Alcohols of the World :-)

Flur de Cana rum - the 12 year old is great for sippin' and the 4 year old is great with water and a lime. It is from Nicuaragu, but you can get it all over Centeral America. A bottle in the San Jose duty free shop is $7 for the 7 year old.

Has anyone mentioned Pisco from Chile and Argentina? A pisco sour is one of those drinks that one never forgets... Sidebar: I have introduced the sakatini to several places around the world, most recently on Lord Howe Island, where it was met with applause...

Sakatini: Two parts asian pear (or a very dry) saki
One part Bombay Sapphire Gin (from the freezer)
Slice of asian pear

Stir w/ice, strain into a martini glass, consume, see God. Repeat.

How about a Caipiranha (Brazil)

Brazillian Sugarcane rum, fresh limes halved & muddled with brown cane sugar and ice.

Or a Mojito (Cuba)

Light rum , Juice of a Lime, sugar muddled with 2-4 mint sprigs and soda water.

Both are nice refreshing drinks.

I guess I just like my rum - started in Mexico where I discovered Añejo and in Hondorus drinking rhun e aqua con limon.

Lambanog - coconut-based liquor from the Philippines known for its high alcohol content (80, 90 proof).

San Miguel Beer - best beer in the Philippines!

A topic of my own heart. I guess I'll just have to revive this post.

Guiness: ahhh so good, a pint and a meal at the same time who could ask for more.

Sangria-a wonderous spanish drink, sometimes too sweet but great for those outdoor parties.

Wine from the Rioja region-I really don't know why I'm obsessed with these wines but they are damn good. Also in spain they're relativly cheap.

Efes-another favorite beer of mine not because of the taste but everytime I drink it something interesting always happens. It's Turkish, so the alcohol content isn't regulated very well. So one time when drinking it, you can drink 8-9 of these and not feel a thing. But another time you can have 1 or 2 and be completely drunk off your .

Raki- a turkish liquor similiar ouzo and sambucco

Bitburger-bitte ein bit

mojito- yes it's feminine but man I love them and love saying mojito when i'm drunk. Try it sometime. mojito

Red Hook-An IPA beer that's my beer of choice when out and about. Kinda hopsy but good once you get use to the taste.

Uh...beer.

But amongst the more traditional drinks of the world:

My first love has to be lambic (Belgium). It can be gueuze, kriek, or unblended. Just as long as it's "oude".

Drinking Russian vodka in the Russian way is the only way to do vodka. Especially fun with Russians. Even better on an overnight train.

Islay malts...especially from the south shore. Ardbeg is heaven in a glass.

Lijiang Yinjiu from Lijiang, China is a very cool quasi-beer. Literally a barley wine rather than the usual figuratively.

Most old-school farmhouse beer styles turn my crank - sahti (Finland), Skibsol (Denmark), Gotlandsdricke (Sweden) or the stuff from northern Lithuania are all worthy of mention.

Farmhouse ciders from Normandy or Somerset also rock.

home made grappa and 'little creatures' beer reminds me of perth-the beer is fab but i remember very little about the grappa....
passion pop and boxed wine on the east coast
super snakebite and black (traditional mix but using tennants super, white lightening and ribena) reminds me of my uni days in the uk and mad dog 20/20 (kiwi flavour natch) reminds me of underage drinking in the park...

quote:

Originally posted by Matt Kennedy:
EB,
I like Knob Creek too, though Jim Beam White Label is my favorite bourbon. Jack Daniels is at an unfair disadvantage, its not bourbon. Bourbon has to come from Bourbon County Kentucky, JD is Tennessee Whiskey. Its a sour-mash (bacterial) corn whiskey that doesn't spend as much time in new oak as bourbon. I wouldn't personally say its panther piss, but I wouldn't drink it either if a bourbon was available.

If you haven't tried rye whisky, seek out Jim Beam Yellow label. Its fantastic stuff.

On eiswein, or Vin du Glaciere, I don't necessarily think there's a season for drinking it, or buying it, I recently had it this summer with some fresh strawberries, but I wouldn't hesitate to drink it in winter with.... well anything really. I think most of the decent wine stores carry it, the one I had that I thought was fantastic was Iniskillin Vidal (Canada). Good luck finding it, and for that matter, paying for it.

The strange thing is that it's not really necessarily from bourbon county, lots are from the surrounding counties. I've been to Makers Mark, Heaven Hill, Buffalo
Trace, and Labrot and Graham and they all say that JD don't qualify because it's charcoal- filtered. Also, It's fuckin' swill

after living in kentucky 18 years, i can say with confidence... everyone is wrong!

"There are strict laws governing just what a Bourbon must be to be labeled as such. For example, at least 51 percent of the grain used in making the whiskey must be corn (most distillers use 65 to 75 percent corn). Bourbon must be aged for a minimum of two years in new, white oak barrels that have been charred. Nothing can be added at bottling to enhance flavor, add sweetness or alter color."
http://www.straightbourbon.com/faq.html

bourbon can be made anywhere, but almost all is kentucky... not just bourbon county.

There's a dearth of mention of scotch here.

Bowmore: some smoke.

Lagavulin: major smoke. In a good way.

Laphroig: Acidic, salty and peaty. In the best way.

Sorry but grappa, made from floor sweepings, must be avoided at all costs. Trust me on this.

Most of the ones I was thinking of have been mentioned here at least once but I haven't seen Moresque, Pastis (already mentioned), water and syrop. Found them for 1 euro near the obelisque and never looked back.

Also not good or bad was snake wine with the whole dead chicken thing going on (Vietnam)

I feel obliged to second, pisco sour (peru), caparinha (brazil) and laos moonshine which can be found for free by chatting to just about any local.

Spazza

When in South Africa stay away from the witblitz, or mampoer. Very potent stuff. It would make good paint stripper, I'm sure. Major "babelas" (hangover) material.

Hi

In Norway you should try Akevitt (http://linie-aquavit.com/la/index.cfm) . I'm afriad that it is not very good...well, that is my opinion at least. But it is s tradition to drink this with different christmas meals. But the story about the akevitt is facinating as they transport the stuff half across the world and back as it is supposed to enhance the taste :-)

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

Here are some that haven't been mentioned:

• Mexico (Yucatan only) - Xtabentun, aniseed flavored liqueur, like ouzo.
  
• Iceland - Brennivin, another aniseed liqueur, served ice cold. Best when eaten with Icelandic geothermally "baked" in the ground bread.
  
• Mexico (Yucatan only) - Carta Clara, Montejo Clara, Leon Negra and other beers from Cerveceria Yucateca.

I second the previously mentioned Belgian fruit beers and the fine, smoky single malt Scotches of Islay in Scotland.

Jim Paris

A few recommendations (which I don't think were mentioned) from a recent trip:

Latvia: Riga Balzam (nasty, but worth tasting once)

Estonia: Vana Tallinn (worth tasting more than once)

Poland: Aside from the ubiquitous Żubrówka, spirytus rektyfikowany is worth a shot. Or maybe a half-shot, as it's 95% alcohol, i.e., 190 proof.