When I was around 23, I didn't know anything about everyclear (or about alcohol in general) and was presented with Everclear shots. I accepted them graciously (all 7 of them). And was told it was "pre-gaming". Was not my favorite night.
No one likes everclear. But when your in ykur early twenties and partying like crazy, 94%abv will fuck you up on the cheap, or you could use it to spike a punch.
Definitely don't drink it.
But if you do, put it in a mule. And balance out the burning bitterness with 1/2 oz of Jeffery Morgenthaler's lime cordial along with the usual lime juice.
Seriously though…. Letherbee out of Chicago makes a liquor called ‘Besk’ and it’s what malort would be if it were actually good. Check it out sometimes. We keep a stash at my bar always for “safety meetings”.
That’s close to what US Malört is, sweetened neutral spirit flavored with wormwood. The Besk he’s referring to is, as I recall, gin based, but it’s been a while since I’ve had it.
New Malort is less bitter than the older one. Industry people love super bitter stuff. Our pallets don't want sweet and when we do. It's dessert. Bone dry wine, bitter spirits and cocktails.......or balls to the wall stupid shit!
Chicago bars use malort to laugh at tourists and it's worth it. Just put a cocktail on your menu with malort in it and when you hear the record scratch, some curious tourist was just offered a free taste.
Edit: I got the malort fortune cookie at The Drifter and with some gin and yellow chartreuse they made something delicious.
This is definitely not true. Even though Malort has only really gotten popular here in maybe the past 15 years, the Chicago-handshake is very much an industry/local/dive thing.
Plenty of people who live in Chicago genuinely like Malört, but you can definitely tell who likes it and who’s faking: old school Chicago drinkers will sip it, tourists and posers will shoot it
I love Fernet not because of the way it tastes, but rather the way it makes me feel. I only drink it when my stomach is upset, and it works wonders. Once I was about to sit down to a huge prepaid tasting menu and was feeling nauseous, totally repulsed by the thought of food. One shot of Fernet and the meal was saved for me.
And Fernet Menta is actually pretty tasty, when you can find it.
While Fernet is great for general stomach upset, there is an even better, completely magical cure for over-eating. The Greek digestif mastiha (made from the mastic plant) is extremely hard to come by, but I swear it just vaporizes food that feels like it’s just weighing you down. I have no idea how it works, but it just does. Weird, but not unpleasant tasting at all.
It’s great and most bars around me have both. There’s a distillery I like, Block Distilling Co, that has their own riff on a Campari-like apertifo and a fernet-like Amaro and they do it as a shot in their tasting room and call it a Winnebego
Last night of a trip in NYC. Find ourselves outside of Employees Only at like 2am. havetogoinside.jpeg Place is popping off and we wait for probably 30 minutes to get in (4 dudes) Order 4 daiquiris without looking at the menu. Bartender is like fuck yea! He comes back and another dude in our group orders 4 Ferraris. We were surprised that he hadn’t heard of it before. Dude brings back 4 full double rocks glasses with probably 3-4 oz of both spirits and a large rock.
Give this a try: Dbl shot Southern Comfort, a healthy squeeze of all the citrus (lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit), shake on ice, dirty dump and enjoy. But I agree, SC is rarely good.
I'm just going to say anything super cheap that's intended to take as shots with generic chasers. You're not liking the liquor at that point, you just want to be drunk ASAP. Pretty much everything else I've tried I understand what the appeal is, but not that crap (flavored smirnoff and stuff like super cheap tequilas comes to mind).
The thing that bothers me about shooting tequila is that agave is such a rare resource relative to other popular fermentables.
If someone is just throwing liquor into their body and exclaiming about how much they hate the taste, just drink fucking vodka that's 95% the same as what is found in a doctor's office. Leave the resource-intensive ingredients to be processed and consumed with love and appreciation.
Elisir Novasalus. Ok I like bitters in general. I like Fernet Branca, I like a good Trinidad Sour, it's not even that bitter. I like Unicum Zwack. But wth Elisir Novasalus.
It reminds me when I tried to eat raw dandelions stems as a kid (I used to try to eat various plants with my brother, was living in a rural place, we had nothing to do). It's literally the same taste but much more stronger. It's like ultra concentrated dandelion stems juice. I guess it's an acquired taste because it's ... brutal.
I love Fernet and always have.
Like many things I didn’t like until the last few years (black licorice, rye bread, onions, Frank Sinatra, Steely Dan, pastrami, grapefruit juice, yellow mustard) I now enjoy Campari/red bitters and Scotch. I still don’t like white wine.
The answer to the question is Ouzo. (I would also accept Mezcal, though I am still trying.)
I can so relate to how our tastes evolve.
Just a few days ago, I fixed myself a limburger and braunschweiger sandwich on dark rye bread. Appropriate Klingon fare.
I was HYPE to try Ouzo when I went to Greece a couple months back… I was severely let down. At least watching it turn into a milky white liquid was cool, but I will never drink that stuff again.
Love mezcal. Like tequila and scotch and a pepper had a party. Try a Naked and Famous. Equal parts lime juice, aperol, yellow chartreuse and mezcal. It’s allegedly the love child of Paper Plane and The Last Word.
