Carolina Krayts is the best X-Wing podcast

By SaltMaster 5000, in X-Wing

Posted at
7 minutes ago, Jeff Wilder said:

Wonders never cease ... we have something in common!

Right now, on my shelf at home, I have: Angel's Envy, Bulleit, Maker's Mark (blue), Maker's Mark (red), Knob Creek, and Woodford Reserve. You can take the boy out of Kentucky ...

Lexington checking in. My everyday go to is Heaven Hill 6 year, it's the green bottle. For $10 it's an absolute steal. This stuff is criminally cheap for as good as it is. It's decent with a splash of water or mixed in anything.

Rittenhouse Rye (another Heaven Hill brand) is my go to for cocktails and $25 a bottle. It's 100 proof.

Elijah Craig (Heaven Hill again) is my go to $26 neat drinker.

Four Roses single barrel is also a staple for a smooth drinking neat. $32 a bottle.

Woodford Double oak at $55 a bottle is the celebration or high falutin' entertaining drunk neat from fancy glasses.

So to put this in content perspective....

Heaven Hill green bottle - Academy Tie (you can never have enough)

Rittenhouse Rye - Nu Squadron Harpoon. Hits like a truck and very useful, but needs to be in a list with something else.

Elijah Craig - Inquisitor. Good on his own and a great value.

Four Roses single barrel. Quickdraw. Also great on her own and can **** you up if you aren't careful.

Woodford Double oak - Expertise Rey + Finn + Kanan + EU. Expensive. Fancy. Smells nice. :P

Posted at
1 minute ago, Tlfj200 said:

Honest question:

I've never had good bourbon (or whiskey):

Suggestions? And also, how to drink it (well)?

There's three ways to drink bourbon, and many types of bourbon to achieve those.

1) Mixed for non-drinkers. Go get Trader Joe's ginger beer (4 pack for $4) and their $15 TJ branded bourbon. Mix one bottle of ginger beer to 2 shots of bourbon. Add a dash of old fashioned bitters. Enjoy. That's a Kentucky Mule.

2) Mixed in cocktails. Old fashioned and Manhattans are the main ones. Old Fashioned's are sweeter (too sweet at most places) while Manhattans are basically a bourbon martini...alcohol cut with more alcohol. A well mixed Manhattan is sex in a glass. You usually want ryes for this as they aren't as sweet as normal bourbon and add more interesting notes to the drink.

3) Neat (or splash of water/ice cube). This requires good bourbon. Usually good bourbon is expensive ($30+) a bottle and a palate that is ready for it. It's definitely an acquired taste thing and just something you have to work your way through. Much like x-wing...some lists work, some don't. Some won't the first time but with practice you learn to appreciate them.

Posted at
5 minutes ago, Tlfj200 said:

Honest question:

I've never had good bourbon (or whiskey):

Suggestions? And also, how to drink it (well)?

That's a matter of opinion and taste... Myself, I like rye whiskey and just take it straight. I'll sip on it for a while and enjoy it as is. I've had bad stuff.. that... I just try to drain the glass quick or abandon it entirely to the depths of the sink. I'm hardly a refined drinker though!

Posted at
2 hours ago, Tlfj200 said:

I've never had good bourbon (or whiskey):

Suggestions? And also, how to drink it (well)?

There's a reason Maker's Mark is the most famous bourbon: it's decent, and not priced too high. Bulleit is the same. IMO, as mentioned above, Kirkland branded bourbon is in this category, too, but even less expensive.

Bourbon's not for everybody. It's sweet, and the higher proofs especially are prone to being pretty fumey.

True bourbonistas will consider this sacrilege, but I honestly suggest starting with a Maker's Mark (or one of the other decent-but-inexpensive choices) sour: it will clue you in on whether you like how bourbon tastes (in comparison to other whiskeys), and the sour mix will keep it from being unpleasant simply because of unfamiliarity.

Once you know you like it, if you do, just try it on the rocks. (In fancy places, they'll give you one honkin' huge ice cube, to avoid melt dilution. I think ThinkGeek sells a Death Star mold for this, BTW!)

I personally drink my bourbon neat, with a beer back. (I prefer wheat beers in general, but whatever you like. I don't drink often, when when I do I usually go through six of these ... meaning six bourbons, plus six beers. But keep in mind that at 6'5" and 300+ pounds, I'm a sizeable guy.)

Finally, if you're making do with lower quality fumier bourbon, just go with shooting it: remember, breathe in, take the shot and savor, breathe out to clear the fumes.

