Booze thread?

[Twaun007]

As I surf the interweb I happen to have a Gin/Tonic in my hand(only the finest of coarse Bombay Sapphire).

I was wondering what most of my fellow gamers drink as they carry on through there interweb surfing/time in the real world looking up mtg stuff?

Anything???????

[Dr. Teeth]

Jagermeister and tonic. It is the best.

[GrandpaBelcher]

If I have the time and ambition, I never turn down a Tom Collins.  Usually I make them in bulk.  Once when we ran out of lemon juice we used extra cherry syrup and invented the Phil Collins.  Then when we ran out of gin and started using vodka and lime juice with the cherry syrup, we called those the Ruslan Salei after the mighty Belarusian defenseman and his mighty red and green flag.  They're all pretty good.

Otherwise beer's good for me.

And Jello shots and cement mixers.

And Jagerbombs.

Whatever.

[FTKzak]

Screwdrivers made with grapefruit juice are pretty good...6:3 shots of Juice/Vodka (100PF) with a half shot of lemon juice. Pretty tasty stuff.

Also, Guinness. Cans poured into a chilled glass are better than the bottles.

[The Chosen One]

It varies, I go from beer(Dogfish Head is one of my favorites, or Long Trail) to a good dry red wine(I have been liking the Austrailian wines alot recently), or when I have the cash a glass of The Mcallan "neat"-awesome scotch, I highly recommend it.

[Jacob Orlove]

I heard rumors from Kowal that people were mixing Bombay Sapphire with Moxie at the waterbury, in order to drink "Mox Sapphires".

[Grand Inquisitor]

As the night progresses:

Allagash White
Dogfish IPA
Newcastle
Rubinov & Monster (refresher around 1am)
Rob Roy
Scotch neat
water

I think when I played smennen's ichorid I was around Rubinov<>Roby Roy, which would explain the poor play, but yet to be seen flury of off-color comments.

[Hi-Val]

There's not a lot that beats gin&tonic or chartreuse (especially chartreuse). Mmm, I love my hyssop-flavored spirits. Bourbon is nice and the good stuff isn't that expensive either. Good wine is magnificent and can also be had cheaply. I am at a threshold now though where I don't have the money or the people around me to drink wine a lot; $10 bottles every day tend to add up and it's not like you can reseal it and put it on a shelf like you can with, say, Beefeater's.

But then again, I drink King Cobra 40s so I probably shouldn't be listened to.

[Mr. Nightmare]

In between Magical road trips, I occasionally make trips across the Northeastern US to go to Brewfest events.  If it's worth me driving to, you gotta know I enjoy an excellent hoppy beverage now and again.  I'm on a Witt/IPA trip right now, although until recently I wanted any ale I could get.

As for liquor, pour me a well made 7 and 7 anyday and I'll be a happy camper.  Add a bit of lime and I'll be your best friend.

[MadManiac21]

Having just got my bartending license, I'm gonna have to go with any of the LI Ice Tea drinks or Windex Shots (Kamikaze + blue Curacao).

I've found these drinks best used when playing "Drink till I forget my name".

[Yare]

I heard rumors from Kowal that people were mixing Bombay Sapphire with Moxie at the waterbury, in order to drink "Mox Sapphires".

And how did that turn out?  Moxie is repulsive by itself.

[netherspirit]

On the rare occasion that I have alcohol I usually just drink a bottle of Becks to wet my appetite a bit.

[ReAnimator]

(only the finest of coarse Bombay Sapphire).

If you think Bombay is the best you really need to try more gins. My personal favorite right now is Hendricks from Scotland, it's a little more pricey but the difference in flavour is huge.

(not that Bombay is bad, but it certainly isn't the best or even close)

[Hi-Val]

I find Bombay to be quite enjoyable. They're one of the only gins on the market that still uses a gin box in distillation, which provides purer essential flavors. In particular, it has a really clean juniper that I like. Tanqueray No. 10 is also great, made with fresh herbs and has a more pronounced coriander flavor. Both are pretty expensive; if I'm going to have gin and tonic and pass out beside the pool, I'm fine with Gordon's, which is both cheap and good and made on appointment to Her Majesty, the Queen.

I don't know that there's a "best" gin. The ingredients are diverse enough that individual gin makers have tremendous latitude on what they want to pronounce in their gins. One can have something intense and peppery or mellow and piney and they'll appeal to different parts of the palette.

[defector]

Vodka Tonic, preferably Russian Ice or Russian Standard though i willing to deal with Absolut. On some days it could be any vodka and skip the tonic:)
defector

[Hell of a Hat]

Jack and coke (just about the only time I drink soda).

[orgcandman]

I don't understand how awesome Moxie is, please enlighten me, so that I may partake of its refreshing and crisp flavor.

Moxie is incredible. Most people who spit out moxie do so because their palette is overwhelmed by the earthy flavors. In general, one must take care to properly sample each note from the symphony of flavors a sip of moxie provides.