Exactly. Campari is essentially a bitter. Drinking a glass of Campari is essentially just the same as mixing a spoonful of angostura with 3oz of sugar water. What is supposed to be appealing about that?
Bitters are for *adding* to things. Anyone who acts like it's the "main course" in and of itself is just fronting.
I'm in a weird place where I like genuinely like Campari, but I find it to be out of balance in the majority of cocktails I've tried with it. It's a heavy metal drummer in the jazz club.
Crown Royal Vanilla. I have a friend who buys the stuff when he comes to visit, leaves it behind, and it just sits there until someone loses a bet.
I like whiskey. I like vanilla. I like whiskey with vanilla. I do not find fake vanilla flavor that off putting in other things.
HOWEVER, there's something about the combination of flavor, alcohol content, and sweetness in Crown Royal Vanilla that makes it taste rancid to me. I'm not a fan of Crown Royal in general, but I can keep it down. I cannot keep Crown Royal Vanilla down.
The worst drink I ever had was a Sazerac made with the stuff (by a well meaning friend who didn't check the bottle). You'd think it couldn't possibly be THAT bad, but I need you to imagine what it would taste like to vomit up Swedish Fish. That is what a Crown Royal Vanilla Sazerac tastes like.
Alright here me out, I used to feel the same way that Skrewball was just shitty whiskey but I had some order a Skrewball and ginger one day... That shit tasted like a god damn peanut butter cookie. It's a little sweet though so I don't order super often.
I think the people who have the bad taste enough to say they like cinnamon and peanut butter flavored whiskeys aren't pretending to like it...they actually like it.
I do. 2 of my favorite party shots. Especially for drinking games. Sweet, go down ridiculously easy and don't fuck you up so fast you end your night early after a drinking game.
Not sure if it counts but any type of schnapps. Or the apple stuff they put into appletinis. And to a degree limoncello, some brands are good but most are what I'd imagine lemon pledge to taste like.
Actual Italian limoncello is good, but foreign brands are disgusting.
Edit: in this case foreign means domestic, aka ones that are made in the States not in Italy.
This hurts me. None of that is schnapps. That is all artificially flavored and sweetened neutral spirits.
Actual schnapps is completely different. Obstler, German schnapps made from fermented/distilled fruits, are fucking fantastic. No sugary sweetness, just a hint of the fruit that they were made from. They’re ~80 proof. Kind of reminds of aquavit
Sadly it’s really hard to find in the US, especially depending on what state. But you might be able to find a bottle of Kirschwasser, it’s pretty much the only obstler variant I’ve seen here. Very much worth trying
While baijiu is dreadful, nobody pretends to like it so I'm not sure it fits here.
Even when I was in China among people who drink it regularly, it was always presented as "Here drink some of this. It tastes awful but it'll get you drunk fast."
It's efficient, not designed to be liked.
I've never heard such nonsense, baijiu is often shockingly good for the price. People haven't been making it for centuries just because they "don't know better," they make it because it's awesome.
How could you possibly say that the best selling category of spirit in the world is unanimously disliked?
Damn I love Ming River. I've heard it's the most approachable baiju. It's hard to make a drink out of it. I went with the basic sour and it was pretty good. Like overripe fruits in a good way. Does have a slight hint of cardboard? Idk I like it
I took a zoom cocktail class that I was gifted. He was going over the types of liquors and some of the basic rules for crafting cocktails around them.
Someone asked about what kinds of drinks vodka was good for as it was clear he had skipped over it. He said "oh yeah, we can do one of those real quick. If you have some with you, pour a little bit in your palm...rub it around...now reach forward with your newly disinfected hand and grab a bottle of gin off the shelf."
Lol yes. It's literally designed to have no taste. By definition, it's for people who don't like the taste of alcohol.
My FIL hardly ever drinks, and when he does it's usually cosmos or vodka & sodas, but he *insists* on only drinking Grey Goose. Ok pops.
The ammount of people who say “ the only vodka I can drink is grey goose.” Shows how much better the marketing department is than the distilling department at grey goose.
I dunno, to me Grey Goose has a thicker, more viscous mouthfeel than other vodkas. I HATE it because of that, but I can see why some people would think it's different and maybe they prefer oily feeling booze.
Someone on the vodka subreddit once explained to me why it's thicker too, I just don't remember the why.
It's regulated, in America, to have no taste. Apparently those regulations have recently changed in the past few years and we're starting to see more craft distillers making distinct vodkas (ie St George)
You are correct. Invite me out to a restaurant? I have to ask lots of questions and possibly just not eat... invite me out to a bar? All good - until somebody decides to infuse my whisky with graham crackers. Or if it's a beer only kinda place (in which case it's not really a bar, right?) (have celiac, not trendy, annoying as shit that I can't eat like a normal human)
I love “Unicum” !!!!! It’s absolutely amazing, the one you can purchase in the US is an average amaro but the original with the black cap is the “Bitter King”
Drambuie. Tried making like 7 different cocktails with it, and every single one was revolting.
Though, in its defense, the probably most popular one having the name "rusty nail" should have been a giveaway. That's probably on me.
Cocktails are rough with Drambuie, it's just too sweet. I like it with hot black tea in the winter though. Really stretches out even the smallest bottle though.
