What's your poison?

[teucer]

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! 

I would say that depends entirely on the whiskey, madame. There's nothing unladylike about drinking something strong enough and dry enough to know by its taste that you're drinking.

Fun story, tangentially related to that and to this thread in general: I was in a bar once with a couple friends, one of them a whiskey drinker who happened to be having a beer that night while I was having a Mahattan. My drink, being a cocktail, took the bartender a minute to make, so a short while after my friends sat down I joined them at the table. The whiskey-drinking friend pointed at the maraschino cherry in my drink and said, with a small but noticeable amount of contempt, "You got a girly drink?"

I looked at his beer and said (with a straight face, although he could tell I was joking since I'd be the last person on earth to insist on men being masculine) "This is about six times as strong as that beer, and dry enough that you can tell. So if my drink's not manly enough, I wonder what that says about yours?"

[Mercurielle]

I would say that depends entirely on the whiskey, madame. There's nothing unladylike about drinking something strong enough and dry enough to know by its taste that you're drinking.

Fun story, tangentially related to that and to this thread in general: I was in a bar once with a couple friends, one of them a whiskey drinker who happened to be having a beer that night while I was having a Mahattan. My drink, being a cocktail, took the bartender a minute to make, so a short while after my friends sat down I joined them at the table. The whiskey-drinking friend pointed at the maraschino cherry in my drink and said, with a small but noticeable amount of contempt, "You got a girly drink?"

I looked at his beer and said (with a straight face, although he could tell I was joking since I'd be the last person on earth to insist on men being masculine) "This is about six times as strong as that beer, and dry enough that you can tell. So if my drink's not manly enough, I wonder what that says about yours?"

haha!  I would have loved to have been present to note the look upon your friend's face; surely it was priceless. 

I will have to agree with you that whiskey is in an of itself, can be perfectly ladylike.  Not only the whiskey, but the manner in which it's enjoyed.  If I were throwing back shots of it like a guttersnipe, that would be pretty unladylike indeed, but sipping in a respectable manner is just that... respectable.

I've also found that a certain caliber of gentlemen tends to appreciate a dame who can handle her whiskey.

[Mrs. Sullivan]

I enjoy some liquors straight - rum, vodka,gin and tequila are all quite enjoyable without mixers provided that the liquor itself is of high quality, and sipped in a dainty manner.  It may be blasphemous to some, but I prefer a bone china teacup for refined booze sipping at home.

I also like rum mixed with a spot of hot English Breakfast tea.

[Mercurielle]

I enjoy some liquors straight - rum, vodka,gin and tequila are all quite enjoyable without mixers provided that the liquor itself is of high quality, and sipped in a dainty manner.  It may be blasphemous to some, but I prefer a bone china teacup for refined booze sipping at home.

I also like rum mixed with a spot of hot English Breakfast tea.

It's my opinion that a bone china teacup is more whimsical and charming, rather than blasphemous.  ...but then I'm the lady who drank champange out of a tall, slender bud vase... for the record, it IS flute-shaped (with a spherical base).  tee hee

I haven't tried rum in my tea, but I am enjoying a splash of Irish whiskey in my cafe americano at the moment! 

[PennyDreadful]

Jack Daniels is the house standard, mixed with coke or home made lemon soda.
Makers Mark if it is a drink where the bourbon is more prominent.
Guinness because it doesn't have wheat.

We have a bottle haunting the back of the liquor cupboard called Ausbach. It is some sort of German liquor, two shots will do in your legs. It does have a very unusual spicy (complex not hot) flavor.

[Mercurielle]

...home made lemon soda...

Sounds delicious!  How willing would you be to part with that recipe, hmm? 

[spcglider]

My poison is bacon.

-G

[vt13013]

My poison is bacon.

-G

Pork fat, most scrumptious...   

Cheers.

[Mercurielle]

My poison is bacon.

-G

Pork belly is tops!  (The picture is from the webcomic "Married to the Sea".  I have this blown up, printed out, and displayed on the front of my refrigerator.)

[spcglider]

Most excellent.

I shall print and do the same!

My wife will like this much.

-Gordon

[Mercurielle]

Most excellent.

I shall print and do the same!

My wife will like this much.

-Gordon

If you'd like, I can email you the file I used.  I inserted the picture file into MSword and made it as large as possible, to fill one standard sheet.  Just let me know, it would only take a moment and I'd be happy to do so!

[Professor Veritas]

It depends on the season and the reason:

In the winter - Gluvine (hot mulled wine) while reading in the study.

During a deep philosophical conversation - shots of near frozen Russian Vodka - hard and fast.

And while sweating over the workbench on the latest gadget or contraption - a pint of beer - preferably Czech Pilzen.

