CS Booze Club.

[Jester]

It's American Honey, by Wild Turkey, and it IS super sweet....for bourbon.

That being said, please understand that not all liquor or alcoholic drinks taste like that. I personally like American Honey, but I also like whiskey, which apparently you do not. Or at least not on your first taste. There is a reason many things are called "an acquired taste," you know.

Remember, what you tasted is not going to be anything like what rum, gin, vodka, tequla, various liqueurs, beer, or wine taste like. Hell, it's not even what a lot of other bourbons, whiskeys, or scotches taste like.

Feel free to avoid alcohol if you prefer. But remember that spirits, just like any other kind of consumable, have a wide plethora of tastes and flavors. I personally find gin revolting...but I also know from experience that very little out there tastes as bad to me as gin does. (And thank goodness for that!) So you may want to consider having an open mind on this.

[Seraph]

...so not everything burns like that? Because I'll be honest, it pretty much felt like I swallowed thermite. Tasted just about similar as well.

They didn't say anything about an acquired taste....I am a total, total alcohol newb. One of my clients is still laughing that he asked me to put a picture of Jack Daniels on his website, and I asked if he had his photo for me. Yeah, I haven't lived that down yet.

[Mishi]

@Seraph: Try a glass of Moscato sometime; it's a very sweet, slightly sparkling white wine with a low alcohol content. Yummy, light and I think it's a good introduction to wine as the subtle flavours in it change from season to season, as well as between producers.

[Jester]

...so not everything burns like that?

No, not everything burns like that. Also, a lot of people drink cocktails, rather than straight liquor, and mixers like soda, juice, etc., not only mellow the straight liquor's taste, but also complements and changes it. Someone may love rum and coke but hate straight rum, for example.

And you can love one form and hate another. I love beer, rum, and wine, but can't stand gin, and am not overly fond of vodka. My roommate, on the other hand, has never seen anything positive in beer or wine, but loves vodka and rum. Tastes vary, just like with food.

It would be like someone having, as their first pepper, a jalapeno. While there are certainly peppers that are far more fiery, there are also plenty of mild peppers that don't have nearly the burn of a jalapeno, like, say, bell peppers. Not all peppers are the same. Nor is all liquor.

[KiaKat]

Also try hard ciders. Original Sin is one out of Brooklyn, NY, and it's pretty easy to drink.

At some point I can do a review of sweet wines and mild liqueurs for people who aren't huge fans of that burny alcohol taste. Might take a bit of time and effort though. And a bottle or three of wine.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Serious sadness, man. Had to cut way down on my drinking. Migraine problems. Not crazy about this development.

We'll have to see how it goes.

[Seraph]

It would be like someone having, as their first pepper, a jalapeno. While there are certainly peppers that are far more fiery, there are also plenty of mild peppers that don't have nearly the burn of a jalapeno, like, say, bell peppers. Not all peppers are the same. Nor is all liquor.

<raises eyebrow> Oh...really now. So I have permission to obliterate the family members that decided to pull this on me?

[Bagboy]

Thinking about trying Creme De Banane. Will I find it too banana-y?

[Jester]

Alright, time for some more new beers. Tonight, I am starting off with Tire Bite Golden Ale fromn Flying Dog Brewery (Frederick, Maryland). As a side note, Flying Dog has some of the most interesting label art around, perhaps only second to Holy Mackerel.

Right then. On to the beer. Tire Bite pours a slightly hazy golden yellow, appropriate for the style. The nose is touch sweet, but a fresh sweetness, like heather and honey. And the taste? Delicious! For a lighter beer (as opposed to a light beer), this one hits the mark. Thirst-quenching and eminently drinkable, with just a touch of sweetness and no real hoppiness to slow you down, this is perhaps one of the more perfect cookoff beers. Screw that domestic swill. Fuck that Mexican crap. Despite what Stone Brewery says about fizzy yellow beers, this is an EXCELLENT fizzy yellow beer. And this is coming from someone who clearly has a bias towards darker, flavorful beers. I have to score this an impressive 8.5. Pick some up for your next cookoff…you won’t be sorry. My only regret is that I have only one. Luckily for me, though, this is not one of the beers I picked up in Miami, this IS available down here, and I very much plan on picking up a six or a twelve sometime soon.

EDITED TO ADD: This may actually be one of my newest favorite beers. For a lighter beer, this ranks right up there with Abita Amber, which most people know I love dearly. It's that freakin' good.

At some point I can do a review of sweet wines and mild liqueurs for people who aren't huge fans of that burny alcohol taste. Might take a bit of time and effort though. And a bottle or three of wine.