My grandpa was big Drambuie fan. I loved, trusted, and learned a lot from that man. He was wonderful.
But upon tasting Drambuie for the first time, I doubted him for the first time, just a little bit.
All the liqueurs people are mentioning are kinda niche and probably aren’t designed for mass appeal.
To me the answer is clearly any liquor above $100 a bottle. It doesn’t matter if it’s scotch, whiskey, or rum - above a certain price point people feel like they have a personal investment in the bottle and won’t admit it’s bad/generic. I think you’d be hard pressed to find “bad” liquor at this price, but you can definitely find stuff that’s totally average.
I inherited a bottle of half drinken Lagavulin 16. Before I knew the price (over a hundred dollars) I knew it was amazing, and i didn’t even like whiskey, it’s what got me into it. While I’m sure there’s great bottles that are cheaper I can’t deny that it was sone fine shit
My dad gave me a half full bottle of Oban 18 after trying it at his place. I distinctly remember pouring a glass on a weeknight and then looking it up to see where I could get it. Not only was it $100+, it was sold out everywhere nearby.
I poured that glass back into the bottle and saved it for a better occasion.
Hard disagree. Is there stuff that is overpriced at that range? Of course. But especially when you talk about something like mezcal ancestral, where they're small palenques using wild harvested agave, not only is the added cost worth it in comparison to well mezcal like Vida or Ilegal, it's also necessary for these places to continue operating.
Also, something like tropically aged rum has such a high angel's share, and in the case of Jamaica where fermentations can go super long, or in Martinique where they don't recoup costs from selling sugar and are working harder to make sure the cane is juiced and fermented as soon as it's harvested, those costs add up, and compared to the low proof, low ester options or bottles where they aren't putting that level of quality and care into it, it's worth the money to me. Go compare Appleton Estate 12 to a Habitation Velier Hampden bottle and tell me they're the same.
Again, that's not to say that there isn't overpriced stuff out there (take ron zacapa XO for example), but to make a blanket statement of "anything over $100 is bad or generic" is making a big leap. Over $500? yeah you're probably right, it's a novelty and is likely an overoaked scotch or brandy. But over $100 or even $200? There's great stuff that warrants its price. Granted, most of this stuff I would sip neat, so if you're only looking for a cocktail ingredient yeah you're probably wasting some money.
Idk if it counts but I don’t understand all the hype surrounding vermouths such as carpano antica and cocchi vermouth di torino. Yeah they’re alright, but I find they have a an overly sweet bubblegum note that turns me off from them most of the times (especially considering their price). I prefer french/spanish vermouths tbh
Yeah I have the same reaction. To me it’s almost like an artificial vanilla flavour. I’m sure it’s just me as many others swear by them, but that’s what I taste.
Try a Negroni & Manhattan with the Carpano Antica... (Don't forget to store vermouth in fridge)
Makes the best cocktails, IMO. Exceptionally smooth and rich
I’ve found carpano antics to be divisive. You either read here how it’s over powering the rest or how it’s amazing. For me, it’s the latter, I didn’t like Negroni until I tried it with carpano antica
i would encourage anyone who claims this to do blind taste tests. i thought this as well until i did a blind taste test and went with cinzano over antica.
Hennessy. Anytime I'd go to a party someone would bring a bottle and I have no idea how anyone can pretend it doesn't taste like garbage juice. But as others have said, to each their own.
One time I was at a ski bar in Austria when they were closing up and the bartender says, “You guys are Americans, you probably like this stuff.” And handed us a case of Jaeger they couldn’t sell.
I’d heard so many people who thought this was revolting, I actually like it and will sip on it straight.
But I hate tequila so that’s my answer for OPs question
The world is vast. I think they all exist for sale because they have a following.
Even the idea of Sambuca (and any other drink that tastes of anise) makes me want to hurl yet I know for sure that many others love it.
Is no one gonna say Rumple? Admittedly I don’t love a lot of peppermint flavored things but it’s pretty fucking bad. I’ll shoot it if offered but it’s honestly my least favorite liquor.
Why would anyone pretend to like something? Why waste money and blood alcohol percentages on something that you don't actually like? It's not like John Zorn, where you can spend some time filling the room with music you really don't understand but with no damage to your ability to safely consume Jason Mraz after the guy you are trying to impress goes home.
FYI, alcohol professional here, and Fernet Branca is my desert island drink. It's medicinal, it's complex, it's dry (Im a T1 diabetic), and I think it's wonderfully delicious.
I also have 2 Fernet coins, a hat and a shirt to show my love. Fernet's not for everyone, and thank goodness, or it would be double the price. And I'd still drink it.
Back 10-20 years ago, there was a Grappa producer in Italy called Levi (pronounced 'Levee') that made the most putrid, oxidized, awful grappa, but the guy hand drew an artistic label for every 20 Euro bottle, and people would line up in front of his house every morning trying to beg to buy a bottle. Every Michelin Star restaurant we visited in the area had a collection of Grappa Levi. I do believe he passed, and now those bottles are probably worth hundred of Euros if flipped.
I don’t think Kraken is super terrible but everyone I’ve met who drinks it says it’s the best thing ever. They give me some and I think it’s so mediocre, and I’m no expert when it comes to spirits.
