I am a big Irish whiskey drinker, so my recommendations are as follows.

Bushmill 18 year old is a great whiskey. I received a bottle of it as a Xmas present this year and it is great. It is extremely smooth and you get a very distinct vanilla after taste. If you every looking for a great whiskey this is it.

Jameson's 12 year is the best bang for you buck in my opinion. In Idaho it only costs $50 a bottle, so you should be able to pick it up cheaper in other states. It is extremely smooth and is a great whiskey for a special occasion like a birthday.

I drink a lot Vodka, its my go to drink. I just drink it straight.

I have never understood the love for Stoli which is short for Stolichnaya, right? Just want to make sure because its the only vodka that I have ever thrown up.

My favorite standard vodka that I like is Ketel One (sometimes i switch it to Finlandia).

I would also love to do a taste test with my friends on all the vodkas. I know it would end horribly (including myself). You really cant taste the difference for most vodka. And If you mix vodka with juice then you might as well buy the cheapest you can.

WAT?

?

My main liquor is vodka on the rocks.

Right now my favorite is Cirroc which is distilled from grapes.
I also like Chopin, a potato vodka.

I agree with this 100%. Having spent a considerable amount of time living in Russia and drinking [real] Russian vodkas, this is one of the best vodkas IMO. In fact a while back I began keeping all of my empties and I have a ton in my garage, several of which are actually Russian bottles I had my buddy bring when he flew in for my wedding.

I almost always do shots with pickles.

Guess I'll have to see about trying this one, but...wtfpickels?

Yep, pickles as chasers for vodka are pretty common among Russians. Other things are meats, sausage, etc.

In Soviet Russia, you chase vodka with pickles.
In Soviet America, vodka pickles you!

No, not at all. Grey Goose is horribly overrated.

My go to liquor has traditionally been Dickel.

Now that I live in Cali, however, I've acquired a taste for that cactus juice.

I keep a bottle of Sauza Hornitos in the house. It's one of the best values around for 100% agave tequila; particularly if purchased from Costco.

It is now my choice for weekend nightcap as a straight up snort.

It's prolly the only thing I like from France.

Truth be told though, I'm a gin guy - not a vodka so meh.

I mentioned this in the beer thread but, check it out, I think its the nuts for summer drinking....

Kev,

It's no level. Grey Goose is a mid-grade vodka that's marketed as an ultra-premium, and the guy who thought to do that is rolling in dough because of it. It's not bad, but it commands a price far above its objective quality. Of course, ALL premium vodka commands a prices far above its objective quality, imo. If you like Grey Goose, give Christiania (better product) or Rain (comparable if not better, and cheaper) a try.

What I have noticed is that typically the people who like Grey Goose, or simply "Goose" as they call it, are those who like it simply because MTV says it's what rich people drink. In fact most cannot tell the difference between "Goose" and HRD if you were to say, take an empty bottle and fill it with the latter. I actually tried this once and everyone was loving how smooth the "Goose" was; funniest damn thing I've ever seen and people were really convinced that it was great.

Also I like Monopolowa.

Kickin' Chicken Wild Turkey 101, the only cheap Bourbon worth a damn that's left. Jack and Jim just got hitched in Cali.

Thanks for the input guys. I'm not really a vodka drinker but, I do remember the Grey Goose being better than Absolut, imo.

I mostly use vodka for bloody mary's in my house, so a high grade vodka I dont think is necessary. (i have a couple bottles of smirnoff).

I'll drink the gin thru the spring and summer and have the bloodys in the fall.

I do enjoy vodka but I have noticed a law of diminishing returns as you move up the price ladder. Whenever I drink vodka, it's either with club soda (tonic has sugar and quinine which masks flavor) or as an extra dry martini. Therefore, I can certainly distinguish the taste among the mid-grades (e.g. Stoli, Ketal One, Absolut, Goose) but once you get into premiums and super-premiums there doesn't seem to be much difference. For instance, I don't think anything really separates Stoli Elit, Krowleska, or Mezzaluna. Once you get above that $10-$12 price point, it all seems the same.

Contrast that with the fact that the difference between a 12 year old and an 18 year old Irish whiskey or Scotch is very noticeable. The jump in price here is much more justifiable.

Ok my bar with pics.

Tequila's

Anejo



El Corralejo (red bottle) MMMM great tequila on the rock served cold mmmmm pricy depending on where you get it 40-70 a bottle hard to get in most places.

