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Post by Shinko on Nov 16, 2016 9:20:29 GMT -5
So kind of a strange question; those who know me well can tell you I don't really drink. Not because I'm a prude, but because for some reason I legitimately don't get drunk. I'm not sure why not, but I had eight shots in about two hours one night and felt nothing from it.
My younger sister, who turned 21 (the age alcohol consumption is legal in the US) this past June, however, is a different story. She quite enjoys alcohol, especially wine and fireballs. So for Christmas I wanted to get her a sampler of some nice alcohol, buuuut I am sort of ignorant as to what is or isn't good booze.
So I'm putting it to you all! Can anyone give me recommendations for good alcoholic drinks that I can give as a gift to my sister for Christmas? (Feel free to suggest foreign things if you aren't from the states! Internet is beautiful for ordering exotic things.)
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Post by Celestial on Nov 16, 2016 9:29:02 GMT -5
Single malt scotch whisky. You can find sampler sets either from a single distillery, from a single region or just of popular whisky brands. Whisky is a beautiful thing in that it does vary in taste depending on what region you get it from (Islay is very smokey, Highland is more fruity and spiced, Speyside is generally light and floral whilst Lowland is...well, never had lowland so can't say) but for someone who does not know much about whisky, I recommend a good Speyside. DO NOT get a blended whisky. Those are abominations. Single malts only. Generally you can tell what is a single malt because it has an age on it or it actually says "single malt". If you decide to go with that, hit me up for specific recommendations of distilleries. :3
Other than that, can't go wrong with a nice craft beer. The US has a ton of small breweries which you'll probably be able to find samplers of quite easily with a quick Google search. If I have to recommend a particular brand, over here we have a nice one called BrewDog which you should be able to find relatively easily across the pond since they are popular.
Wine, I am not an expert on because I don't like wine but Chilean wine is apparently pretty good. So *shrugs* if you want to go with that, that's my recommendation.
Hope that helps! ^^
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Post by M is for Morphine on Nov 16, 2016 9:45:51 GMT -5
When you're talking about booze there's 'Well', 'Call', and 'Top Shelf'. IE cheap garbage like bankers club, then stuff people know well enough to ask for by name like Jim Bean, and then super fancy nice stuff like 'JP Whistlepig's single malt that can vote now'.
Anything you can get in the little tiny bottles they keep behind the counter at the liquor store is going to be 'call', so it's not going to be really fancy but it's not going to be hideous either. You should do fine by just picking out a fun variety of those.
If you just want to get a single bottle of something fun, I thought 'Root' by Art in the Age was good, it's a rootbeer-like herbal liqueur that isn't overly sweet. Or, Fireball, is that cinnamon whisky? Maybe another flavored whisky like Red Stag? I haven't tried it, but it sounds nice.
lol idk I normally just drink Gordon's and there's nothing very gift-y about that. XD
Edit: Ooh does she like beer? I've got a bit I could say on that.
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Post by Fraze on Nov 16, 2016 14:39:52 GMT -5
Oh hey, booze recommendations!
If you want to try to get something unusual and foreign, there's an Estonian liqueur called Vana Tallinn. It's rum-based and sweet, with a spicy/vanilla/citrus flavor. I wouldn't suggest drinking it straight, but it's good in cocktails. A quick Googling says you should be able to order it online.
There are two other versions, Vana Tallinn Winter Spice and Vana Tallinn Summer Lime, but I'm not sure if you'll be able to get either of those. But if you can, Winter Spice basically tastes like orange spice, and is probably the best of the lot for warming holiday drinks. Summer Lime is...artificial lime and kinda nasty, so I wouldn't really recommend it.
On an easier-to-obtain note, you can't go wrong with Irish Cream (Bailey's or some other brand). It's also a great Christmassy drink.
Wines are complicated and confusing. As someone who doesn't really drink wine, what I've heard is that all the snobbery about "notes of lavender fading into pine with a musty finish redolent of chocolate and raisins" or whatever is largely BS, and you should just drink the wines that you like. So if you want to get wines, I'd say find out what kind she likes and then try to find something similar.
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Post by Huntress on Nov 16, 2016 16:21:52 GMT -5
Fraze and I legit had an argument over who gets to post on this thread first. We are responsible parents, yo.
Boozepeople are not created equal, in that people who like a specific kind of alcohol may not like another kind of alcohol at all. I myself will happily drink any kind of cider, only really accept dark beers (light ones will do in a pinch), can appreciate liqueurs (but not really anything cream-based) and quite like wine but am allergic to it. So a lot like getting a book for someone who likes books. If you're not entirely sure, a good craft beer or hard cider is probably a safer bet than any kind of strong alcohol, because you can finish a beer in one night and there isn't a risk of a mostly-full bottle sitting around unappreciated for ages.
One option for a wine person is a Chinese plum wine, those are pretty good and probably slightly less run-on-the-mill. This is the point where I'd probably walk into a store and let a salesperson suggest something good, except this way you might get saddled with something connoisseurs will swear is amazing but tastes like sour onions to heathens like me.
I will swear by Vana Tallinn, though, yep xD Winter Spice is my personal favorite but they're all roughly the same with some flavor variations.
Then there's always rum. Good for cocktails, nice and versatile, much like whisky. My favorite is Bacardi Oakheart which tastes a bit smokey, but honesty I like all rums to the surprise of absolutely no one present.
Ooh, speaking of whisky, there's a whisky-based liqueur I got in Scotland five years ago and haven't found it since, which means I'll have to go back to Scotland sometime because the stuff tasted like liquid happiness and unicorn tears. It's called Stag's Breath and it's made with honeycomb.
