Gin and Tonic fans? What's up with tonic water these days?

[WinterDeere]

Many, many moons ago a bunch of us rowdy kids were on a long road trip in my old VW bus, when the odometer turned over to all zeros. We stopped, and poured some of our Johnny Walker Red into the tank to celebrate. Much later, I had the carb apart for rebuild, and there were little globules of the Red floating on top of the gas in the fuel bowl. The non-alcohol component of the whiskey I assumed.

Even whiskey is approximately 50% - 60% water!

 

[Tinhack]

“Yes, vermouth can go bad. While it has a longer shelf life than regular wine due to its higher alcohol content, once opened, it should be refrigerated and is best used within a few months. Unopened, vermouth can last for several years if stored properly at cellar temperature”

I haven’t tested this since I use the hell out of vermouth.

The same goes for Saki.

 

[WinterDeere]

Agreed with all that and wanted to include the brandy on the lower right. It's just too sweet.

Oh, just caught this. I agree with you, I don't drink a lot of schnappes or cordials due to them being pretty sugary, but taste preference wasn't why I had suggested dumping it.

When you think about what makes food or drink spoil, it comes down to water, sugar, and acids. If the first two are high and the third is low, you're going to get something undesirable growing in there, eventually. Sugary low ABV schnappes seem like the ideal breeding ground for something bad, if left years on the shelf with some air in the bottle.

Unopened, basically zero air in the bottle, I'd bet it could be good for 10 - 20 years. But once opened, I'd think shelf life goes down to single-digit years, maybe even just months for things like Irish cream.

 

[Runner]

At the risk of being thrown out of this thread... I admit that I like the cinnamon based bourbons as a desert after dinner sip... The honey based ones are not bad either...

Zipping up my flame-retardant suit!!! ...and sipping on said bourbon!!!

Me too. In the shop fridge I have beer and various Scotch and cinnamon whiskeys in the freezer. Shooters of the Scotch or whiskeys with beer chaser can be just the ticket after a hard hot day. The blackberry brandy in the house is for rum runners which is my favorite foo foo drink: gold rum, blackberry brandy, banana liqueur, grenadine, ice in a blender.

I like all the burbons and whiskeys straight except the Seagrams is for 7 and 7's and whiskey sours. The Makers works for an interesting flavor in a whiskey sour too.

 

[ultrarunner]

So many have just one favorite…

The commander was a very specific Martini, retired telco was old fashion.

Another Navy man was Wild Turkey and grandma here Early Times and 7-up…

Few beer and wine drinkers in my older circle of friends…

 

[Duds13]

So I found a local source for Buffalo Trace bourbon which has been hard to get. I live in a rural area but about twenty miles away is a small town with a liquor store and they always seem to have a shelf full of this bourbon for reasonable price ($38 for one liter)

I have heard that Blantons (over hyped & over priced imo) taste similar to Buffalo Trace.

“No, Buffalo Trace and Blanton's are not the same, though they are related. Buffalo Trace Distillery is the physical distillery where Blanton's bourbon is produced. Blanton's is a brand of single-barrel bourbon whiskey, and it is one of the bourbons made at Buffalo Trace. So, while Buffalo Trace is the distillery, Blanton's is a specific product made”

Blantons is the bourbon that got me into bourbon. It is very good, but at the old price of $60 ish per bottle. Where I live it is now very hard to find, and when you do find it, it is $120 a bottle. I've even seen places selling it for $160 bottle.

I only need two more letters in the bottle stoppers to spell Blantons, then I'll probably never buy it again unless the price comes back down, lol.

Same for Buffalo Trace, used to be $25 a bottle, now it's $50 here.

 

[WinterDeere]

Same for Buffalo Trace, used to be $25 a bottle, now it's $50 here.

We see that a lot, here. A new brand hits the shelves at a great price, and then shoots up as soon as poeple realize it's actually pretty good.

 

[tradosaurus]

We see that a lot, here. A new brand hits the shelves at a great price, and then shoots up as soon as poeple realize it's actually pretty good.

Or is over hyped. For me I can find a good tasting bourbon for $30-$40 for a standard size bottle.
Just finished a $160 bottle of bourbon and while it was very good not worth that price.

 

[Torvy]

Same here. To look at it, you would think I drink a lot, but actually, that has all been collected over the years and hardly ever used (except for the Scotch and whiskey, he, he).

By the way, if anyone has any ideas on what mixed drinks can be made with only what you see in the picture, I'm open to suggestions.
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Some of that reminds me of my youth. One of my uncles had a large collection on random bottles. The flavored brandies were often sampled by the kids, unbeknownst to the adults.

Tequila and Triple Sec are the base for Margheritas. Typically with lime juice, but I suppose lemon would be interesting.

With the various whiskey, have a tasting with some friends, relatives and/or neighbors. It's always fun to shock an 'expert' when they pick a bottle other than their 'best'.

 

[Torvy]

“Yes, vermouth can go bad. While it has a longer shelf life than regular wine due to its higher alcohol content, once opened, it should be refrigerated and is best used within a few months. Unopened, vermouth can last for several years if stored properly at cellar temperature”

I haven’t tested this since I use the hell out of vermouth.

Where do you buy it? Locally, there are really only Gallo and one other common cheap brand I don't recall.