Also, there are many beers that do not have the aforementioned burny alcohol taste. Of course, a lot of them have a beer taste, but there is a wide variety of beer tastes, as evidenced by many of my reviews.

<raises eyebrow> Oh...really now. So I have permission to obliterate the family members that decided to pull this on me?

Do you really need our permission?

Seriously, I can't comment on their original motive, but if they knew ahead of time that you had never really drank, yeah, they may have known what was coming. That being said, as whiskeys go, American Honey is very much on the sweet and smooth side, with only a small burn. Had they given you straight Jack Daniels, say the normal Black Label, that would have been mean. Had they given you some no name rotgut, that would have been just vicious.

For a first timer, American Honey is probably pretty harsh. But as far as whiskeys go, it really isn't.

Thinking about trying Creme De Banane. Will I find it too banana-y?

By itself? Almost definitely. That is one of those things that is designed to be a mixer, and only a rare bird will drink it by its lonesome. I am a rare bird, and have had many things by themselves that weren't normally served that way, and even I would probably not do creme de banana straight, or even on the rocks.

Don't get me wrong, feel free to take a little sip of it, see what its like. Then, if you like it, knock yourself out.

Or you could make yourself a rum runner. Not one of those blended frozen....things... that you'll see in so many tropical resorts, but a good honest rum rummer on the rocks. Here is the way I was taught to make it, and how I still do:

One pint glass, filled with ice.
3/4 ounce (half a shot) light rum.
3/4 ounce dark rum.
1/4-1/2 ounce grenadine.
1/2 ounce blackberry brandy.
1/2 ounce creme de banana.
Then fill the rest of the glass with equal parts orange juice and pineapple juice. Give a quick shake, then serve. If you feel the need for garnish, I usually put a lime wedge on it, but you can also use an orange slice and/or a cherry.

Enjoy!

[Bagboy]

Ever heard of Creme De Rose? I read about it in my A-Z Bartenders guide. It sounds strange, but I imagine it tastes good.

[KiaKat]

Better to get a real rose hip liqueur (like Koval) than most of the Creme de Rose out there. I generally think of Creme de (whatever) as being fairly artificial tasting, unless it's one of the Lucien Jacob fruit cremes. Those tend to be fairly natural.

Jester - I thought about mentioning beers, but frankly I'm not terribly familiar with beer, so I thought I'd leave that to you.

[thansal]

Serious sadness, man. Had to cut way down on my drinking. Migraine problems. Not crazy about this development.

We'll have to see how it goes.

Ich. My mum just started up with a similar problem. She has always had migraines off and on (nothing overly serious), recently they have become serious and she had to drop wine completely. She is now clear to have a glass every so often, however she is still staying away. IIRC It's the tannins that would bring them on, not alcohol itself, so she is drinking beer with me now.

Out of curiosity, what is it that triggers them for you? The alcohol itself?

<raises eyebrow> Oh...really now. So I have permission to obliterate the family members that decided to pull this on me?

I suspect they were not being malicious (as Jester said, American Honey is fairly smooth). That of course doesn't mean you shouldn't do horrible things to them :P

I'm of the camp that drinking is not mandatory, or even necessarily to be encouraged (I have plenty of tea-totaling friends for all sorts of reasons).

That said, if you are interested, I think it is to be encouraged, as I think that seeking new experiences is almost always a good thing. Jester covered most of the ground fairly well.

Spirits will tend to have much more burn than wine/beer/hard cider, and if you drank a decent amount in one go, as I suspect you did, it isn't surprising that you found it unpleasant. I tend to drink American Honey with a couple splashes of bitters and ice (aka, an old fashioned), and I love it.

Honestly, if you are interested, try things in moderation, try a sip from what other people are drinking, see if you like it, etc.

[Jester]

I tend to drink American Honey with a couple splashes of bitters and ice (aka, an old fashioned), and I love it.

Technically speaking, that is not an Old Fashioned, as there is no sugar or muddled fruit in it. Just saying.

[Seraph]

I suspect they were not being malicious (as Jester said, American Honey is fairly smooth). That of course doesn't mean you shouldn't do horrible things to them :P

Out of curiosity, I asked them if they did that on purpose. I got a grin and "oh god yes, we were dying to see what your face was going to be like"

<facedesk>

[Bagboy]

Last night I had an Asahi Super Dry, followed by a Singha. The Singha's alcohol is hidden really well. Right now I'm drinking a Saigon Export from Vietnam. I don't really like it, and therefore will only be having it this once. I mixed a six at Friar Tuck, and the other beer included Hite, but I've tried Hite and found it vile.