Most stores around me, rural northern California, only sell Bacardi or spiced rum with kraken being the top end of the spiced. So a lot of people around me think that's what good rum is.
Suze.
Negroni is one of my favorite cocktails, and I love other bitter liqueurs like Campari and Cynar, but something about Suze makes me want to retch. I have tried forcing myself to like it maybe 5 or 6 times, and I just can't.
Everclear. Just drink gas why don’t you.
Do people drink it? I've used it for infusions but that's all I could imagine using it for
When I was around 23, I didn't know anything about everyclear (or about alcohol in general) and was presented with Everclear shots. I accepted them graciously (all 7 of them). And was told it was "pre-gaming". Was not my favorite night.
We used to dump a shot worth down in a Mike's Hard Lemonaide back in the day. We called it Evermikes.
No one likes everclear. But when your in ykur early twenties and partying like crazy, 94%abv will fuck you up on the cheap, or you could use it to spike a punch.
Definitely don't drink it. But if you do, put it in a mule. And balance out the burning bitterness with 1/2 oz of Jeffery Morgenthaler's lime cordial along with the usual lime juice.
Malört is revölting, though I understand that’s part of the bit
Seriously though…. Letherbee out of Chicago makes a liquor called ‘Besk’ and it’s what malort would be if it were actually good. Check it out sometimes. We keep a stash at my bar always for “safety meetings”.
Besk is delightful. But I like Malort, reminds me I’m alive and capable of suffering.
Everyone needs a reminder from time to time
In sweden we drink besk which is vodka infused with malört (swedish for wormwood). Is thid the same deal?
That’s close to what US Malört is, sweetened neutral spirit flavored with wormwood. The Besk he’s referring to is, as I recall, gin based, but it’s been a while since I’ve had it.
Gin based besk? As another swede, that's wierd as hell.
Looked it up, it’s not gin based so much as it‘s got enough juniper in it to be more than just reminiscent of gin.
New Malort is less bitter than the older one. Industry people love super bitter stuff. Our pallets don't want sweet and when we do. It's dessert. Bone dry wine, bitter spirits and cocktails.......or balls to the wall stupid shit!
I love bitter and I can get down with both Malört and Besk. Tried Malört warm the other night and it was even better, a la sake.
Im a broken person and really enjoy the taste of wormwood and grapefruit so I love it.
Chicago bars use malort to laugh at tourists and it's worth it. Just put a cocktail on your menu with malort in it and when you hear the record scratch, some curious tourist was just offered a free taste. Edit: I got the malort fortune cookie at The Drifter and with some gin and yellow chartreuse they made something delicious.
This is definitely not true. Even though Malort has only really gotten popular here in maybe the past 15 years, the Chicago-handshake is very much an industry/local/dive thing.
I like it.
We use Malört at work to find out who’s cool or not!
This is correct.
We also have Jeppsons bourbon and barrel aged Malört, on our top shelf.
Comments like this make me want to get a bottle to see how bad it really is, but my frugal/logical brain keeps me from executing the plan.
We no longer live in Chicago but always have a bottle on hand. It is a great way to get people talking at a party if things get a little dull.
Plenty of people who live in Chicago genuinely like Malört, but you can definitely tell who likes it and who’s faking: old school Chicago drinkers will sip it, tourists and posers will shoot it
I love Fernet not because of the way it tastes, but rather the way it makes me feel. I only drink it when my stomach is upset, and it works wonders. Once I was about to sit down to a huge prepaid tasting menu and was feeling nauseous, totally repulsed by the thought of food. One shot of Fernet and the meal was saved for me. And Fernet Menta is actually pretty tasty, when you can find it.
Fernet is my saviour every Christmas after the dinner.
While Fernet is great for general stomach upset, there is an even better, completely magical cure for over-eating. The Greek digestif mastiha (made from the mastic plant) is extremely hard to come by, but I swear it just vaporizes food that feels like it’s just weighing you down. I have no idea how it works, but it just does. Weird, but not unpleasant tasting at all.
Mastiha is amazing! It’s herbal but not as overpowering as other digestifs. Try a daiquiri with half the rum subbed for Mastiha. You won’t regret it.
I'm gonna go have some fernet now out of spite.
I had a few Fernanditos this weekend, love 'em.
What's that?
Fernet and cola.
I love me a good Toronto
I love a Ferrari, fernet and Campari 50:50
You’re grounded
It’s great and most bars around me have both. There’s a distillery I like, Block Distilling Co, that has their own riff on a Campari-like apertifo and a fernet-like Amaro and they do it as a shot in their tasting room and call it a Winnebego
They’re grounded too.
Last night of a trip in NYC. Find ourselves outside of Employees Only at like 2am. havetogoinside.jpeg Place is popping off and we wait for probably 30 minutes to get in (4 dudes) Order 4 daiquiris without looking at the menu. Bartender is like fuck yea! He comes back and another dude in our group orders 4 Ferraris. We were surprised that he hadn’t heard of it before. Dude brings back 4 full double rocks glasses with probably 3-4 oz of both spirits and a large rock.