Edited by Jeff Wilder
Posted at

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Posted at
4 minutes ago, Jeff Wilder said:

Finally, if you're making due with lower quality fumier bourbon, just go with shooting it: remember, breathe in, take the shot and savor, breathe out to clear the fumes.

Geez... you really sold me on the cheap stuff... This sounds like an experience in itself, though not altogether pleasant. I think I've tried a bourbon once, of the more questionable variety. I'm willing to give something better a try though in the future - I'll have to refer back to this thread at that point to make the right selection.

Posted at

Aged in charred barrels made of wood from wrecked Auzituck gunships, lined with carpet recovered from garbage chutes.

Posted at
2 minutes ago, Jeff Wilder said:

Aged in charred barrels made of wood from wrecked Auzituck gunships, lined with carpet recovered from garbage chutes.

Sounds about right. Yep.

Posted at
1 minute ago, Jeff Wilder said:

Aged in charred barrels made of wood from wrecked Auzituck gunships, lined with carpet recovered from garbage chutes.

You had me at "wrecked Auzituck gunships"

Posted at
31 minutes ago, Jeff Wilder said:

True bourbonistas will consider this sacrilege, but I honestly suggest starting with a Maker's Mark

I second the recommendation for Maker's Mark!

Posted at
42 minutes ago, Tlfj200 said:

Honest question:

I've never had good bourbon (or whiskey):

Suggestions? And also, how to drink it (well)?

@Jeff Wilderis right about Maker's. I drink it neat, or with a glass of water in my other hand. I like alternating between whiskey/ bourbon and water instead of mixing it initially or putting ice in there.

Posted at

One other tip....Death Star ice cubes make everything taste better.

9eUg08E.jpg

Posted at

Bulliet is my go to mixing bourbon, Maker's always seems a bit overpowering, and my got to cocktail of the month is

  • 1.5oz Bulliet
  • 1oz Espresso Vodka
  • 2 Luxardo Cherries and a bit of the syrup from the jar
  • Dash of cinnamon bitters

Breckenridge PX is my current favorite sipping bourbon, ridiculously smooth almost no burn at all

Posted at
22 minutes ago, Makaze said:

Bulliet is my go to mixing bourbon, Maker's always seems a bit overpowering, and my got to cocktail of the month is

  • 1.5oz Bulliet
  • 1oz Espresso Vodka
  • 2 Luxardo Cherries and a bit of the syrup from the jar
  • Dash of cinnamon bitters

Breckenridge PX is my current favorite sipping bourbon, ridiculously smooth almost no burn at all

Luxardo cherries...now there is a man (I assume) with refined tastes! If you want to get a feel for how serious someone takes their cocktails, look no further than the garnish they use. The devil is in the details. That's what we use too. It's actually a fun way to strike conversation with bartenders. My wife were in Manhattan last summer and went to a bar off of times square. They had some amazing cocktail cherries in their Manhattan. We were quizing the bartender on the brand and he was amazed we noticed how good they were. He was like "people usually just toss these out, you guys understand!". And then he proceeds to grab a bottle of Hudson Manhattan Rye from under the bar and hands it to us. Says "Go ahead and top off your glass, you know your stuff!".

It pays to chat up the bartender. :D

Edited by viedit
Posted at

American savages drinking bourbon instead of proper whisky.

There are three whiskeys you should try

glenmorangie - expensive for a 10YO but very smooth. Good for a non-whisky drinker

talisker - a totally different taste. Earth and peat smoke flavours

bushmills (Irish whiskey with an ‘E’ ) the oldest still functioning distillery in the UK.

Posted at
3 minutes ago, Dreadai said:

American savages drinking bourbon instead of proper whisky.

There are three whiskeys you should try

glenmorangie - expensive for a 10YO but very smooth. Good for a non-whisky drinker

talisker - a totally different taste. Earth and peat smoke flavours

bushmills (Irish whiskey with an ‘E’ ) the oldest still functioning distillery in the UK.

That last picture I posted was Tomatin 18 year. I just finished up a Dahlwinnie 15 year. I also like Balvenie double wood, but it's inconsistent in flavor.

Posted at
1 minute ago, Boom Owl said:

Is it acceptable to use this against new players? Please say yes.

It's three ships that care about arcs and have a base attack of two. I think that counts as wholesome.

Posted at
48 minutes ago, viedit said:

One other tip....Death Star ice cubes make everything taste better.

9eUg08E.jpg

I have one of those Death Star Ice sphere molds and haven't used it yet....to the liquor store!