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Post by Celestial on Nov 16, 2016 16:32:23 GMT -5
Ooh, speaking of whisky, there's a whisky-based liqueur I got in Scotland five years ago and haven't found it since, which means I'll have to go back to Scotland sometime because the stuff tasted like liquid happiness and unicorn tears. It's called Stag's Breath and it's made with honeycomb. ...  Excuse me, how did I not know about this? Probably because I am a purist when it comes to whisky. However, in this case, I might make an exception. And if you ship me some Vana Tallinn liqueur, we might be able to come to some sort of agreement... |
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Post by Shinko on Nov 16, 2016 16:39:37 GMT -5
Vana Tallinn doesn't seem available to ship to the US, I find several references to it online but nowhere that actually sells the stuff. But I have found Root and Stag's Breath at reasonable prices, as well as some scotch whiskey Celes suggested to me on skype, so I'll probably pick from those. ^^ Thanks everyone!
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Post by Huntress on Nov 16, 2016 18:02:00 GMT -5
Ooh, speaking of whisky, there's a whisky-based liqueur I got in Scotland five years ago and haven't found it since, which means I'll have to go back to Scotland sometime because the stuff tasted like liquid happiness and unicorn tears. It's called Stag's Breath and it's made with honeycomb. ... Excuse me, how did I not know about this? Probably because I am a purist when it comes to whisky. However, in this case, I might make an exception. And if you ship me some Vana Tallinn liqueur, we might be able to come to some sort of agreement... It's not even whisky, it's 19% or so. I still got a bit left over because I haven't had the heart to touch it, but I did use some to fry up haggis (the Sainsbury's-inna-can sort) and it was so amazing I can't even. What we need to do is show up somewhere in sunglasses and trenchcoats carrying inconspicuous clinking suitcases, sit down on an inconspicuous bench and do an inconspicuous trade that nobody will totally notice or find odd in any way. Vana Tallinn doesn't seem available to ship to the US, I find several references to it online but nowhere that actually sells the stuff. But I have found Root and Stag's Breath at reasonable prices, as well as some scotch whiskey Celes suggested to me on skype, so I'll probably pick from those. ^^ Thanks everyone! There's a US-based place called The Liquor Barn (apparently different from Liquor Barn, go fig) that has it in their online store but I didn't look closely enough to find out if there are shipping wiggles or anything. In any case you seem to have your sister supplied for several Christmases xD |
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Post by Shinko on Nov 16, 2016 20:23:15 GMT -5
Ended up buying the Stag's Breath and Vana Tallinn for her- I'll keep the other suggestions in mind for later birthdays/Christmas/etc. Thanks for the help guys. ^^
Sidenote, the place I ordered the Stag's Breath from is apparently gonna have it shipped to me in the US by November 24th. They're faster than amazon orders from within my own country often are, ha.
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Post by Huntress on Nov 17, 2016 3:40:53 GMT -5
Whoop, now it'll be on my head if your sister doesn't like it xD
If she's at all the cooking sort, drop me a line sometime. I did translation work for the Vana Tallinn manufacturer a few years ago, including a set of recipes that use the liqueur. They've since been pulled from the website but I still have the files somewhere.
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Post by Celestial on Nov 17, 2016 11:54:38 GMT -5
Huntress, well I bought the Stag's Breath. I also found Vana Tallinn on Amazon and bought that too. If I become an alcoholic, it is all your fault. ...send me those recipe files though please. Especially any baking ones.:3 I am always on the hunt for good boozy cakes, especially with Christmas on the way.
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Post by Shinko on Nov 17, 2016 14:53:33 GMT -5
Whoop, now it'll be on my head if your sister doesn't like it xD If she's at all the cooking sort, drop me a line sometime. I did translation work for the Vana Tallinn manufacturer a few years ago, including a set of recipes that use the liqueur. They've since been pulled from the website but I still have the files somewhere. Alack, she does not cook much. XD My other sister who lives with her does, but said sister is only 19 so I don't think she should be encouraged to try making anything with it unless the recipe completely cooks out the alcohol. She is also kind of a boring cook, mostly specializing in twenty different ways of preparing chicken (since she doesn't eat red meat). |
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Post by Flutter on Nov 17, 2016 22:32:35 GMT -5
Actually I'm a little... 'hindered' right now so heyyyy and I don't know if anyone already recommended this because I didn't bother reading the whole board. Again. Hindered. Barefoot Muscato is actually pretty good. Usually I don't like wine because I've got this stupid sensitive nose that thinks any high alcohol concentration smells like rubbing alcohol- but once I got past that it was actually really fruity and good. Like really good. Redd's has this line of flavored apple cider that is incredible. Blueberry Lemonade is probably my favorite aside from the actual apple cider. You can barely taste the alcohol in these. The Hard Ciders, however, you can taste it but after two or three, it doesn't really matter. (Am not an alcoholic, I swear. This is the first time I've been 'hindered' in almost a year xD) Also, look for local breweries- small batch beer can be absolutely incredible. Get a sense if she likes IPAs, malts, ales, or drafts. If you get her a draft and she thinks it tastes like reindeer vomit, that can be a big issue.  |
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Post by Shinko on Jan 17, 2017 20:35:55 GMT -5
Fraze Huntress Thought you might be interested to know, my sister just tried the Vana Tallinn and she says it's really good. =D
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Excuse me, how did I not know about this?
