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Originally Posted by sloan_8013 LOL. "You know the one that was all like FWISSSH." That cartoon is goin' on the cube wall first thing Monday.
Thanks! Roast Beef (aka "Beef") is my favorite Achewood character. He has hell of depression, but he's an awesome guy. I love Onstad's characters - he also has blogs for several of the characters, and it's amazing how he can get into character for each of them. There's a whole rich universe in Achewood that he's got going on. Onstad began Achewood in October 2001 and it's been going strong ever since. I'm a huge fan.

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Originally Posted by CologneJunkie I'm on a limited budget, and liquor is an indulgence I allow myself (my dad always laughs that my two vices are both made of liquid). My budget Scotch of choice is Cutty Sark. I will get the occasional bottle of Glenlivet though if I have some spare change burning a hole in my pocket.
I also like sipping on Crown Royal. One of my friends gives me a bottle of Crown every year for my birthday . Miss Junkie:
If you are on a limited budget, you may also want to try Famous Grouse scotch. It's not very pricey, and it is very good, IMHO. Also, it was Kate Hepburn's favorite, so that gives it a bit of pedigree.
Prosit.
Joe
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Originally Posted by CoTHukoB That's a fine post, Joe. And i like your Bel Ami review.
Opposite of you, however, i much prefer liquors on the clear side. In Holland, i developed a liking for jenever/genever which supplanted vodka for me. Hard to believe, eh? Wines i'm still okay with, though not as okay as i was in my twenties. For gods' sakes it took me ten years to figure out my favorite wines, i hope to still enjoy them awhile. But ... time's a bastard, and i'm no longer twenty-five.
edit: postscript
PS: 'spose i should clarify: genever is not exactly white, but it just doesn't taste brown to me. CothukoB:
Thanks for the compliment on Bel Ami, sometimes my best work is based upon fond memory. As to Genever, well you've got me there: I have never heard of it, and don't know if you can get it in the States: tell us more: what's the grain? What does it taste like? What is in it?
Thanks, and kindest regards,
Joe

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Originally Posted by Joe_Frances Miss Junkie:
If you are on a limited budget, you may also want to try Famous Grouse scotch. It's not very pricey, and it is very good, IMHO. Also, it was Kate Hepburn's favorite, so that gives it a bit of pedigree.
Prosit.
Joe Thanks for the suggestion! I'll definitely search that out!

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Originally Posted by Joe_Frances Genever, well you've got me there: I have never heard of it, and don't know if you can get it in the States: tell us more: what's the grain? What does it taste like? What is in it? Mmm, i can try. First, let me quickly pop in a few facts from Wiki:
Jenever (also known as genever or jeniever), is the juniper-flavored and strongly alcoholic traditional liquor of the Netherlands and Flanders, from which gin has evolved. Believed to have been invented by a Dutch chemist and alchemist named Sylvius de Bouve (in Latin: Franciscus Sylvius), it was first sold as a medicine in the late 16th century. In the 17th century it began to be popular for its flavor. Traditional jenever is still very popular in the Netherlands and Flanders. European Union regulations specify that only liquor made in these two areas can use the name jenever.
Now how to describe it? Mmm hmmm, somehow 'smooth' and 'malt' don't cover it. It would be hard for me to describe what a curry rice noodle dish tastes like to someone who's never had curry ... or rice noodles. Similar problem here.
BOLS is a large commercial enterprise and they crank out lots of these things in what used to be green glass bottles, so i imagine all them fancy, big-city (haha) shops might stock it. However, i still have a keepsake from my trip to Holland ... it's a clay bottle sealed with wax, "Zeer Oude Genever, 10 jaar" numbered 02711, 84 proof, and i rationed it for a good long time savoring every drop. It was one from this distillery (open to home page, click "Genevas" after a look):
http://www.de-ooievaar.nl/english/genevas.php
Lately i'm staying away from liquors of all kinds, but i s'pose one can mix a genever. Ideally it's kept in the freezer much like vodka and taken neat. Happy tasting, Ching-ching!

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I did some looking after the mention of genever as well. So I'm tossing the trivia I discovered into the kitty:
The good folks who make Ketel One started in the genever business. (and still are in it, from what I can tell)

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Originally Posted by Joe_Frances If you are on a limited budget, you may also want to try Famous Grouse scotch. It's not very pricey, and it is very good, IMHO. Also, it was Kate Hepburn's favorite, so that gives it a bit of pedigree.
As to Genever, well you've got me there: I have never heard of it, and don't know if you can get it in the States: tell us more: what's the grain? What does it taste like? What is in it?
Thanks, and kindest regards,
Joe I can second the Famous Grouse suggestion. My dad's favourite blended scotch.
There are some wonderful single malts out there. The wildest has to be Talisker from the only distillery on the Isle of Skye. As well as a typically unique take on the cream of the barley, the water, and the peat - there is a distinct note of the sea and iodine-esque seaweed. It is fierce and beautiful.
Genever is a great spirit. As CoTHukoB says it is hard to describe. Somewhere between vodka and gin is a crude way of conveying something about it. It was was the father of English gin. It's more rounded and less botanical than English gins. There's quite a difference between the new and old genevers; the oude is smoother and more complex.
(Probably sacreligiously) there are flavoured genevers and I used to get very silly on something called genever berries (probably mispronounced) in the Ultimae Hallucinatie in Brussels - happy days!

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I can't stand whiskey or gin. Hate me if you will, but a sip of these and I will throw up. I like Rum, beer, Tequila, champagne ok, but I got tired of the headaches and the hangovers.

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Originally Posted by michaeld39 ... Hallucinatie in Brussels - happy days! On Place Royale? Between the Beaux-Arts and Musique? Bloody hell, and i missed this gem? Made a right out of the museum and headed for the Sablon ... oh well, thanks for mentioning it - might be i'll have an opportunity to pop in soon.
PS: thanks for the added color and information on genever, good words there.

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A whisky i'd recommend to anyone is a 1990 limited release lagavulin finished in pedro ximeniz sherry barrels it's still about and goes for about £42.00 but it's the big peaty smoky islay taste sweetened to an almost chocolate raisin type finish superb stuff .

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Originally Posted by CoTHukoB On Place Royale? Between the Beaux-Arts and Musique? Bloody hell, and i missed this gem? Made a right out of the museum and headed for the Sablon ... oh well, thanks for mentioning it - might be i'll have an opportunity to pop in soon. Close - it's on rue Royale but right on the other side, past les Jardins Botanique on the left. In a city of great bars this is my favourite - a stunning fin de siecle gem.