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The Finer Things In Life


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QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Mar 24, 2011 -> 11:55 PM)
I tried one named Abbot, and there was an IPA there but it was only 3.6% alc, and that just seemed like an unreasonably low % for an IPA. I just didn't want to spend 5 pounds on a beer like that when I had Guinness for 3.50 pounds.

 

College budget or not — you can't be thinking about the money when you have the opportunity to get UK Real Ale. My wife and I were poor grad students when we went and we stayed in some crap-ass bed and breakfasts and hostels, but we didn't skimp on the ale.

 

As far as the low %abv on the British IPAs. . . many have been brewed to 4% or lower since the 1920s as typical "session beers" — tasty cask bitters that you can drink with the lads all night without getting to s***e-faced. Certainly the historic original IPAs that were shipped to troops overseas in India were a bit higher in gravity (and hopping rates), but they were nothing like the American IPA levels we are used to.

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I totally agree with you Jim, and believe me I don't skimp when it comes to trying beers out here. I probably should've tried that IPA, but we were only at that bar for about 30 mins and I had already tried their other local brew. Im sure out here in Scotland I'll have more opportunities!

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Willingly drinking gin & tonics for the first time in my life tonight. Got a bottle of Beefeater, some Canada Dry tonic (WITH quinine) and limes. What a ridiculously refreshing drink. Got a bar crawl scheduled tonight too. Expect a post in the I am drunk thread.

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QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Mar 25, 2011 -> 05:42 PM)
Willingly drinking gin & tonics for the first time in my life tonight. Got a bottle of Beefeater, some Canada Dry tonic (WITH quinine) and limes. What a ridiculously refreshing drink. Got a bar crawl scheduled tonight too. Expect a post in the I am drunk thread.

 

The gin and tonics are really hitting the spot here as well. Beautiful simplicity.

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For me, it has always been the lime that has made the drink. The little bit of sugar and citric acid that come out of it really enhance the flavors instead of leaving you with the overly bitter flavors of the gin. The first drink always tastes like you're standing under a waterfall.

 

My ex loved drinking Blueberry Sodas too, which was just blueberry vodka, soda water, and a lime. Those weren't bad but they didn't have enough flavor for me, like the gin and tonics bring. I've also tried vodka tonics too, and again, there just isn't enough there. And, considering I'm not a huge whiskey guy (with the exception of scotch), nor have I had really any good rums, gin and tonics have just always been my go to drink.

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QUOTE (FlaSoxxJim @ Mar 26, 2011 -> 09:11 AM)
PBR marketing has been brilliant the way it has positioned the product as THE chic crappy beer. Genius.

 

It's hipster thing. It's on a lot of menus here with a sense of irony and humor.

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Tried a couple of new (to me) tequila drinks this evening.

 

The Brave Bull is a straightforward jigger of tequila and a half-jigger of Khalua, shaken with ice and strained into cocktail glass.

 

Make the same drink but add 2 oz. of heavy cream and you have a Boscoe.

 

Basically, they are the tequila-substituted equivalent of a Black Russian and White Russian, with just a little ingredient ratio tweaking. Interestingly, the tequila character was more pronounced in the Boscoe with the cream added than it was in the Brave Bull that just had tequila and Khalua, and it sort of crept around the edges of the cream and Khalua richnes in a very interesting way.

 

I followed those up with a diet-murdering Chief Lapu Lapu from the Beachbum's Grog Log that had fresh orange juice and homemade passionfruit syrup and homemade sour mix complementing the light and dark rums. Solidly on the sweet side (I used very sweet honeybell oranges), but a heckuva good drink.

 

Better get back to gin and tonics for a while or I'll totally shoot the diet in the foot.

Edited by FlaSoxxJim
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QUOTE (iamshack @ Mar 28, 2011 -> 12:11 AM)
Oooh, those tequila drinks sound intriguing, Jim...going to put those on my "to drink" list...

 

They are both worth trying. I didn't specify, but serve the Boscoe in a rocks glass over ice like a White Russian. I used Cazadores blanco for both drinks but any 100% de agave blanco or reposado you're partial to should make a nice drink.

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QUOTE (FlaSoxxJim @ Mar 27, 2011 -> 11:08 PM)
Tried a couple of new (to me) tequila drinks this evening.

 

The Brave Bull is a straightforward jigger of tequila and a half-jigger of Khalua, shaken with ice and strained into cocktail glass.

 

Make the same drink but add 2 oz. of heavy cream and you have a Boscoe.

 

Basically, they are the tequila-substituted equivalent of a Black Russian and White Russian, with just a little ingredient ratio tweaking. Interestingly, the tequila character was more pronounced in the Boscoe with the cream added than it was in the Brave Bull that just had tequila and Khalua, and it sort of crept around the edges of the cream and Khalua richnes in a very interesting way.

