Beer, Wine and Spirits Review Thread

[Drewcifer]

I thought this would be a good idea for a thread for those of us who enjoy an adult beverage every now and then. There is so much out there that sometimes it is hard to cut through the clutter and find the real quality.

A pleasant glass or two of quality liquor seems to brighten things in the depths of mid-winter. With that in mind I went wine shopping earlier today. I purchased three bottles of syrah and have sampled the first, 2002 Gordon Brother's Syrah from the Columbia Valley in Washington, the price was $20.

www.gordonwines.com/index.html

Good bargain and American wine are two phrases that don't often go together but in this case they absolutely should. I had tried some of the wineries' other wines in the past and was impressed but this one is really quite beyond the others. Putting on my wine geek hat I would say that it is full bodied, with intense blueberry fruit flavors, a hint of gameyness around the edges for complexity and plenty of acidity to keep it fresh tasting and balanced. In style it closer to the French syrah from the northern Rhone and rather unlike Aussie shiraz or California syrah which tend to be sweeter and lower in acid (which isn't a knock, there are good examples in those styles as well).

Two thumbs up.

 

[Fifty]

I had a nice Franzia blush today that I sucked out of its box while crying in my closet.

It had a nice pleasent acidity to it, with slight citrus notes on the edge of the palate and a tad bit of oak on the nose. In that way it reminded me of some of the late-season wines of the lower Roulenoux region last year. In other ways, though (mainly that it was fairly tanniny) it was reminiscent of some of the Sonoma wines produced by the Le Peaux brothers in 2001.

 

[Pasi Nurminen]

Beerlao - Rich, best beer you'll ever drink.

End of thread.

 

[Drewcifer]

I had a nice Franzia blush today that I sucked out of its box while crying in my closet.

It had a nice pleasent acidity to it, with slight citrus notes on the edge of the palate and a tad bit of oak on the nose. In that way it reminded me of some of the late-season wines of the lower Roulenoux region last year. In other ways, though (mainly that it was fairly tanniny) it was reminiscent of some of the Sonoma wines produced by the Le Peaux brothers in 2001.

Fred Franzia has actually made quite a fortune buying surplus grapes from good vinyards for pennies on the dollar, blending them and selling them cheap.

I know you are trying to be a snob about not being a snob but sometimes you accidently stumble near a truth.

 

[funxus]

Beerlao - Rich, best beer you'll ever drink.

Nice one - There are a few others I like better though, but Beer Lao is definitely the best value you'll ever find. Shame the export's so low

On other beers, I have a few I like, but depends on the occasion and availability. Stella, Boddingtons, Staro, Newcastle and Kilkenny I reckon are the main ones I drink

 

[Pasi Nurminen]

Ever tried Tsingtao? That one's pretty good too.

 

[Sidhe]

I drank some Merlot last night Californian, very nice, Blossom hill, heartilly recommend it, did the trick.

For Beer Budvar, German export beers aren't Bad, I'm going to Bavaria this year to find out just how not bad they really are Also anything over the 5% mark generally is pretty good.

Spirits, I love a good Bourbon, Brandy such as

http://www.thedrinkshop.com/products/nlpdetail.php?prodid=3531

Is particularly nice, if a little expensive, the

http://www.thedrinkshop.com/products/nlpdetail.php?prodid=263

For us mortals there's this cheaper but exceptional version.

Legend Has it that Napoleon held Emmanuel Courvoisier's cognac in such high esteem that he took with him hundreds of bottles to enjoy during his years in exile.

This reserve became known as Le Cognac de Napoleon, a description still proudly borne today on all Courvoisier cognac.

With aromas from the eau de vie and the wood, with full taste and character that leaves a clean and fresh finish on the palate.

You can pay ridiculous amounts for any spirits but frankly I wouldn't.

 

[Speedo]

My review: pretty much every alcoholic beverage I've tried tastes basically the same, and they all taste like crap.

 

[Sidhe]

My review: pretty much every alcoholic beverage I've tried tastes basically the same, and they all taste like crap.

I'll let you into a little secret, people don't just drink alcohol for the taste.

It's just another opiate for the masses, like TV and Religion. Or Religious TV, which is two in one, or Jesus on TV - The Trinity - happens at Easter when they show Ben Hur or The Greatest Story Ever Told

 

[Truronian]

Blue Nun, there's nothing classier than white wine that comes in a blue bottle.

 

[bhsup]

I've always been a whiskey man, Jim Beam Black Label bourbon being my preferred drink of choice. However, recently Taliesin convinced me to try some brandy, which I'd never tried before. It is St. Remy XO Napoleon Brandy, and I absolutely love it. I'm going to get some pricey cognac here in a month or two whenever this bottle of Remy is gone.

 

[storealex]

Whiskey is the best. I have a small drink of it almost every day. Im found of Islay whisky, and scoth in general but also the more round ones such as Macallan.

Irish whiskey is also good though, with 12 year redbreast coming in as my favorite. It's a very unique whiskey, but smooth and round, I can greatly recommend it.

 

[ShannonCT]

Last night I was drinking Victory's Storm King Stout. Highly recommended. Well balanced and complex chocolate and coffee flavors do well to hide the 9.1% ABV. This beer owns Guinness. Expect to pay $12-$15 for a six-pack.

 

[Taliesin]

Trois Pistoles, a delicious, refreshing, inexpensive, 9% beer. I'm not sure it's exported from Quebec, but if you see it, you should definitely grab a bottle and give it a try. It is my drink of choice for parties and the like, because it simply has the best (flavour + alcohol) : cost.

 

[ShannonCT]

Trois Pistoles, a delicious, refreshing, inexpensive, 9% beer. I'm not sure it's exported from Quebec, but if you see it, you should definitely grab a bottle and give it a try. It is my drink of choice for parties and the like, because it simply has the best (flavour + alcohol) : cost.

Unibroue is available in the States if you know where to look. A couple weeks ago, I picked up bottles of Trois Pistoles, Don de Dieu, Fin du Monde, Maudite, and Edition 2004. I enjoyed the darker Trois Pistoles and Maudite a bit more than the three pale Belgians. They are all great beers that I would much rather drink than I would an $8 bottle of wine.

 

[Taliesin]

They are all great beers that I would much rather drink than I would an $8 bottle of wine.

This is it exactly. Wine gets up to $13 or $15 a bottle before I prefer it to a good Unibroue, and Ephemere Pomme suffices if you want something as fruity as wine.

 

[RedWolf]

One of my favourite wines is Rosemount Estates Diamond Shiraz. Goes for about $15.95

Even though I'm Canadian I almost never buy Niagra wines due to their poor value. For some reason you have to spend $15 to get a wine as good as something imported from Australia that sells for about $10.

 

[Stolen Rutters]

I have a friend in a Michigan winery who gets me bottles wholesale. I like the sweet reds most. All other alcohols cost too much.

 

[BCLG100]

Being a student i get ot enjoy a fine delicacy of alcoholic beverages, i can get watered down piss or watered down piss or watered down piss with a dash of blackcurrent in. However i do like Merlot wine, its easy to drink and not that i have enough money to regularly buy it its very nice.

However in terms of beer i do think it depends largely on the situation for instance there is no better drink than sitting outside in a pub garden with your mates.

 

[RedWolf]

This is as good a thread as any to bring up the tetra pak issue. I've noticed a disturbing trend in my local wine stores in that more and more wines are appearing on the shelf in "Tetra Paks".

Call me a wine snob if you'd like but I will NEVER buy wine in a tetra pak - not even if it's the last wine on earth.