Dona Engraceia ( You can only get this in Mexico it's not exported. ) Very good very smooth anejo 65 bucks a bottle at the factory where it's made.



My Reposado's



El corralejo (blue bottle) a little cheaper and not even close to the anejo but still great.

Hacienda la flor only avaliable in mexico 75 a bottle. anejo is 105 a bottle mmmmmmmm

Don Agavito I don't know how it tastes (unopened I just like the bottle)

My tribute gun to pancho villa the pistol shaped hijos de villa



The garbage I serve for mixed drinks and visitors



1800 silver for margarita's and some junkie 10 dollar stuff for jello shots.


Flavored Tequilas



lluvia de estrellas almond and chocolate flavored tequilas....

AWESOME TASTE JUST AWESOME 28 bucks a bottle. almond is 30 % alcohol chocolate cafe is 14 % good for making pancakes mmmmm

I also have a bottle of patron and cafe flavored tequila think tequila and kalula mixed.
I hate what patron has done in the tequila world so I wont' buy it anymore.

My scotch



Just that and dewar's on the ice when i'm having a stogie


My gins for summertime Gin and lemonade's and olive straight up martinis



And now my mixers



Standard
Malibu
Creme de menth (oooooo I love Grasshoppers)
Crown (standard for guests)
and Raynal an expensive looking and sounding piece of 9 dollar junk for visitors




butterscotch for slippey nipples
cranberry stoli for manhattens
Kalula for my white russians
and Hypnotic for the girls (they love it)



More junk for guests
Pina colada mixes
Junk tequila and rums for mixers
Appletini mix
Garbage vodka for the guests



Standard flavored rums for my guests

Black Cherry is the best.



My fav drink to give my guests a taste of is AMARULA
a south african fruit cream drink you cannot get in the states. I try to keep 2 bottles in my stock although you can only get it when your overseas TDY, duty free shops or on a cruise.

This stuff is awesome on the rocks as an after dinner dessert mmm

I've got other standard stuff

like bacardi silver
wine's
champanges but this thread is too long and too many pics already

I love tequilas and have an exentsive collectioin

but the early 2 pics of my anejo's are my 2 fav tequilas.

wow cool collection!

I think when i go back to school I am going to try and put togehter a small bar.

Govman,

Nice collection, although I wish all of your photos were still here. Also, you can get Amarula in the states. I've had it. I ran a wine/beer/spirits tasting club w/ some friends of mine, and for one night, I just told everyone to get a bottle of something weird for us all to try. One girl showed up with that. It definitely fit the bill.

All,

Time for a brief review. I picked up a bottle of Cruzan Estate Dark Rum that I'd been meaning to try. Their light rum is the only light rum I'll buy. It costs me the same amount as Bacardi ($13/liter, same as the dark), but it's considerably higher quality. I'm curious how their dark rum measures up. To do this review, I'll be comparing it with my current favorite dark rum, Mount Gay Barbados Sugar Cane Rum. I don't recall exactly how much the Mount Gay cost me, but IIRC, it was more than $13 but less than $20 for a 750 mL bottle. I'm tasting both spirits neat.

First up is the Mount Gay. It's got a very nice molasses flavor to it. It's got a hint of rubbing alcohol, but it's fairly smooth, moreso than most bourbon.

In contrast, the Cruzan isn't quite as flavorful, but it might actually be smoother. Yeah, this is very easy drinking.

Bottom line, I like the Mount Gay better, as I tend to go for more flavorful things. It's pricier, though, and I can certainly understand someone wanting the smoother Cruzan. For the price, Cruzan's dark rum is still a good buy, although it doesn't stand out quite as much as their light rum.

+1. I'm a big fan of the Sauza Hornitos. My two go to tequilas are this and Milagro Silver, but I think I may prefer the Hornitos as it's got a little bit nicer fruity flavor that just does it for me. The Sauza Anejo is also not bad, and Sauza is easier to find than Milagro when you're stuck in a place that doesn't have a great tequila selection.

Also, as Wookie pointed out you can get Amarula in the states. Very tasty imo. My step-dad brought it home randomly some time, and I've definitely seen it in the liquor store since.

Everyone who says he likes scotch should own these babies.

I was reading some stuff about the Jim Beam small batch bourbons. They are Knob Creek, Bookers, Basil Haydens and Bakers. I was wondering if people have tried these in the past. The have a pretty decent price tag for bourbons so I was wondering what people think of them. FWIW I enjoy regular old Jim beam white label.