Now, as for what I drink:

- For beers, nothing beats a properly chilled Bass or Long Trail. I appreciate the creaminess of old speckled hen, and the deepness of new castle brown. Also, I enjoy a shipyard every now and again.

- For ciders, I've made my own with some success. I find that with an unpasturized starter, and some good baker's yeast, I've been able to make some really good stuff. Not so strong, but definitely flavorful.

- For vodkas, I like Triple8 and Kettle One. I'm gonna make my own vodka soon, however.

- For rums, nothing beats Ron Ricardo from the bahamas. Since we can't get that here in the US, I like my moonshine rum (molasses + water + yeast == good).

- For gin, I'm a huge fan of bombay sapphire.

- For tequila, I'm really stuck between Milaggro and Heradura.

- For scotch, nothing beats Laphroaig. Belvenie, Dewers, and Glenfidditch are all ok.

- For burbon, I've only ever had Old Granddad 114.

- For whiskey, I have some rye whiskey which is pretty good (can't remember the name), and jamesons.

Now, for mixed drinks I enjoy making:
- Carribou lou. 151, pineapple, and malibu. I usually make it with my own rum since mine comes out around 160 proof (I don't have the facilities to proof over 160 and then water it down to exactly 160, so mine comes out in a range of 158 to 162).

- Rye whiskey and Root Beer. WIN

- Jack and Coke. If I'm in the mood for a sweet drink, I'll get this.


Also, if anyone is interested in making your own alcohol, send me a PM. I can describe the process, and how to safely create and enjoy your own hooch! Everyone should try it at least once, imho.

[Twaun007]

- Rye whiskey and Root Beer. WIN

Also, if anyone is interested in making your own alcohol, send me a PM. I can describe the process, and how to safely create and enjoy your own hooch! Everyone should try it at least once, imho.

Root Beer......I'm quite interested in this one and a pm is on the way. 

[LotusHead]

After selling $700 worth of magical cards before spending a week in London, I drank Guiness, every hour, on the hour (and I paid for maybe half my own drinks.  Those Brits LOVE Americans. At least pre-911).

Currently: Cheap Vodka. As I can't tell the difference between that and good Vodka.


EDIT: On that trip to London, I went to a Swedish House Party and me a lot of really nice people there.

One of them was a guy named Kevin, the electrician, and I remember him at 6am that morning (yes, the party was still going on by 10am) wondering about what he would do about work the next day, as he was as drunk as the rest of us. 
Turns out, he is at the bottom of this list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unusual_deaths
I remember showing him my 3 Magic Decks I brought with me. Powered Casual Enchantress Secret Force SliverQueen deck, a pre-constructed UW deck, and my Common RG Beats deck that I've had assembled since 94. Everyone had a wonderful time at this party.

[orgcandman]

necro'ing the thread to say that I've finished racking my first 6gal cider batch of the year.

28 days and counting until I get to bottle 128 bottles of CIDERY GOODNESS.


For those folks who have never had hard cider, I'd like to describe for you the taste. However, words in any language don't currently exist to explain how much incredible awesomeness you're missing. It's absolutely a MUST for anyone who has the legal and religious ability to quaff alcoholic beverage.

[TJ-Whoopy]

Sam Addams Hefeweizen.

Orgcandman can tell you what I use to open them

[Hi-Val]

necro'ing the thread to say that I've finished racking my first 6gal cider batch of the year.

28 days and counting until I get to bottle 128 bottles of CIDERY GOODNESS.


For those folks who have never had hard cider, I'd like to describe for you the taste. However, words in any language don't currently exist to explain how much incredible awesomeness you're missing. It's absolutely a MUST for anyone who has the legal and religious ability to quaff alcoholic beverage.

I love cider. I have a hard time finding actually dry cider. Woodchuck's, Hornsbys, K, Wyatts, etc are all still holding onto some residual sugar, even Strongbow. Suggestions from people on a good, DRY cider?

And orgcandman, did you press your own apples or use storebought cider or what?

[orgcandman]

Unfortunately, I have space constraints at the moment, so I can't press my own apples. Even if I could, I don't think I'd want to unless I also had the equipment to pasteurize. I used early harvest cider from a local farm (I know one of the guys there, so I can say "Hey, I'll give you $30 for 6 USG of pasteurized early harvested apple cider." For those who'd like to try their hands at cider making without easy access to a farm, you can either wait until cider season (mid-late september), OR you can get the Motts Apple Juice which is "all natural," has no preservatives, and has the cloudy, unfiltered look to it. I've used it once before, and while you lose a bit of robustness of the apple flavor, you still get really close to what fresh apple cider will give you. I like to pitch either Ale yeast or Champagne yeast, with preference towards the Champagne yeast for its dry and sparkling qualities.

