the shelf there.

[Paul C]

Not this one is it?



How do you find Shochu in comparison to Soju? Is it the same? I only had the latter a few times in Korea years ago, but it didn't really agree with me back then...Jinro's fairly common over here, and we have a few Korean-run eateries in the area with big tubs of garlic & ginseng & fruit-infused alcohol on the counters. The garlic stuff is great, really revitalizing!

[faster]

Yeah, totally different. There's really no craft brewing in Korea--it's actually technically illegal, thanks to sweetheart monopoly deals to the soju companies. Soju as we know it today is a pretty gross factory booze, mostly grain alcohol, I believe. I still drink it--it's about $1 a bottle, after all--but it's not a good thing (ok, it does have a certain affinity for samgyeop-sal haha).

There's a product called Andong Soju that is 80 proof and supposedly closer to what Korean soju was pre-industrialization, mostly made of sweet potato & rice, I believe. It's pretty good, but, of course, spendy.

For K booze, I like dong-dong-ju, a super raw, unfiltered rice wine that I always think of as makkeoli's less retarded older brother. It usually has some stray rice grains floating around and is very milky, and some places float a few pine needles in it, mmm. Can't get it in bottles afaik, just at trad. restaurants. Great stuff, but a little dangerous.

And edit: Damn, I think that's the one! (in yr picture)
Good stuff.

[gordon]

Dohol, Bell's Oberon just came in season.

And here I am presently living in Kentucky...

You sure do know how to torture a fella'.




A nice pint of Oberon at the end of a long hot day...

Bliss

had this for the first time last night. it's nice!

otherwise, PBR and malt liquor. i am broke ass. a very unfortunate thing, because there are like 12 breweries within walking distance of my house, and they are all excellent.

[Salty Swift]

Where I live, unfortunately they sell this under the Chechvar brand-name......

[Alastair]

Damn Anheuser Busch all to hell.

Lately I have mostly been drinking Lord Nelson Brewery Three Sheets (pictured [left] below).

[cdeupree]

I discovered boutique vodka this weekend, at a steakhouse in Phoenix where I had a gimlet made with Charbay Ruby Red Grapefruit vodka, fresh lime juice, and agave nectar. Charbay is a small batch artisan distiller in California, now I have to find a local distributor. I'm usually not a fan of flavored vodka, but this was delicious!

[mshiflet]

Had some of this


http://www.averybrewing.com/BigBeers/se ... heMaharaja

and some of this


http://www.vansteenberge.com/htm/2en/21200en.htm

recently. Both ~10.5% with great flavors.

[vegetable mind]

Had this dogfish head malt the other night, had a great taste but the malt is very strong and that's not really to my taste so much. Very fruity, blueberry mostly but other, slightly softer tastes. would be good as not a malt

[Dohol]

Monday night I went to a graduation party thrown by some of my wife's sustainable agriculture students..

Somebody brought a quart of this stuff:



Moonshine ( illicit, home-cooked, high-proof alcohol {for those of you who live outside the states }..)

I was shocked by how good and smooth it was..

I've gotta hang out in backwoods Kentucky more often..




But then again...maybe not..

[mudd]

i hope the methanol content was comfortably low.

m

[Dohol]

i hope the methanol content was comfortably low.

m

I was more worried the distiller had used a car radiator for a condenser..


I haven't a chance to check my lead level....


But I'm not blind yet..