 

I followed those up with a diet-murdering Chief Lapu Lapu from the Beachbum's Grog Log that had fresh orange juice and homemade passionfruit syrup and homemade sour mix complementing the light and dark rums. Solidly on the sweet side (I used very sweet honeybell oranges), but a heckuva good drink.

 

Better get back to gin and tonics for a while or I'll totally shoot the diet in the foot.

 

What kind of tequila were you using? Definitely going to have to try those at some point in the near future but obviously want to use the correct tequila.

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QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Mar 28, 2011 -> 12:51 AM)
What kind of tequila were you using? Definitely going to have to try those at some point in the near future but obviously want to use the correct tequila.

 

See the post just above yours — I used Cazadores blanco because I have it on hand to make the La Palomas I have become partial to. I try not to go broke on tequila, so El Jimador or Hredura or 1800 Silver is about as pricey as I get — any of those would work with these drinks.

 

Another tequila drink that I'm digging is the El Diablo, and if you like ginger beer you should give it a go.

 

• 2 oz reposado tequila

• 1/2 oz fresh lime juice

• 1/2 oz creme de cassis

3 oz good ginger beer

 

Build in and ice-filled double rocks glass, adding ginger beer last and giving a quick stir to mix.

 

If you make that one and then find you have the rest of a bottle/can of ginger beer to use up, spin up a Moscow Mule and then a Gosling's Dark and Stormy. Three drinks that basically vary their base spirits and the lime juice ratio to end up with fairly different flavor profiles.

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Got back from Scotland today, tried about 4-5 ales and IPAs.

 

Abbot

Deuchars

Belhaven

Tennets

Swilcan

 

There was another one that I had that was quite good but it was during a pub crawl and I don't remember very much from that night.

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QUOTE (G&T @ Mar 28, 2011 -> 01:44 PM)
I don't know the impact of this: AB buys Goose Island

But I don't like it from a beer enthusiast perspective. I guess we wait and see.

 

My biggest issue with the move is that has prompted Greg Hall to step down as brewmaster. I think A-B has demonstrated through its handling of Red Hook that it can largely keep it's hands and its beancounters away from messing with the success of the craft beers in it's portfolio. If that is indeed the case, I understand the move in terms of giving Goose Island access to more markets through the A-B distribution apparatus. But I'm afraid the brand will stagnate without their passionate brewmaster who was always looking to try new things.

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Problem: You open a 12 oz. can or bottle of ginger beer to use a few ounces fix a drink, but then wonder what you are going to do with the rest of the open container.

 

Solution: Make a night of it (hide those car keys) and mix up four tasty ginger beer cocktails using four different base spirits. . .

 

El Diablo:

• 2 oz reposado tequila

• 1/2 oz creme de cassis

• 1/2 oz lime juice

• 3 oz ginger beer

 

Moscow Mule:

• 2 oz vodka

• 3/4 oz lime juice

• 3 oz ginger beer

 

Darm and Stormy:

• 2 oz Goslings Bermuda Rum

• 1/2 oz lime juice

• 3 oz ginger beer

 

Mamie Taylor:

• 2 oz blended Scotch

• 3/4 oz lime juice

• 3 oz ginger beer

 

Fresh squeezed lime juice is the other common ingredient in all of these, and I think this is a good study in how to riff on a drink like the Dark and Stormy to quickly and easily expand your cocktailian repertoire. All of the above can be simply built in an ice-filled double rocks glass or shaken (sans ginger beer) on ice and strained into a double rocks glass and topped with ginger beer. I like to garnish all four of these Trader Vic Mai Tai style with a spent 1/2 lime shell.

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Moscow Mule is a winner. Now let me say that I hate vodka so I really don't need to be detecting any amount of it. I supplemented your recipe with maybe .5oz of simple and that did the trick. Very refreshing and absolutely dangerous.

Oh and ginger beer is yummy on its own.

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QUOTE (G&T @ Mar 31, 2011 -> 06:56 PM)
Moscow Mule is a winner. Now let me say that I hate vodka so I really don't need to be detecting any amount of it. I supplemented your recipe with maybe .5oz of simple and that did the trick. Very refreshing and absolutely dangerous.

Oh and ginger beer is yummy on its own.

 

I'm no fan of vodka either, but I like the Moscow Mule.

 

There are so many Ginger beers that work very differently in cocktails. om it's own I really like the heat and the bute of DG Jamaican gunner beer but I'm never too happy with it in cocktails. the Barritt's or Gislings ginger beers tend to work better for me.

 

We just bought a Soda Stream carbonation system gore the house that I haven't used yet, but I have some Janaican ginger beer syrup that I'm looking forward to making ginger beer with. If I can find the time I'll eventually try to come up with a scratch home ginger beer recipe now that I can carbonate soda.

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