The reason that I wouldn't want to press my own is very simple: Apples, as with many other fruits, have a certain level of wild yeasts, which can impart an off taste in the finished product. Pasteurization wipes out the wild yeasts so that a brewer can use his own predictable strain (Currently, I've got two really good strains I've been using. A really good distiller's yeast strain, and a champagne yeast strain).

The dryness aspect of cider is the most important part, even more important than the resulting alcohol. When I make cider, I like to start at a SG of 1.055, and ferment it out to a bottling SG of .995 which means two things: 1) it's VERY dry. 2) it's got a lot of ABV.

As for commercial ciders, I generally avoid them like the plague. I find that while they technically qualify as a cider, I really like the new england style and true style ciders best. What's the difference, you ask?

New england style is characterized by a very dry mouthfeel, and a robust flavor including a strong apple character. There isn't any commercial examples of New England style cider, but the cider I make attempts to reach that type of a mouthfeel and flavor. New England style, however, requires a starting SG of 1.06, whereas I only achieve 1.055 (I refuse to add to the cider to up the SG just so I can qualify, however).

True cider is characterized by a semi-dry mouthfeel, but also by the presence of a large amount of tannins. The flavor is extremely robust, but can vary between unpalatable to robust apple character with hints of oak and leather. There are quite a few commercial examples of true cider, and those are all pretty good. I find, however, that many of the commercial producers bottle at an earlier stage so that the cider has a sweet kiss. I'm not a fan, so I'm pretty much stuck with making my own as the only cider I get. I usually make 12-18 USG a year though, which works out to 256-384 bottles.

As for commercial ciders that I've tried, wookchuck's is ok but I find that both it and Hardcore make a cider which tastes really close to apple juice for me. I've seen Wyatts in the store, and am aching to buy it, but I'm not keeping my expectations for really good dry cider held high.

-Aaron

[justaguy]

Currently: Cheap Vodka. As I can't tell the difference between that and good Vodka.

Same here; straight shots of Skol give me strength to fight off internet trolls.  It's only ten dollars for a handle and lasts forever (because it tastes like crap and is eighty-proof).

When I have some cash, there's a CO microbrewer, New Belgium, that puts out "Fat Tire" and "Sunshine Wheat" ales that I HIGHLY reccomend you try to locate in your region (or get while you're out here skiing).

[Almighty]

Aaron: please allow me to claim at least one of those bottles. I've never liked the commercial ciders due to it tasting like candy, and I am very interested in seeing for myself what you have come up with. Your description is extremely on the ball to what I look for in beverages.

By the way, have you every tried Black Dog Ale by the Spanish Brewing Co.? It reminds me of a hoppier Bass; right up my alley and I'm sure something that would be right up yours too.


And for the record, I have recently discovered how excellent Irish Car Bombs are.

[The Chosen One]

And for the record, I have recently discovered how excellent Irish Car Bombs are.

car bombs rock, Ive had a few bars try to make them different ways....... how did you have them?

[lewismd]

When I have some cash, there's a CO microbrewer, New Belgium, that puts out "Fat Tire" and "Sunshine Wheat" ales that I HIGHLY reccomend you try to locate in your region (or get while you're out here skiing).

New Belgium has just recently, in the last year or so, been making its way to Chicago. So now I don't need to do any bootlegging to get myself a Fat Tire. It is in my top 3 favorite beers, and since I drink beer about 75% of the time, that answers the OP's question. Their new light beer Skinny Dip is also great, and one of the best light beers I have ever had.

Also, there is a Chicago microbrewer called Goose Island that makes some great beers. The Honker's Ale in particular is excellent. The 312 and Nut Brown are very good as well.

[Almighty]

Chosen One: I have been making them myself more often than not. I always go higher on the Jameson to balance out the sweetness of the Guiness a bit better. I find it to be much smoother going down.


lewismd: Goose Island IPA was more often than not my go-to beer of choice when I lived in IA. It's not as hoppy as East Coast IPAs, and I definetly enjoyed that aspect of it.

Of course, the hoppiest I've tried is Dogfish 60 min IPA. It's just a bit too much for me to enjoy.

[lewismd]

I've never been a huge IPA fan, I like hoppy beers, just not THAT hoppy or sort of sour. I've had one at Townhouse brewery in Minneapolis called the Imperial IPA that was about 10% alcohol and pure hops. It destroys your taste buds. If I have to pick a beer, it will be an amber more often than not. Honkers is great because it has that great amber taste, similar to Fat Tire, but is more hoppy, and a bit less malty.

On a different note, I wish I was still living in Europe where I could get a great bottle of wine for a couple Euro. Much harder to find good wine for cheap in the states. Also, you cannot get Luxembourgish white wine or sparkling wine here, which sucks. I have to make do with French reds, but even they are a lot more expensive.

[Twaun007]

I just bought a 6 pack of Old Milwaukee for $1.99. I am syked!