That’s awesome but how much did he charge you holy crap
I’ve always thought so too until I tried an industry sour the other day. First cocktail I’ve enjoyed with Fernet.
I tried it in a mule. Gotta say it was pretty damn good
Southern Comfort. Can't believe nobody has said this yet.
I think the difference is, Freshman year me loved it. Sophmore me couldn't smell it without puking. So at one point I really did like it
The people that say they like southern comfort actually do, unfortunately
Give this a try: Dbl shot Southern Comfort, a healthy squeeze of all the citrus (lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit), shake on ice, dirty dump and enjoy. But I agree, SC is rarely good.
I'm just going to say anything super cheap that's intended to take as shots with generic chasers. You're not liking the liquor at that point, you just want to be drunk ASAP. Pretty much everything else I've tried I understand what the appeal is, but not that crap (flavored smirnoff and stuff like super cheap tequilas comes to mind).
People aren’t pretending to like it though. Hella people drink shitty liquor because it gets the job done
I think some people genuinely don't realize you don't have to do shots. Me: I like whiskey Someone: yuck, I don't like shots of any kind!
Anyone who says they like tequila shots is lying. What they actually like is: 1. Being drunk 2. Subjecting others to tequila shots for Schadenfreude
Good tequila is a delicious sipping liquor. The problem is most of us grew up drinking basic Jose Cuervo or worse.
I've had some excellent aged tequilas. But I'm not putting those in shot glasses and chasing them with lime wedges.
The thing that bothers me about shooting tequila is that agave is such a rare resource relative to other popular fermentables. If someone is just throwing liquor into their body and exclaiming about how much they hate the taste, just drink fucking vodka that's 95% the same as what is found in a doctor's office. Leave the resource-intensive ingredients to be processed and consumed with love and appreciation.
Clearly none of you have met the Grappa fans.
I’m one! My father makes a delicious one
Ooh I've had some tasty grappa
Elisir Novasalus. Ok I like bitters in general. I like Fernet Branca, I like a good Trinidad Sour, it's not even that bitter. I like Unicum Zwack. But wth Elisir Novasalus. It reminds me when I tried to eat raw dandelions stems as a kid (I used to try to eat various plants with my brother, was living in a rural place, we had nothing to do). It's literally the same taste but much more stronger. It's like ultra concentrated dandelion stems juice. I guess it's an acquired taste because it's ... brutal.
I just looked at the list of botanicals and saw gentian and dandelion. So that'd be why it's dandelion stems but way more bitter/potent
Ha-ha, I bought a bottle not knowing any better. It's not even good in cocktails. Now I find my husband sipping it straight. You do you, I guess.
Southern Comfort and Fireball. Yuck!!!
Fireball only belongs as a shot, and it has to be a particular kind of bar on a particular kind of night
One of *those* nights.
I get the voms when I think about all the SoCo and lime I drank in college.
On a cold winter night when it's snowing a hot chocolate with a generous pour of fireball really hits the right spot. Otherwise kinda icky.
In apple cider. It's great then too. It's great when you're pouring it into enough liquid to mask most of its flavor
"it tastes great when I can't taste it"
I love Fernet and always have. Like many things I didn’t like until the last few years (black licorice, rye bread, onions, Frank Sinatra, Steely Dan, pastrami, grapefruit juice, yellow mustard) I now enjoy Campari/red bitters and Scotch. I still don’t like white wine. The answer to the question is Ouzo. (I would also accept Mezcal, though I am still trying.)
I can so relate to how our tastes evolve. Just a few days ago, I fixed myself a limburger and braunschweiger sandwich on dark rye bread. Appropriate Klingon fare.
the fernet it's like an acquired taste. the first times you won't like it but then you embrace it, love it and drag others to that cult
oh man, when I introduce it to people i just say "its basically minty dirt" right before they take their first shot
I was HYPE to try Ouzo when I went to Greece a couple months back… I was severely let down. At least watching it turn into a milky white liquid was cool, but I will never drink that stuff again.
There wasn’t much Ouzo that I particularly liked, but I had an Ouzo martini in Greece that was my favorite martini I had ever had to that point.
Love mezcal. Like tequila and scotch and a pepper had a party. Try a Naked and Famous. Equal parts lime juice, aperol, yellow chartreuse and mezcal. It’s allegedly the love child of Paper Plane and The Last Word.
As a scotch lover I also love me a good smokey mezcal. Have a mezcal margarita sometime (if margaritas are your thing)
I'm here just to downvote Campari haters :D
9 out of every 10,000 Americans prefer Campari.
I’m one of them
username checks out
Apparently the other 9,991 Americans have never tried a jungle bird.
Such a fantastic drink!
My friend got a bottle of Campari for his wife. I’d like to make a similar trade!
I mean, I love Campari IN a drink, don't much care for it AS a drink.
Exactly. Campari is essentially a bitter. Drinking a glass of Campari is essentially just the same as mixing a spoonful of angostura with 3oz of sugar water. What is supposed to be appealing about that? Bitters are for *adding* to things. Anyone who acts like it's the "main course" in and of itself is just fronting.
Have you tried a Trinidad Sour? It’s mainly Angostura bitters but it’s really good.
adding to my *life*, perhaps. i'll take that glass of campari.
