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Tequila or Bourbon?
Okay. So, I was introduced to tequila at the age of 11. To make a long story short, my father, not unreasonably, assumed that one taste of the stuff would inoculate me from any further interest in hard liquor until I was at least in high school.
As it turns out, my ol’ dad does not have the gift of prophecy. Three shots into his experiment, he picked up on the inescapable fact that I loved the stuff — salt, shot, and lime! I have loved tequila ever since, including rather forgettable attempts at finding a good mix of various cocktail combinations with vodka and whiskey known as the “Swirling Maelstrom” that have never quite worked out…
Fast forward to the last few years: I have discovered bourbon … good bourbon: Sipping bourbons, heart-of-America bourbons. I find that the more really good bourbon I taste, the more other liquors have lost their appeal.
But not so tequila. If anything, appreciating bourbon has sharpened my liking of good tequilas.
So I put it to you, fellow Ricochetti: good tequila, or good bourbon, or good “something else?” Why or why not?
Published in Culture
Tequila is my kryptonite.
Well sure, if he’s gonna give you training wheels, then it’s no problem. Straight shots might have been a different story.
Glenmorangie is the nectar of the gods.
Bourbon, neat.
Because, well, bourbon.
I don’t have much of a preference, especially if someone else is doing the buying. I’ll try anything once. Or twice, or three times if it’s necessary.
Any particular variety? I’ve tried several, and liked them all, but none so much as the better bourbons.
Maybe. But as I recall, going to straight shots didn’t change my enthusiasm any. ‘Course, that was a few years later…
In civilized states, one can get a decent low-priced Kirkland brand tequila and bottle of margarita mix at Costco for about $15.
In North Carolina, Costco is not allowed to sell liquor. Instead, they sell margarita flavored agave wine cocktail. I’m sipping some now.
I went to their distillery in northern Scotland and did the tour (had to pay I think) with full tasting afterwards (I got my money’s worth).
I think it was a 12 or maybe 18 year old that I ended up buying. “Water of life” it was. Let me see if I can ask Mr. Google. Wait one over.
I’ve had a lot of fun drinking tequila — or so I’ve been told. Somewhere between #4 and #5 you become 10′ tall and bulletproof.
I generally prefer bourbon.
If I even SEE a bottle of Tequila I’ll have a vicious hangover the next day. TeKILLya.
I think it was the 18 year old. It was not inexpensive.
Rye.
I don’t drink but if you mix equal measures of Kahlua, Amaretto and Bailey’s in the blender with some crushed ice it makes a pretty good milkshake.
Howdy, All!
Schnapps, preferably peach, has been a favorite for some years; waiting for the day my ship comes in, so that I can meet Remy. Mr, Daniels was introduced to me as a New Year’s quaff last year, but he and I didn’t hit it off. Thanks for the learning and a chance to distill my thoughts.
Maker’s Mark on the rocks for me, please.
I can’t stand tequila. Margaritas are pleasant, but only b/c they add enough sweet, sour, and salty flavors to mask the disagreeable flavor of tequila. Come to think of it, I’d probably like them better with rum instead of tequila.
If I have to chose, bourbon by a half-length. But I do like them both. Recommendations?
Tequila- Cazadores or ….Gusano Rojo? Dos Gusanos? I’m thinking of a brand a Bolivian friend of mine brought back from home but that was about 30 years ago.
Bourbon- Maker’s Mark or Clarke’s. And there is an extensive array of good choices from Kentucky and Tennessee.
At least she was of age. Or are we talking about something different?
I took a tour of the Jim Beam distillery in in Clermont KY, and enjoyed Booker’s, a 120+ proof aged 6+ years. Too expensive for general use, but the best I’ve ever tasted.
I will only do shots of tequila if I can’t find a larger glass.
And rocks? No. Sigh. The flavor of tequila is supposed to evoke a certain feeling of place, attitude. Dry, hot desert. Cactus. Clint Eastwood serape, Sergio Leone music. Not a single ice cube in sight.
