tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post3280938447467352271..comments2024-03-27T03:19:11.216-04:00Comments on Assistant Village Idiot: Fernet-BrancaAssistant Village Idiothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-48182261753668275812020-10-12T14:03:20.221-04:002020-10-12T14:03:20.221-04:00Ah well, if Lagavulin is not to your taste, there ...Ah well, if Lagavulin is not to your taste, there are so many other fine scotches you will not like. It is kerosene to be sure, but very tasty kerosene, to many of us. ;)<br /><br /> I have a bottle of Laphroaig in my cupboard, but I drink so seldom these days, that its really for guests. I will have a drink with a friend, but not usually when I'm alone.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-68992171273753561002020-10-10T22:05:39.871-04:002020-10-10T22:05:39.871-04:00Scarification. I spit out my Franzia crisp white ...Scarification. I spit out my Franzia crisp white over that, James.Assistant Village Idiothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-43323758583350992982020-10-10T21:49:07.192-04:002020-10-10T21:49:07.192-04:00FWIW, my daughter described palm wine as tasting l...FWIW, my daughter described palm wine as tasting like hamburger drippings--quite accurate.<br /><br />The description of it in wikipedia as "Fernet-Branca is branded as a tribal rite of passage drink for craft bartenders" seems to match your description--a rite of passage like scarification, perhaps.jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01792036361407527304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-63057498695773202602020-10-10T21:33:55.427-04:002020-10-10T21:33:55.427-04:00I got that from a brilliant neurologist (twice a J...I got that from a brilliant neurologist (twice a Jeopardy! champion) who actually did buy expensive scotch but did not like the Isle of Skye and other varieties.Assistant Village Idiothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-72729933690481414522020-10-10T21:31:02.220-04:002020-10-10T21:31:02.220-04:00Franzia Crisp White isn't that bad, it's j...Franzia Crisp White isn't that bad, it's just that to me it has no "body". Whatever that means. And, yeah... I'll drink it especially at that price. Both the Crisp White and Chardonnay are near $19/box here.<br /><br />Cepacol lozenge! Yes, a great way to describe the taste.<br /><br />Donna B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/16771075314473811594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-86259386637560291832020-10-10T21:03:33.725-04:002020-10-10T21:03:33.725-04:00@ Donna B - Franzia Crisp White has gone on sale f...@ Donna B - Franzia Crisp White has gone on sale for $10.49 a box here. I stock up when that happens.Assistant Village Idiothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-39193259319141822892020-10-10T21:02:20.592-04:002020-10-10T21:02:20.592-04:00As for scotch, the closer to the islands you get, ...As for scotch, the closer to the islands you get, the more it tastes like they dropped a Cepacol lozenge in it.Assistant Village Idiothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-79288867198261095982020-10-10T21:01:00.532-04:002020-10-10T21:01:00.532-04:00Granite Dad - that would be throwing away perfectl...Granite Dad - that would be throwing away perfectly good liquor<br /><br />Palinca in Hungary is an odd but highly respected drink - in Budapest. Anywhere else, and especially Romania, is is anywhere from 80-150 proof and made in a barn. We have seen 2 liters in a Fanta bottle sold for the equivalent of $3 by babushkas at tourist attractions in Transylvania.Assistant Village Idiothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-83348593255763533352020-10-10T20:55:24.916-04:002020-10-10T20:55:24.916-04:00Douglas2 - on the subject of 'Mountain Dew'...Douglas2 - on the subject of 'Mountain Dew', in 1972 a cousin gave me several quart jars of moonshine (made by an uncle on the other side of his family... of course). Had it been legally brewed, it would have been Everclear, though possibly more potent and definitely "smoother". It is perhaps relevant that I don't exactly remember what happened to that gift. Donna B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/16771075314473811594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-65311581045961120042020-10-10T20:44:18.448-04:002020-10-10T20:44:18.448-04:00Douglas2 -- if you're relatively new to scotch...Douglas2 -- if you're relatively new to scotch, I'd suggest staying away from anything described as smoky or