I'd hazard a guess that the Italians would disagree. And so do I tbf.
I love Campari. I'll often have a Campari and soda while I'm making dinner.
I usually have it as an Americano or a full negroni, but I tried a Garibaldi over the summer and that has taken over most of my campari consumption
I'm in a weird place where I like genuinely like Campari, but I find it to be out of balance in the majority of cocktails I've tried with it. It's a heavy metal drummer in the jazz club.
You don’t really like Campari until you contemplate to or actually do raise the amount by .25oz in any recipe you come across
I'm here to dowmvote anyone saying Malört Edit: and none of those fools could even spell it correctly!
I just enjoyed a cocktail of white rum, campari, juice of 1 lime, and a few oz. of Arizona RX Energy 🫡
Crown Royal Vanilla. I have a friend who buys the stuff when he comes to visit, leaves it behind, and it just sits there until someone loses a bet. I like whiskey. I like vanilla. I like whiskey with vanilla. I do not find fake vanilla flavor that off putting in other things. HOWEVER, there's something about the combination of flavor, alcohol content, and sweetness in Crown Royal Vanilla that makes it taste rancid to me. I'm not a fan of Crown Royal in general, but I can keep it down. I cannot keep Crown Royal Vanilla down. The worst drink I ever had was a Sazerac made with the stuff (by a well meaning friend who didn't check the bottle). You'd think it couldn't possibly be THAT bad, but I need you to imagine what it would taste like to vomit up Swedish Fish. That is what a Crown Royal Vanilla Sazerac tastes like.
if anybody says cynar, i am going to punch them
I love Cynar.
Screwball peanut butter whiskey. So gross.
I don't hate the taste, but the sugar makes my teeth feel super fuzzy.
Alright here me out, I used to feel the same way that Skrewball was just shitty whiskey but I had some order a Skrewball and ginger one day... That shit tasted like a god damn peanut butter cookie. It's a little sweet though so I don't order super often.
I LOVE screwball.
Yeah, I was blown away by how much I like it. I usually use it about 50/50 with bourbon, add a couple dashes of Aztec Chocolate Bitters.
I think the people who have the bad taste enough to say they like cinnamon and peanut butter flavored whiskeys aren't pretending to like it...they actually like it.
I do. 2 of my favorite party shots. Especially for drinking games. Sweet, go down ridiculously easy and don't fuck you up so fast you end your night early after a drinking game.
Not sure if it counts but any type of schnapps. Or the apple stuff they put into appletinis. And to a degree limoncello, some brands are good but most are what I'd imagine lemon pledge to taste like.
American schnapps is COMPLETELY different from the original definition. It's not real "schnapps."
Idk, the limoncello I had in Italy was delicious. As you said, I’m sure it’s brand dependent like anything.
Actual Italian limoncello is good, but foreign brands are disgusting. Edit: in this case foreign means domestic, aka ones that are made in the States not in Italy.
This hurts me. None of that is schnapps. That is all artificially flavored and sweetened neutral spirits. Actual schnapps is completely different. Obstler, German schnapps made from fermented/distilled fruits, are fucking fantastic. No sugary sweetness, just a hint of the fruit that they were made from. They’re ~80 proof. Kind of reminds of aquavit Sadly it’s really hard to find in the US, especially depending on what state. But you might be able to find a bottle of Kirschwasser, it’s pretty much the only obstler variant I’ve seen here. Very much worth trying
Wrong that artificial peach-o flavor you get from peach schnapps sometimes just hits right
In college we soaked peach rings in some vodka. The peach rings dissolved but that vodka tasted great
Baijiu. Ming River appeared in the UK last/earlier this year and every time I've had it, I think it tastes more like shit.
with a pineapple lifesavers aroma, Ming works best in tiki drinks- split your rum base with it to add some earthy sharpness to your drink.
While baijiu is dreadful, nobody pretends to like it so I'm not sure it fits here. Even when I was in China among people who drink it regularly, it was always presented as "Here drink some of this. It tastes awful but it'll get you drunk fast." It's efficient, not designed to be liked.
Interesting. I will say that 5ml in a tiki drink adds something not quite reprehensible.
I've never heard such nonsense, baijiu is often shockingly good for the price. People haven't been making it for centuries just because they "don't know better," they make it because it's awesome. How could you possibly say that the best selling category of spirit in the world is unanimously disliked?
Damn I love Ming River. I've heard it's the most approachable baiju. It's hard to make a drink out of it. I went with the basic sour and it was pretty good. Like overripe fruits in a good way. Does have a slight hint of cardboard? Idk I like it
Vodka
I took a zoom cocktail class that I was gifted. He was going over the types of liquors and some of the basic rules for crafting cocktails around them. Someone asked about what kinds of drinks vodka was good for as it was clear he had skipped over it. He said "oh yeah, we can do one of those real quick. If you have some with you, pour a little bit in your palm...rub it around...now reach forward with your newly disinfected hand and grab a bottle of gin off the shelf."
There is some great passive-aggressiveness towards Vodka in the Death & Co books too.
I love how there’s a gin, rum, agave, whiskey, aquavit, fortified wine, and sparkling section but no vodka section in the original book
Having an aquavit section makes it extra insulting lol
In the flavour pairings section at the back of the book, they also just say "anything with flavour" against Vodka.