And I prefer the ordinary brands. (I would say “rot-gut”, but we’re talking tequila here – no reason to be redundant.) Sauza is good. Jose Cuervo is starting to get a bit jumped up. Tequila aged in oak barrels [insert eye-roll] is like seeing Tuco wearing a top hat and spats. I swallow it like Josey Wales having to swallow his tobacco juice when the old lady glared at him for spitting.
I like a good marguerita I suppose, and will drink 6 or 8 if we’re being sociable. But they are really not good for you – too much sugar. A properly made marguerita should be a cocktail that combines all of the lick salt/down shot/bite lime business into one drink. Less of a giant glass of fruit punch and more of an efficient tequila-delivery device.
Maker’s Mark. Good on the rocks, and when I was in NY several years ago with stepdaughter and granddaughter (we went to the Radio City Music Hall Christmas show, skated on an outdoor rink, saw the tree at Rockefeller Center, went to FAO Schwartz and several museums and had a marvelous time), I had a Maker’s Sour on a very cold and chilly night. 2 parts MM, 1 part simple syrup, 1/2 part lemon juice, cherry and lemon peel for garnish. Shake up with ice, strain into glass over ice and garnish. It’s delightful. As was the Gibson I drank at Harry’s Bar in Venice. Lovely waiter. He must have seen me ogling the desserts at the next table and brought me over a spectacular slice of some sort of fabulous cake on the house.
Which reminds me of Strega, perhaps my favorite liqueur (very aromatic, reminds me of the scent of freshly mown, really good, hay). I discovered, when I was in Venice, that instead of serving it in tiny little glasses, and sipping it daintily as they do in the States, in Italy they pour it over rocks and indulge in healthy swigs. Even better. (Lovely waiter at Caffe Florian in St. Mark Square also. Note to self: Go back to Italy sometime and tour the
waiterssights.)There is a nice little distillery that has opened up in Washington PA and which does a very good rye, distilled onsite from local grains. Pittsburgh was the country’s center for rye whiskey production in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, and then the tradition, which survived the Whiskey Rebellion in the area, completely died out. It’s nice to see it reviving.
Bourbon, neat. I like them on the drier side.
Current favorite: Weller (green label) and the Weller Antique 101, which is a little sweeter. Both of them are wheated (whatever that means). They are inexpensively priced in Ohio. I can only get them on Tuesdays (the delivery day). My local state store runs out of the Antique 101 by 2 pm, but the green label is usually available most of the day.
I don’t like hard liquor but how can I be only the second person to like this post?
On the discussion to date, RE: my current bourbons…
By coincidence, about a week ago the wife and I sat down to wile away part of a stormy evening – built a fire in the fireplace and sat down in front of it with three mini-snifters containing respectively Laphroig, Maker’s Mark, and El Mayor Añejo, all neat of course. Side by side sipping and comparison were in order.
Our verdict: Yes! We like ’em all, each in their own way. My own opinion is that if you aren’t having a rich peaty Scotch, why not have a good ol’ Murican bourbon? And that tequila flavor that can be a bit off in an blanco bottle becomes a thing of wonder when well aged, enough so that margaritas have gone off the menu in favor of añejo neat.
Jameson Irish Whiskey, neat, for sipping.
-Maker’s Mark, maybe with a rock. I’m not cultured enough to taste the difference between regular Maker’s and Maker’s 46 (unlike Leo).
-I’ve also taken a shine to Bulleit’s Rye.
-Favorite Irish Whisky is Tullamore Dew.
-The night I met the Lovely and Talented Mrs. Mongo, I gallantly bought around of tequila for the table, with all the accoutrements. She stated, “No salt, no lime, none of those amateur gimmicks” and threw back the shot. I knew right then that I was going to marry that girl. I actually proposed that night, but it took about three years to set the hook.
-Tequila shooters were part of our wedding ceremony. After passing through the saber arch, we had to go back to the beginning and accomplish a task given to us by each pair of saber bearers. Downing a tequila shot each was the task at one of the stations.
BTW, for our tequila lovers, if you ever find yourself in Bogota, Colombia, I can’t recommend this restaurant enough.
‘Cause that’s me; I’m a giver.
Is there a one-eyed waitress with a neck tattoo? I’m looking for authenticity here.
I don’t drink; but if I did, I might have to answer Yes…