What's your poison?

[nordwulf]

In other words, what kind of alcoholic beverage do you enjoy in your part of the world?

I mainly drink beer, whisky, bourbon and wine. Not all at the same time because that makes me sound like a drunk!

I like the microbrews but mostly drink the more affordable quality American beers. Michelob (Dunkel Weisse) and Sam Adams are very good and as good or better as many European beers.

For budget beer, I like Stroh's. And I am almost ashamed to say, Milwaukee's Best Ice is not too bad either. At least it has some kick to it. Won't touch Budweiser at all. Or light beers. Mickey's 40-ouncers was the preferred drink in college. I still don't really know what the difference between beer and malt liquor is. At least it was cheap.

I was drinking a good beer (Dunkel Weisse) out of the bottle this evening but suddenly realized you're missing much of the great smell. Good beer deserves a nice glass.

[Shazam]

When I stopped home last weekend, I got to try my own homebrew finally. Made it from a recipe called "Centennial Blonde". It wasn't quite done, and was a little weaker than I'd like (somewhere around KeyStone...), but at least it tasted like a beer, so that was good. Started with some fresh ground grains and half of the hops were whole/fresh while the other half were those little pills. Beer is my favorite; Heineken and Sam Adams being my favorite, but Rolling Rock being my cheaper and more common choice.

If there's no beer, I normally choose a rum and coke. Just got a bottle of Kraken Spiced Rum for Valentines day, and it's probably one of my favorite hard liquors.

If there is no rum or coke, then I guess you can call me Nancy as I drink my Caucasian (hold the vokda please). Mmmmm... Kahlua and milk.

[euromobile900]

Cheap beer for me is PBR. I drink it while mowing the lawn, while shoveling snow, and while mechanic-ing. Sometimes I mix it with lemonade in hot weather. Like Wulf, I prefer dunkles Weissbier when I am going to spend more money. Trader Joe's Dunkel is pretty damn good for less money than Samuel Adams. Local beers from New Hampshire are also nice, but the Vermont microbrews are better! For a real treat, I found a shop that carries my favorite beer in the world, Trappistes Rochefort 10. It has about 11% alcohol, and tastes like having three beers all at once Mmmmm... Also costs like having three beers all at once...

For wine, I like Riesling and Gewuerztraminer. I dated a girl who lived in the Rheinland for a year, so she helped familiarize me with what to look for in these wines, and they are fairly unpopular (unlike the "celebrity wines", pinot noir and chardonnay) so it is still possible to get good bottles fairly cheaply, mainly from the Columbia river valley in Washington state, another place I once spent a summer. If the meal calls for red, a Malbec or Zinfandel will do. I say go bold or go home!

For liquor to drink straight, I prefer Calvados or other fruit brandy (never anything sweet unless it is Jaegermeister and I am skiing!). The only problem is that most American-made apple eaux de vie are too oaky and therefore taste just like whiskey. I found an organic distillery in Vermont that makes it just right . And as I mentioned, Jaeger is for chairlifts. I've had some success making mixed drinks with maple syrup and milk, a bit like Shazam's Caucasian. In summer, I like having whiskey sours with cheap bourbon and egg whites.

Boy, I sound like a snob The fact is, I'll drink (and genuinely like) anything that is offered to me (in Marseille I was fed some very strange concoctions made by an old Corsican lady) but when I am offering, the above is usually what you'll get.

[Shazam]

For wine, I like Riesling and Gewuerztraminer.

Come to the Finger Lakes then... we make some of the finest.

The fact is, I'll drink (and genuinely like) anything that is offered to me (in Marseille I was fed some very strange concoctions made by an old Corsican lady) but when I am offering, the above is usually what you'll get.

I'm with you on that... but the one that I can't seem to manage is wine. So many people like it, I feel like I should be able to find one that I at least don't mind. But I can't! After a sip, it's always "Yeah, it's... not for me. Where's the beer?" I've tried so many, both sober and... well, they just never suit me.

[euromobile900]

Come to the Finger Lakes then... we make some of the finest.

I have had some from the Finger Lakes! I remember looking at the bottle in the store and thinking "huh, finger wha?" and then buying it because it was cheap and finding out it was excellent. Definitely a different character than the Columbia Valley rieslings, but quite possibly preferable. If I end up driving across the country in the next few months, I should be motoring directly through your region, so I'll definitely make a detour.

I'm with you on that... but the one that I can't seem to manage is wine. So many people like it, I feel like I should be able to find one that I at least don't mind. But I can't! After a sip, it's always "Yeah, it's... not for me. Where's the beer?" I've tried so many, both sober and... well, they just never suit me.

I used to like wine less, but I never minded it. I was interested in hard liquor first (sweet and lots of alcohol, then gradually moving toward brandy, bourbon, and Scotch), then went to Germany with my family and got educated in beer, and really learned about wine last, during college. I never really understood wine until a girlfriend dragged me to some local vineyards and took me to a wine tasting class. Then I was hooked.

I guess I don't prefer any one type of booze over any other, whereas most people seem to really dislike at least one type. Side effect is that friends now think of me as the do-all booze maven, and ask me all their alcohol-related questions.

[SpecialTool]

Emu Bitter, from the can -- oh yeah I'm a classy guy.

[nordwulf]

Is it as good as Tooheys New? Drank a lot of that stuff when I was over there.

[jlrSAAB]

I like Ambar CaesarAugusta, only one after dinner. I don't use to drink liquors, a bottle of whiskey would take in my bar during five years to drink.
::AMBAR CAESARAVGVSTA::

I am a smoker of pall mall.

[CycM17]

I like to drink beer and red wine. If I head out to a local bar/brewery, I most often have an IPA or strong ale. There is a pretty good selection of local beer around here so I try to stay on top of all of their offerings: BBC, CBH, Hooker, etc. VT and NH have some great offerings as well! Also a pretty big fan of Belgian style beer. As far as red wine is concerned, cheap and delicious usually works. Cab, merlot, and pinot are my 3 choices. I usually spend $12-18/bottle, but once was treated to a $240 bottle of wine, which was pretty impressive.

[MacNoob]

I make my own apple cider - just bottled 39 more. I have 24L of apple juice waiting to make the next batch. It's not quite like store bought - it's very very dry, like champagne with an apple-y taste.

Also enjoy sipping a nice rum over ice.

White wines - Gewurztraminer, Reisling, Muscadet, recently Portuguese Vinho Verde.