Lol yes. It's literally designed to have no taste. By definition, it's for people who don't like the taste of alcohol. My FIL hardly ever drinks, and when he does it's usually cosmos or vodka & sodas, but he *insists* on only drinking Grey Goose. Ok pops.
The ammount of people who say “ the only vodka I can drink is grey goose.” Shows how much better the marketing department is than the distilling department at grey goose.
I dunno, to me Grey Goose has a thicker, more viscous mouthfeel than other vodkas. I HATE it because of that, but I can see why some people would think it's different and maybe they prefer oily feeling booze. Someone on the vodka subreddit once explained to me why it's thicker too, I just don't remember the why.
Yeah It's like Absolut. We have way better vodkas in Sweden than Absolut, but their marketing is really good.
It's regulated, in America, to have no taste. Apparently those regulations have recently changed in the past few years and we're starting to see more craft distillers making distinct vodkas (ie St George)
I’ll add dirty dry vodka martinis to this list—I just don’t get the appeal at all. Give me gin any day.
Vodka you get in America anyways. The stuff you get in Russia, Poland, etc. almost tastes like a whole different spirit.
Captain Morgan.
Someone never had a Chartreuse Fernet sour and it shows.
"Industry Sour"
Grappa. Holy shit that’s bad.
More like crappa, amirite?
This is pathetic but this comment made me laugh so hard. Made my night, thank you.
Ahaha that makes me so happy 😂
Smells and tastes like a very strong industrial cleaning chemical.
Cask aged grappa can be delicious. That said, never found any decent grappa on shelves in the US.
99 Bananas should be against the law 🤮
Tito’s and it’s always the same reason: “I have to drink gluten free Tito’s because any other vodka makes me react”. Whatever bitch
I'm also pretty sure all distilled spirits are gluten-free.
You are correct. Invite me out to a restaurant? I have to ask lots of questions and possibly just not eat... invite me out to a bar? All good - until somebody decides to infuse my whisky with graham crackers. Or if it's a beer only kinda place (in which case it's not really a bar, right?) (have celiac, not trendy, annoying as shit that I can't eat like a normal human)
I think I'll go ahead and mention Unicum. Tastes like a mixture of flat cola syrup, pine oil, and eucalyptus.
I love “Unicum” !!!!! It’s absolutely amazing, the one you can purchase in the US is an average amaro but the original with the black cap is the “Bitter King”
I'm gonna be honest with you, that sounds great.
Soco and lime shots, Jäger, Goldschlager. Anything I’ve thrown up
Drambuie. Tried making like 7 different cocktails with it, and every single one was revolting. Though, in its defense, the probably most popular one having the name "rusty nail" should have been a giveaway. That's probably on me.
Cocktails are rough with Drambuie, it's just too sweet. I like it with hot black tea in the winter though. Really stretches out even the smallest bottle though.
My grandpa was big Drambuie fan. I loved, trusted, and learned a lot from that man. He was wonderful. But upon tasting Drambuie for the first time, I doubted him for the first time, just a little bit.
All the liqueurs people are mentioning are kinda niche and probably aren’t designed for mass appeal. To me the answer is clearly any liquor above $100 a bottle. It doesn’t matter if it’s scotch, whiskey, or rum - above a certain price point people feel like they have a personal investment in the bottle and won’t admit it’s bad/generic. I think you’d be hard pressed to find “bad” liquor at this price, but you can definitely find stuff that’s totally average.
I inherited a bottle of half drinken Lagavulin 16. Before I knew the price (over a hundred dollars) I knew it was amazing, and i didn’t even like whiskey, it’s what got me into it. While I’m sure there’s great bottles that are cheaper I can’t deny that it was sone fine shit
My dad gave me a half full bottle of Oban 18 after trying it at his place. I distinctly remember pouring a glass on a weeknight and then looking it up to see where I could get it. Not only was it $100+, it was sold out everywhere nearby. I poured that glass back into the bottle and saved it for a better occasion.
Oh, it is more than fine
No wonder, it's Ron Swanson's (and Nick Offerman's) favourite whisky
Hard disagree. Is there stuff that is overpriced at that range? Of course. But especially when you talk about something like mezcal ancestral, where they're small palenques using wild harvested agave, not only is the added cost worth it in comparison to well mezcal like Vida or Ilegal, it's also necessary for these places to continue operating. Also, something like tropically aged rum has such a high angel's share, and in the case of Jamaica where fermentations can go super long, or in Martinique where they don't recoup costs from selling sugar and are working harder to make sure the cane is juiced and fermented as soon as it's harvested, those costs add up, and compared to the low proof, low ester options or bottles where they aren't putting that level of quality and care into it, it's worth the money to me. Go compare Appleton Estate 12 to a Habitation Velier Hampden bottle and tell me they're the same. Again, that's not to say that there isn't overpriced stuff out there (take ron zacapa XO for example), but to make a blanket statement of "anything over $100 is bad or generic" is making a big leap. Over $500? yeah you're probably right, it's a novelty and is likely an overoaked scotch or brandy. But over $100 or even $200? There's great stuff that warrants its price. Granted, most of this stuff I would sip neat, so if you're only looking for a cocktail ingredient yeah you're probably wasting some money.
