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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 it depends on if it is in a Mexican Martini (a.k.a a Rocks Margarita) or just for sipping:
For the Mexican Martini I prefer Herradura silver. For Sipping I prefer Patron Anejo.
For Bourbon the Raxxalan House bourbon actually isn’t. It is a Tennessee Whiskey by Mr. John Daniels primarily because for mixed drinks I find the value to performance to be acceptable. I also enjoy sipping bourbons my 3 favorites currently are Woodford Reserve, Blanton, and Eagle Rare.
For Single Malts, funnily enough I don’t enjoy the blended stuff at all, Lagavulin is my top by a mile.
For Gins I am currently very fond of Hendricks; however, I change Gin brands pretty frequently so next month that could change.
What I am really looking for these days is a good quality white rum. I have started making classic daiquiri’s and I don’t have enough knowledge about rums to know a good quality from a bad one.
Bulleit Bourbon is attractively priced in Ohio and also quite good.
Noah’s Mill Bourbon
All of the above? I don’t go out of my way, but I like pretty much all of the harder liquors and liqueurs. Except gin. That stuff has to be in a mixer to hide its utter foulness.
My wife feels the same way about Single Malts. She often asks me how I can stand drinking something that smells and tastes like mowed lawn. I just sip and grin.
Christmas trees are for looking at, not drinking.
If it ain’t in the “red zone” (areas blocked to US personnel) I’m not going!
Good Point. I like all alcohol. A bit too much for my blood sugar levels.
Not exactly to one up you, for 11 years is respectable–and theres something to be said for remembering the event. My father introduced me to tequila while my age was still measured in months. He was in college then and his solution for those particular challenges was a light coat of tequila on a pacifier. It’s remains one of his favorite anecdotes and my favorite excuse for having developed not only a taste for the stuff but a habit of sleeping through lectures.
I’m firmly in the tequila column here and it doesn’t even really matter which one.
Okay, good luck with that. Back in the day (may have changed, but I doubt it), official US personnel could not be south of Calle 100 after sundown. I went south of Calle 100 coupla times in official capacity. I understood the reasons.
But, hey, brah, knock yourself out.
Actually couldn’t/ didn’t go because packing heat and such.
Cuban 12 year old rum can be heavenly.
I forget the brand.
Wait one.
but remember the girl
Philistines.
New Amsterdam Vodka. It gets the job done.
I’m presently sipping a martini made with Sonoma Brothers gin, and it’s scrumptious.
The category of “premium” vodka utterly baffles me. Vodka is for college students who haven’t yet acquired a taste for proper spirits and just want to get drunk fast on a limited budget.
The story goes that on my first birthday the city of Chicago announced the event with the wailing of sirens. My dad had just returned from the south pacific where he flew Corsairs for the Marines. As soon as they heard the sirens, the men quickly ran out to stock up on beer in case the pop shops closed. Somehow they figured that the announcement of Japanese surrender might result in expanded celebrations. As the family celebrated the day, it seems that I walked, crawled and staggered from couch to chair downing whatever was in the bottles that were temporarily set down. After a while my mother screeched as I toppled over spilling an almost full bottle of Milwaukee’s finest over me and the carpet. Since then it has been beer for me with an occasional shot of tequila to keep things honest. I do, however, refrain from imbibing until I fall over since that introduction.
Children, quiet please. The adults are drinking.
I don’t much like hard liquor. I like beer. Wine is good too, but bad for keeping my teeth white. If I’m at a nice restaurant I will get a glass of port. I don’t care what the etiquette says, I’ll drink port wine with a steak or dessert or whatever. I really like port. But I don’t drink it very often because it’s too expensive, and did I mention the teeth staining effect?
Bourbon. Two brands from the Buffalo Trace (Kentucky) distillery: Ancient Age and Benchmark No.8.
The occasional margarita at a Mexican restaurant, okay. Tequila shots? No thank you, it’s the only hard liquor I really don’t like. Bourbon is fine, but I prefer rye.
Wait….this is a serious question?? Bourbon of course! However I agree that a love of good bourbon can lead to searching out and enjoying good tequila as well.
Jose Cuervo is not a friend of mine.
I tried to get along with ol’ Jose in college. We had our final falling out in a parking lot in a little Mexican town called San Felipe, in May 1989.
Whiskey is m drink of choice
Weller bourbon is always a solid choice. Although, here in Texas it’s hard to beat a good margarita on the patio on a sunny spring day
My parents did not drink when I was growing up. I can remember an argument with my older brother (on leave from the Marines) about keeping a 6-pack of beer in the refrigerator. This affliction seemed to be cured as they got older.
When I got to college at UNC-Chapel Hill, there was a second cousin or so that my parents had insisted I should visit. When I got there, the husband showed up at the door with a glass in his hand and asked me what I’d like. I told him that I had no idea, so he gave me a glass of Drambuie. I realized that I had been missing something big.
When I started living on my own, I decided I should learn more about this new world. I was fairly methodical, so I decided I would work my way through the Liquor store one liquor at a time and not get another until I finished what I had. Creme de Menthe almost killed me.
Much later, when my wife and I got our first Deerhound, we found out that the breeder could have rules for what the official (AKC) registered name was. In addition to having the breeder’s name as part of the registered name, ours insisted that the name include a Scotch Whiskey and each litter was assigned a different letter of the alphabet*. Ours was an “A” litter, so our first Deerhounds name was “Ardbeg Kildalton D’Lux”. (D’Lux was the breeder). Her call name was “Willow”
I have tried some of the Ardbeg bottlings and I enjoy them very much for the peaty flavor, but they are expensive – and you can’t get Kildalton in the States. I also learned that the addition of a very small amount of water makes a huge difference in flavor. These days, going past the Scotch aisle is a walk past dogs I have known from various Deerhound shows.
That was your first mistake, Joseph — drinking tequila for the flavor.
Sure, if you want to live here:
Well I’ve gone to Rye – Templeton. So kind of a bourbon.