Beginning drinking

[psugrad98]

For single malts I highly recommend the Balvenie Doublewood. It is a great single malt for the beginner who isn't even sure if they will like scotch.

Cheers

Jamie

Aahh, the Doublewood is quite tasty. Another great one is Glennfiddich 15.

 

[Undertow]

Well, I had better throw my hat into the ring...

Whiskey: Wild Turkey 101 (NOT 80) is an excellent bourbon for the money. It gives you a taste of what high shelf bourbon is like, without spending a fortune on Booker's or Woodford Reserve. I know alot of people talk badly about the Turk, but I promise if you put this over ice in a tumbler and drink slowly, you will be quite happy with the results.

Gin: I agree that Seagrams is probably fine. It's not the cleanest taste, but it will do in a pinch.

Vodka: I hate the stuff. Personally, Chopin or Grey Goose are probably the only versions I can stomach.

Tequila: Jose Cuervo is cheap sugar water with only roughly 51% agave. 1800 used to be pretty decent, but when Cuervo bought them up, they too fell by the wayside. If you want a good tequila for less money, try Cuervo Tradicional with is roughly $30/750ml and 100%agave. Very smooth and a little limey.

Rum: If you're mixing rum, go no farther than paramount - alot of good taste is lost to the mix when dealing in rum. But I believe Myer's Dark or Cruzan Blackstrap are very decent and inexpensive dark brews. Cruzan 2 year is a pretty tasty, inexpensive carmel colored rum. Unfortunately, I have not tried too many clear rums that I enjoyed.

Brandy: I think much of the brandy out there is pretty bad. You should probably stick with either Cognac or Armagnac. They tend to be sweeter and have more character. Something like Courvoisier VSOP should be fine.

 

[kwitie]

Good Drink

Highland Park,Laphroig,Glenfiddich or my personal favourite Glenmorangie Qunita Rubin. Some nice drops for special(ish) times.
For day to day drop I like Grouse.

Gin - Hendricks for best, possible Gordons for day to day

Rum - Brugal make some nice rums. Avoid 151's - the taste is probably too harsh and they are just used to get drunk. For a taste of the exotic try Spiced rum.

Brandy - there is a nice Portuguese Brandy Macieira.

Vodka - personally I think its not really worth the trouble.

 

[Mr. Paladin]

Try White Horse blended scotch if you like the Islay scotch flavors. Its base malt is Lagavulin; very potent and peaty but tamed by the blending process. Old Granddad bourbon is my favorite as it has the highest rye content of the non-special batch type bourbons and therefore a sharp bite. Try both neat-no ice or mixers.

 

[rkwilker]

I am a huge fan of Blanton's bourbon. Over ice it is .......very, very good. Small batch, single barrel goodness.

 

[Jack Scorpion]

Recommendation for beginners... for whiskey, I think you really have to try all the kinds. There is something to be said for learning to appreciate every kind, but everyone has preferences. For instance, I can't stand Irish Whiskey. Both Bushmill's and Jameson taste awful to me. But that's my problem.

My advice to you is try not to write off whiskey just because you don't like one brand or one region. A lot of people make that mistake. Canadian, Bourbon, Scotch, Rye, Japanese... all taste quite different.

There's something to be said about starting cheap(ish). You can't jump straight to Laophraig, unless you absolute love things that taste like oil, smoke and medicine. (I do, but I didn't five years ago.)

I agree on Famous Grouse for beginner's scotch. Then again, I started with Cutty Sark and J&B, so Famous Grouse was the "good stuff" for me.

Old Overholt or Wild Turkey Rye for rye. Old Overholt is so much quality for low cost that I've come to rely on it most of my mixed whiskey drinks.

Wild Turkey 101 is probably my favorite bourbon. Maker's Mark has always lulled me to boredom with its mildness, but mild might be good for beginners. I've never been a fan of Jack Daniels. Bourbon prices are weird... most of which are in that 20 bucks per bottle range, so there is no clear bargain. I agree that CHEAP bourbon still tastes okay. I've definitely bought store brand before.

As for vodka... I have a different opinion than most Americans, because I like the unfiltered stuff that still tastes like rye, back when I lived off the stuff in Moscow. I also love the Ukrainian flavored stuff, like hot pepper vodka and honey vodka. I think Grey Goose is a complete waste of money, and Belvedere is probably my favorite mainstream supermarket vodka. That said, there's plenty of 4-dollar vodka bottles I'd rather have... if only they existed outside of Russia.

Good, affordable vodkas you might find imported in a store near you: Finlandia, Moskovskaya (green label).

(I admit that I love the New Orleans Absolut vodka.)

 

[Bustercat]

There's something to be said about starting cheap(ish). You can't jump straight to Laophraig, unless you absolute love things that taste like oil, smoke and medicine. (I do, but I didn't five years ago.)

I dunno... shots are always less of a committment than full bottles of anything, and I think it's good to identify extremes first within each category of spirits to find what you like most, then try the range within that category, from budget to top shelf. Better use of your dollar.