[karoshi]

Hot:

Decent Coffee, i get through rather a lot of instant coffee during working hours as it's a functional drink, but i crave fresh ground and pressed coffee
Tea, ofcourse particular to Earl Grey, Green, English Breakfast, Darjeeling, Jasmine

Alcoholic:

Vodka, i like to try the expensive ones but i've found Stolychnia or Russian Standard to be good if served very cold
Southern Comfort & Lemonade (tall glass > 1/2pint, 2 shots, lots of ice, fill with lemonade for a summer drink.. tastes nice, ignore the fact that it looks like a sample )
Port & Brandy (1/2 & 1/2 mixture works well in a hip flask for cold morning expeditions)
Asahi Super Dry, Hoegarden
Green Goblin Cider, St Helier's Pear Cider

Soft:

Vimto!
Dandelion & Burdock
German Coke / German Cherry Coke (look for cans or bottles with "0.3 Liter" on them or "Schutzmark" written under the logo, Coke products from different countries taste different and those from Germany taste far far better than those from the UK, honestly i'm not making this up!)

[spcglider]

I am quickly limiting my "poisons" as advanced chronology sets in.

When I was a drinking man (and an allergy to alcohol put the kibosh on that) I used to enjoy a good shot or two of Glenlivet.  Never had a bad bottle of "Uncle Glen".

As a treat, Rum and Ginger Ale was my preferred.

But those days are over now.

Back to bacon. 

-Gordon

[vt13013]

It depends on the season and the reason:

In the winter - Gluvine (hot mulled wine) while reading in the study.

During a deep philosophical conversation - shots of near frozen Russian Vodka - hard and fast.

And while sweating over the workbench on the latest gadget or contraption - a pint of beer - preferably Czech Pilzen.

Swedish Busgrogg warmed is most tasty in the cooling weather, made with a combination of cider and spirits.

Cheers.

[Hägglund]

glögg is very Decembery, but i couldn't wait for advent...I drank the first bottle two weeks ago!
julmust is an other must have in december, but that's not poisonous.

[insanity assasin]

Anything With Alcohol  .....sorry , im a bit of a drunk.......

[Mercurielle]

Anything With Alcohol  .....sorry , im a bit of a drunk.......

There are worse things to be! *sips her Irish whiskey* 

[rogue_designer]

*sips her Irish whiskey* 

Ah - a gel after my own heart. If I'm not having absinthe (or a red wine with my meal) then it's a good glass of the uisce beatha for me.

[MhicWombat]

glögg is very Decembery, but i couldn't wait for advent...I drank the first bottle two weeks ago!
julmust is an other must have in december, but that's not poisonous.

I love mulling wine 

Fetch aft the cardamom!

[PennyDreadful]

...home made lemon soda...

Sounds delicious!  How willing would you be to part with that recipe, hmm? 

Lemon Syrup

1/3 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
lemon zest

boil sugar, water, lemon zest 5 minutes.
Add lemon juice & cool

* Use 1-3 tablespoons of lemon syrup with seltzer water for soda or regular water for lemonade.

[Geisterlibrarian]

For the poster who asked about varieties and recommended meads - please see www.honeywine.com for a nice listing of several meaderies, as well as basic facts on the styles and varieties they offer, and sometimes reviews of the individual meads.

I'll personally recommend the Redstone Meadery - their Juniper Mountain is fresh and cut-grass like, not-so-sweet, and their Traditional Mountain is a bit sweeter, but less complicated.  They also have berry meads.

As should now be obvious, I like mead.   

I also, as will become obvious below, like sweet alcohols.
 
Jagermeister is nice, only as long as it is served very very cold. 
Jager with RedBull has sent my best friend cartwheeling UP a staircase... so I'm frightened of that.

Absinthe and Chartreuse make my teeth hurt.  I'd like to like them because of the associations, but sadly, it's a no-go for me.  And yes, I've had 'good' absinthe.  I can handle a sip or two, and then I start hallucinating licorice ropes.

Port is nice, Sherry is nicer, Plum Wine is nicest.

Sake is also very good, but makes me drunk as a skunk in very little time.

Van Gogh vodka is nice, and they have nice flavored vodka (please don't anyone kill me for liking flavored vodka...  )  The coffee one is SPLENDID.

Godiva chocolate liquour = heaven.

Strangest drink?  hehe

(it's a home invention)

Gather together Goldschlager (or cinnamon schnapps), Godiva WHITE Chocolate liquour, and grenadine (cherry syrup).

In a shot glass, carefully but quickly layer 3/4 shot Goldschlager, a thin layer of grenadine, and top off with the Godiva.   

Shoot it IMMEDIATELY.

The quickly and immediately are important, as the alcohol contents are such that the Godiva will begin to curdle if left alone.   

Once drunk, you can then alter the proportions pretty much endlessly.  I like a higher chocolate to cinnamon content, and my husband prefers the reverse.  Both of us go very easy on the grenadine tho - our best friend simply pours it in.

This was what came of my college education - a night of creating shots at random, some good, and some better left to the rubbish pile (such as the one which immediately preceded this - named 'sex with a large hairy mammal.'     )

[Rose Streiffe]

Absinthe, red wine, dark beer, Metaxa (a Greek muscat/rose petal brandy), MacAllen's scotch, single-batch bourbon, Ouzo, sherry and port. 

[Zorch]

Absinthe, red wine, dark beer, Metaxa (a Greek muscat/rose petal brandy), MacAllen's scotch, single-batch bourbon, Ouzo, sherry and port. 

All at once??  Wow.  I want to go to YOUR parties 

[Rose Streiffe]

That might count as a weekend in New Orleans for us, but sadly, no.  Not all at once.