What's your poison?

[Roderick Hellyer]

Scotch - single malt or blended in the study or in the evenings
red wine with dinner

seasons and places can choose the drink for you as well -Spring/ Summer fair is Bellini's in harrys bar or Pina Colodas in the tropics or Mohitos when in Miami

Cocktail party's call for Gin & Tonics twist of lime...

a good mead /ale or stout when the meal calls for it...

through all of the above is in moderation ...and never while driving...

for a celebration of the cocktail culture of the 1910's - 1920's see the thin man movies with William Powell & Myrna Loy ....amazing the amount of booze these folks went through in the course of a day.

Respectfully

R. Hellyer

[clockwork creation]

i love my ale and i could drink nothing but port but i have recently discoverd a cider called old rosie, its named after steam engine :D:D:D:D yay ... although i could kill for a glass of sloe gin

[Kor Greenfield]

Patxaran, what is a basque liquor made with endrina berries (I don't know how is in english... sloe??)

Yes! That's the word I was looking for! Sloe berries (I still have no idea what those are...) I must buy some of that and take it home with me when I return to the US. I am sure there is somewhere here in Bilbao that sells it.

[~Onironaut~]

Hahaha, I live near Bilbao but I don't know if somewhere can buy sloe berries. Usually families goes to the mountain to take themselves on september-october, but buy them... my father says that in Bilbao in some markets sells them but they're some expensive.

Are you in Bilbao now? o_O

But find Patxaran bottles is so easy XD even homemade Patxaran is better, of course.

[Kor Greenfield]

Yes, I'm in Bilbao until mid December, studying at the University of Deusto.

Of course the homemade patxaran is better, but I think I will just buy a bottle. I'm sure there's a store around here in the Sarriko district that has some. I will just have to find it!

[teucer]

Do you have a recipe for this "Patxaran"?

[~Onironaut~]

My dad's recipe:

- 1 wine glass (smaller than water glass) full of endrinas (or andrinas or sloe) berries.
- 1 wine glass full of orujo (liquor distilled from grape remains)
- Put them in a bottle and full until make 1 liter with anisette.
- 1/2 cinnamon stick
- 3-6 coffee seeds

Leave it macerate 3-6 months and then strain it.


I hope it understands  ó___òU
And I don't know any translation for orujo... sorry.

[postmodernpirate]

I tend to stick with the basics
- Single Malt scotch (most recently Lagavulin and Glenkinchie)
- Guiness
- Homebrewed Meads or Stouts as available.

Though recently I have been drinking 'Te Bheag' a blended scotch whiskey that's affordable and quite nice

[vt13013]

I know several people have mentioned vodka. I'm not a purist, but a very good vodka in the States is Hangar One. They're quality is excellent, they make the varieties in small batches, and they have some of the sexiest pot stills I've ever seen.

Here's their story if you are interested in not just the drink, but the craft behind it.
http://www.hangarone.com

Other adult beverages include a large number of Belgian beers, including the mystical lambics.

Cheers.

[teucer]

Hm. That does sound tasty.

I doubt I could find orujo in this country, but it sounds very similar to pisco, which is available.

[Daemon]

Scotch (recently discovered a cheap scotch that I actually like, Scoresby), Tawny Port
And in order of affordability:

Pelinkovec, Killepitsch, Chartreuse, Absinthe.

[Monti Christo]

Forty Creek is my new favorite Canadian Whisky. Give it a try if you can find it, it's won several awards. The owner also owns Kittling Ridge Winery in the Niagara wine region not far from where I live. He obviously pays attention to detail and takes pride in producing a quality whisky.

[Bracer]

How many people have said Arsnic already?

[DrTom]

Another vote for a good gin and tonic (heavy on the lime), though recently I've been enjoying Chaucer's mead a bit more regularly.  Absent those two, a microbrew red would be my drink of choice.