peaty for a while. Those are definitely an acquired taste. I have found Johnny Walker Black Label to please most, offend few. And it won't break the bank. I currently prefer Johnny Walker Green Label. The most disappointed I've ever been in a bottle of scotch was Lagavulin -- and that's where my caution about smoky/peaty comes in. That I didn't like it doesn't mean you wouldn't. <br /><br />And don't be taken in by marketing of a distillery. Case in point is Isle of Arran/Lochranza. They are now advertising a 21 year old single malt and good for them -- I think it's the first year they can. I was fortunate to receive a few bottles of this relatively new distillery's 'Founders Reserve'. I got them because a relative who lives near there invested in the distillery. Their scotch is good, but the marketing is over the top. I'm not sure this particular brand is available in the US, but if it is you will not likely be disappointed unless it costs more than Johnny Walker. <br /><br />Single cask and single malt do not mean the same thing. One is not automatically better than the other and I generally stay away from single cask as the price can get high. What I've found is that some distilleries are pricing their single malts as if they were single cask. Like everything, beware the marketing. <br /><br />On subject of marketing, Tincup Whiskey (a rye) was a great disappointment. Not too expensive, but certainly not cheap. Great marketing, but tasted like gym socks smoked over a poorly attended peat fire, then boiled in dirty dishwater. I poured it down the drain. Then again, it's still on the market so some people must like it. I'll stick to Bulleit rye.<br /><br />So, overall -- if you like the way it tastes, that's your scotch. Or your bourbon. It's unlikely these will be the most expensive. I'm generally happy with the upper row of the middle shelf. <br /><br />Before you take any of my recommendations, you should know that I drink Franzia chardonnay from the box. That doesn't mean I have "NO" taste, as I will not drink any other Franzia box wine. Donna B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/16771075314473811594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-18746799620384392322020-10-10T19:39:19.224-04:002020-10-10T19:39:19.224-04:00I would like to point out that the two bottles tog...I would like to point out that the two bottles together cost less than four dollars, so I am officially giving you permission to throw away whatever is left.GraniteDadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04851407860883846133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-67725325899136763572020-10-10T19:30:18.984-04:002020-10-10T19:30:18.984-04:00I've a colleague who lived in France and alway...I've a colleague who lived in France and always brings absinthe to parties. I always decline, and then I don't suffer overnight and the next day the way those who partake do. He makes a great ceremony of dispensing it 'correctly'. I'm half suspecting that the suffering from it is psychosomatic.<br /><br />I did recently need to 'educate' some young friends that the references to "mountain dew" in some songs (Such as <i>Fairytale of New York</i> are to poitín and not to an American soft-drink. No, I haven't had it, and I don't think I need to -- just like Absinthe. <br /><br />When we lived in EUland my wife and I vacationed once on Gibraltar and became friends with a barmaid at a spot where we stopped for a pick-me-up a few times over a few days. On the 3rd visit she gifted us each a shot of the local stuff -- I have no recollection of what it was called, nor of how we got back to the hotel, nor anything else that day. I guess that has helped give me self-control on the issues of absinthe, poitín, terva snapsi, and other things as they've been offered.<br /><br />I'm trying to go more into scotch as a carb and calorie free drink in place of the copious red wine that is my custom, so knowing what Donna B suggests as a good value proposition would be appreciated. <br /><br />Douglas2Douglas2https://www.blogger.com/profile/11290012200563917585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-19684696035967658732020-10-10T18:35:36.225-04:002020-10-10T18:35:36.225-04:00Thanks for the 'heads-up' but I didn't...Thanks for the 'heads-up' but I didn't really need it. I can be a snob about scotch and bourbon, but that's because I like them straight. Price is not always an indicator of quality. Donna B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/16771075314473811594noreply@blogger.com