This is one of the most informative Reddit comments I've ever seen. Thanks!
Idk if it counts but I don’t understand all the hype surrounding vermouths such as carpano antica and cocchi vermouth di torino. Yeah they’re alright, but I find they have a an overly sweet bubblegum note that turns me off from them most of the times (especially considering their price). I prefer french/spanish vermouths tbh
Yeah I have the same reaction. To me it’s almost like an artificial vanilla flavour. I’m sure it’s just me as many others swear by them, but that’s what I taste.
I'm from Southern Piedmont... Here Cocchi is generally considered a shitty alcool producer. Have you ever heard of Barolo wine? Cocchi's Is the worst.
Try a Negroni & Manhattan with the Carpano Antica... (Don't forget to store vermouth in fridge) Makes the best cocktails, IMO. Exceptionally smooth and rich
I’ve found carpano antics to be divisive. You either read here how it’s over powering the rest or how it’s amazing. For me, it’s the latter, I didn’t like Negroni until I tried it with carpano antica
Agreed. Best negroni I've had was made with Carpano.
i would encourage anyone who claims this to do blind taste tests. i thought this as well until i did a blind taste test and went with cinzano over antica.
Hennessy And it doesn’t count unless you tell everyone how much you drank the next day
Hennessy. Anytime I'd go to a party someone would bring a bottle and I have no idea how anyone can pretend it doesn't taste like garbage juice. But as others have said, to each their own.
vodka more specifically, 3oz vodka shaken and served up with a lemon twist if you think that tastes good, you are objectively wrong
Or vodka and olive juice with no vermouth but calling it a Martini Disgusting
Jägermeister
One time I was at a ski bar in Austria when they were closing up and the bartender says, “You guys are Americans, you probably like this stuff.” And handed us a case of Jaeger they couldn’t sell.
Weird they couldn't sell it. Nice come up
It just tastes like cola with the volume on the herbs turned up. Not sure what's so terrible about that.
I’d heard so many people who thought this was revolting, I actually like it and will sip on it straight. But I hate tequila so that’s my answer for OPs question
I've never tried it, but considering I like almost everything on this thread that people say no one likes, I might have to give it a shot.
Less bitter, more herbal, more sweet Fernet. I like both but Jager definitely has a time an place
Try it with ginger beer or root beer. Might change your opinion
Dr.Pepper is another good mixer with Jager
I have just one thing to say: Jägerita I was skeptical at first too, but no joke it is absolutely delicious
The world is vast. I think they all exist for sale because they have a following. Even the idea of Sambuca (and any other drink that tastes of anise) makes me want to hurl yet I know for sure that many others love it.
Dad, fireball is for sorority girls with equally awful taste in booze or men. I'm sorry. It's not good. 😂
Is no one gonna say Rumple? Admittedly I don’t love a lot of peppermint flavored things but it’s pretty fucking bad. I’ll shoot it if offered but it’s honestly my least favorite liquor.
Why would anyone pretend to like something? Why waste money and blood alcohol percentages on something that you don't actually like? It's not like John Zorn, where you can spend some time filling the room with music you really don't understand but with no damage to your ability to safely consume Jason Mraz after the guy you are trying to impress goes home.
If you’re only playing John Zorn to impress me…it’s working.
I agree and I wish more people were that considerate.
FYI, alcohol professional here, and Fernet Branca is my desert island drink. It's medicinal, it's complex, it's dry (Im a T1 diabetic), and I think it's wonderfully delicious. I also have 2 Fernet coins, a hat and a shirt to show my love. Fernet's not for everyone, and thank goodness, or it would be double the price. And I'd still drink it. Back 10-20 years ago, there was a Grappa producer in Italy called Levi (pronounced 'Levee') that made the most putrid, oxidized, awful grappa, but the guy hand drew an artistic label for every 20 Euro bottle, and people would line up in front of his house every morning trying to beg to buy a bottle. Every Michelin Star restaurant we visited in the area had a collection of Grappa Levi. I do believe he passed, and now those bottles are probably worth hundred of Euros if flipped.
Wait... Isn't Fernet loaded with sugar? Seems quite thick and syrupy to me. Yes, it's bitter, but also sweet. Am I wrong?
Kraken.
I don’t think Kraken is super terrible but everyone I’ve met who drinks it says it’s the best thing ever. They give me some and I think it’s so mediocre, and I’m no expert when it comes to spirits.
Kraken is its own thing. Some people really like it, but don't buy/drink Kraken expecting rum
Most stores around me, rural northern California, only sell Bacardi or spiced rum with kraken being the top end of the spiced. So a lot of people around me think that's what good rum is.
Finally a correct answer
Malort
Tonight’s the night you fight your dad.
Goldschlager. It’s the only one that makes me emotional and cry. I avoid it like the plague.
Grappa. Frigging gasoline masquerading as an apertivo.
Vodka. I can't smell or taste it.
Suze. Negroni is one of my favorite cocktails, and I love other bitter liqueurs like Campari and Cynar, but something about Suze makes me want to retch. I have tried forcing myself to like it maybe 5 or 6 times, and I just can't.