[Engineer]

Depending on the circumstances, the company I am with and what I am eating a the time:

Dry white wine - Sauvingnon Blanc (or a good quality Pinot Grigio on a hot summer afternoon)
Full bodied red wines - Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot or Shiraz grapes

English real ales

Single malt whiskey (preferably of the Islay type - nice smokey peat taste)

Calvados

Pimms

Another big vote for G&T - as a variant try adding Rose's Lime Cordial to in the same quantity as gin, before adding a dash of tonic to taste

Cocktails - Singapore Sling or Cosmopoliton


Definately not lager unless:
a) in a hot climate or
b) to accompany a curry (Cobra beer) or Chinese meal (Tsingtao beer)

Dave

[groomporter]

Lately it has been a new gin called "New Amsterdam"

Or Louis Jadot Beaujolais-villages

Or cocktails like a Manhattan, or Old Fashioned

[Alexander Edmund Clough]

If it's a wine with food, depending on what the meal is, then:
Dry White
Full bodied red - exceedingly partial to a nice Cabernet Merlot.

Also partial to a Rose for those "sitting out in the sunshine with a nice glass of wine" moments.

Other beverages (in no particular order):
Real Ale
Scotch single malt / single cask if I can get it. (Glenfarclas Cask Strength is awesome).
Pimms on a hot summer day
Good Medium-dry or Dry Cider on a hot summer day (if I don't fancy a pimms)
G&T. Must try it with Roses's lime cordial...
Mead (Lurgashall Winery do some lovely meads - http://www.lurgashall.co.uk/index.cfm?curcatID=3&fuseaction=browse)
Port
Pernod
Absinthe (have a bottle of Jade PF 1901 in the cupboard. Definate acquired taste though)
Jaegermeister
Cocktails - VERY DRY martini, Margarita (done my father-in-law's way, nicknamed the Viking Maragarita 'cause you have a couple, go to stand up and suddenly realise that you must have been whacked around the head by a large angry viking as your legs buckle under you).

[groomporter]

VERY DRY martini, Margarita (done my father-in-law's way, nicknamed the Viking Maragarita 'cause you have a couple, go to stand up and suddenly realise that you must have been whacked around the head by a large angry viking as your legs buckle under you).

I've decided martinis should not be "dirty" as has become popular in some areas lately
-but they should have just a -little- schmutz (olive juice ;-)

[living_soul12066]

Bailey's Irish Cream, and anything you care to mix it with. I'm partial to mixing it with milk.

[von Corax]

Patxaran, what is a basque liquor made with endrina berries (I don't know how is in english... sloe??)

Yes! That's the word I was looking for! Sloe berries (I still have no idea what those are...) I must buy some of that and take it home with me when I return to the US. I am sure there is somewhere here in Bilbao that sells it.

I'm fairly certain the sloe is a type of plum, and according to Wikipedia (for what it's worth) they're native to Europe, western Asia and northwestern Africa, and have been naturalized in parts of the eastern US. (On the map it looks like New York/Virginia/North Carolina, or thereabouts.)

I doubt I could find orujo in this country, but it sounds very similar to pisco, which is available.

You could also try grappa, which is distilled from grape pomace, the pulp and skins which are left in fermenting red wine to give it colour.

[Mercurielle]

For day to day imbibing I tend to favour Jameson whiskey.  When I can afford it, I love Chartreuse (Absinthe too, but I honestly prefer the flavour of Chartreuse over it).  Wine I enjoy with meals, but seldom touch otherwise.  I'm also fond of Belgian Trappist & Trappist "style" ales.  Lambics, too.  Ice cold vodkas and champagnes are tasty as well.  Recently, I've gotten very into Campari & Ketel One.  Delicious!

[Antipenny]

Tequila. Straight up. No training wheels. Not terribly lady-like. Sorry. And one does have to be very careful to mind one's limitations. No shots, I'm mild-mannered and quiet. Three shots, I'm the life of the party. Four shots, I am truly obnoxious. More, and I am giggling jello with a very, very bad morning ahead of me. 

[Mercurielle]

Whiskey isn't particularly ladylike either (especially as I prefer it neat or with just a splash of soda water), so it's nice to have some company in that somewhat unladylike boat! 

[Antipenny]

Next time we imbibe, we should toast to such unladylike indulgences. Cheers!

[Mercurielle]

Next time we imbibe, we should toast to such unladylike indulgences. Cheers!

I agree!  I shall make good on that oath on the morrow... I'm expecting a gift in the shape of a bottle of Irish whiskey in the mail tomorrow.  Who says a lady prefers flowers? 

(Actually, I've never received flowers.... so as of tomorrow I can say that I've gotten whiskey from an admirer before I've ever gotten flowers from one.  haha!!  I find that extremely amusing....)