Original liquor offered with flavoring agents.

[John in Covina]

I have noticed that many venerable brands of liqour are expanding their line of flavored versions. Such as a cherry flavor bourbon.

We are not talking about schnapps, liquers or cordials but ordinary booze that now has a flavor addition like fruits such as lemon or spices or menthol or whatever.

Does this seem to be a detraction from the quality of a liquor or do you welcome it?

Does this indicate a shift in the tastes of the drinking public?

Do these appeal to older or younger drinkers.

Just wondering if it is appealing to the younger generations that see Coca Cola as a superb breakfast drink with Krispy kreme doughnuts.

 

[m0nk]

Bah! Good ol' glass of Scotch or Jameson is all I need. Neat. No water, no ice, no additional flavor.

 

[dhermann1]

I accidentally bought a bottle of that honey flavored "bourbon". Man did I gag the first time I tried it. Nasty nasty stuff. Yes, trying to get kids hooked on crap.

 

[1961MJS]

Hi

I'm against food items and drinks that are something, and try to taste like something else. I'm against Taco Pizza, Cherry Bourbon, Vanilla Vodka, and Tabasco Southern Comfort. If I want Southern Comfort with Tabasco in it, I can buy both and get it as hot as I'd like.

Later

 

[jkingrph]

Bah! Good ol' glass of Scotch or Jameson is all I need. Neat. No water, no ice, no additional flavor.

Same here! I stay away from anything labeled "flavored".

 

[Yeps]

I dislike them in general, although I am sure that there are some that are good. I imagine infusions could make for some interesting flavors, especially if the base spirit is not made into a liqueur by adding sugar.

 

[rue]

I tried lemon vodka once and it was awful, so I never tried anything else [huh]

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

I've got a wretched cold right now so I got myself a bottle of "Celtic Honey", a liqueur from Ireland that seems to be just what the doctor ordered. Maybe not quite the same thing, but I could see how some honey or other flavoring ingredients might improve some liquors.
Take gin for instance,.... maybe there is something that could take that Pine-sol edge off the stuff?

 

[rue]

Take gin for instance,.... maybe there is something that could take that Pine-sol edge off the stuff?

Yup. It's called tonic and a twist

 

[Belladonna_dea]

I can't help it I love novelty items and anything 'new' or 'flavored' I LOVE chipotle tabasco! I got bold and tried whipped cream vodka and it was... good. It was kinda like melted snow cone with gasoline. I kinda like it.

 

[Sam Diamond]

I don't mind flavored vodkas (I don't really drink them) but I can't see ruining a nice whiskey.

 

[Ace Rimmer]

Krispy Kreme donuts are not good breakfast food? :eeek:

I have the following bottles in my collection:

- Feckin Spiced Whiskey; and
- Spicebox Canadian Whisky

I've yet to open the bottle of Spicebox but I tried some of the Feckin whiskey and was not impressed. Feckin is basically a spiced Irish whiskey but I believe they cannot label it "Irish whiskey" because it does not meet the 80 proof minimum (?) that is required of all Irish whiskeys. Best I can describe it -- imagine someone tried to duplicate the "spiced" nature of Captain Morgan Rum but in Irish whiskey. I won't be buying another bottle.

 

[Feraud]

It was kinda like melted snow cone with gasoline. I kinda like it.

What a description! :eusa_clap

 

[Belladonna_dea]

I just purchased Spicebox Canadian the other day and it's great. It has a finish of vanilla before the sting hits almost reminiscent of a mixing with Coca Cola but not quite. The guy at Spec's claimed it was better than Jack Daniel's and Crown Royal. I can't really compare that because it's comparing flavored to no flavored. It's very smooth. As my understanding, you can only name the whiskey Canadian if it's made in Canada and Irish if it's made in Ireland and so on and so forth. Apparently Canadian whiskey is made with Rye. Different countries pay attention to different parts of the process in different ways so there is a difference their as well.

 

[MisterCairo]

I just purchased Spicebox Canadian the other day and it's great. It has a finish of vanilla before the sting hits almost reminiscent of a mixing with Coca Cola but not quite. The guy at Spec's claimed it was better than Jack Daniel's and Crown Royal. I can't really compare that because it's comparing flavored to no flavored. It's very smooth. As my understanding, you can only name the whiskey Canadian if it's made in Canada and Irish if it's made in Ireland and so on and so forth. Apparently Canadian whiskey is made with Rye. Different countries pay attention to different parts of the process in different ways so there is a difference their as well.

We call our whisky (no "e") rye, but be warned, nowadays Canadian rye whisky has actual rye as a minor ingredient only. It's generally quite good notwithstanding, just not quite accurately named!

As for the OP, I generally stay away from flavour-added libations, with the exception, on occasion, of a quality spiced rum. I will also occasionally mull (myself) wine or ale in the winter.

 

[Flicka]

I think you need to see the concept of flavored vodka in the light of our ancient tradition of 'snaps'; ie flavored brännvin/vodka. If we traditionally do shots of vodka/brännvin flavored with fennel, dill, wormwood or lingonberries, then Absolut Peppar isn't really anything new. So I would argue that at least insofar as Swedish vodka is concerned, flavoring it isn't new but a tradition that hails back to the 15th century when we first started making it.

With that said, the only flavored liquor I have is rose petal vodka, which really isn't like anything else (oh, and gin and pastis of course). I don't get those weird fruit flavors. You can't have them straight up and you can just add juice instead if you're mixing a drink!

 

[CadetSF]

A few "flavored" spirits by well name brands are okay, Red Stag by Jim beam (Cherry bourbon) is pretty decent and doesn't overwhelm you (plus cherries just go great with bourbon anyway), but on the whole I steer clear of flavored vodkas (and vodka in general) and use liqueurs and other spirits as flavoring agents in combination with fresh fruit, herbs, and well made bitters.

 

[dhermann1]

I've been dabbling with Manhattans lately, which you could sort of say was like a flavored bourbon, but decided I'm not crazy about them. So I guess I'm just a bourbon guy all the way. Just reading David McCullough's bio of Harry Truman. He was a bourbon drinker, and you can bet your bippy he wouldn't have wasted any time with that teenage flavored stuff.