Well being that my 21st B-day is only a few days away I was thinking I need to stock up on some of the good stuff. I'm not looking for anything that's 100bucks a bottle, Just some good tasting/priced scotch, brandy, vodka, tequila, etc. So let me know what to look for and an average price for a bottle. Thanks for any info.

Sparsky [booze]

JACK or JIM

Can you tell what I like?

Brandy:
Spanish:
Fundador or Lustau

On edit:
Both of those will run from 15-20 bucks a bottle.  If you know where to get it, you get on the lower end of that range.  I have seen it as high as 25, but that was in the "lets mark things up 15%" liquor store.
Some of the guys are reccomending Cognac.  Very good stuff. "All Cognac is brandy but not all brandy is Cognac." Hennessy is the best, but expect to pay 50-70/ bottle.  I was given a bottle of Hennesy XO and I am planning on saving it for special occasions.  I would suggest getting a bottle of Cognac and keep it in storage for special events.

one more quote for you to ponder
"The French stole Food from the Italians, Brandy from the Spanish, but the arrogance is all their own."
--Author Unknown

Grey Goose is very good vodka, about $30/750ml bottle. Made in France, but it's American-owned.

For tequila, dont get anything that isn't 100% pure agave.  Cuervo Gold is the most popular tequila, but that's 51% tequila, 49% corn liquor.  The bare minimum you should get is Sauza Hornitos tequila, which is what?  $23-$26 where I live?  Probably much cheaper in Texas.  Really good tequila, like Patron and Cabo Wabo starts at about $40-$50.

[img]http://users.vnet.net/confused/MDKL.GIF[/img]

Its summertime, when the civilized folks drink Tanqueray and tonic with a twist of lime.

That Shit will kill yah...YUK!!!!

I logged in just for this.
I am a scotch drinker so here goes just a little advice.
Lagavulin is one of my favorites. But it has a heavy taste of peat that some don't enjoy. You will find it in a 16 year vintage.
Talisker, form the Isle of Skye, has a similar taste but lighter. Both are for those who want to enjoy a robust scotch.
Glenmorange has a smoother more mellow taste and can be obtained in several different vintages. There is a ten year old that is light and as you go on, say to an 18 year old, it seems to have a hearthier taste. I currently have a bottle of Rare Malt but you can find Glenmorange aged in a few different woods and they are all good choices.
Some people enjoy Oban which has a sharper taste than the above and of course there are many other single malts.
If you are going to drink scotch stay away from the blends as they will sour your taste on a fine whisky.

He's too young to know what good scotch tastes like.

When I drink hard, I drink bourbon. And when I drink bourbon, I drink Maker's Mark or 101.

Captian and cokes good, Ive heard some like night train and brass monkey though.

Rumplemeinz & Jagermeister (sp?) mix did me well for 21 until my roomates fed me the 3 wise men and a cement mixer. Bombay is good gin for a martini or gin & tonic. But if you are going to get $h!TFACED, save money and buy MD 20/20 or Sisco.

So I got:

Jim Beam
Jack
Fundador or Lustau Brandy
Bombay Sapphire Gin
Petrone(sp?) Tequila
Grey Goose Vodka
MD 20/20
Lagavulin, Talisker and Glenmorange Scotch
Maker's Mark or 101 Bourbon
Captian Morgan
Rumplemeinz & Jagermeister (sp?)

I've had two kinds of Scotch one I liked and one I didn't, but I don't know the names. As far as the Jack goes I have two bottles of the black label already. How's that Gentleman's Jack taste? I'm thinking of picking up a bottle.

Anyone else care to chime in???

Havana Club

As your attorney, I highly recommend that your first legal drink should be three fingers of Wild Turkey 101.

I'm a big fan of Irish whiskeys - check out Jamesons and Bushmills. A good idea would be to go to a bar on your 21st and try some different whiskeys & scotches before you get too hammered :) Trust me, you're not going to be able to taste anything after your second or third drink. Leave the good stuff for after you've gotten over the hangover and you can appreciate it. :)

The lump, got it right.

Whoever suggested MD (Mad Dog) 20/20 was just pulling your chain.  It's a sweet flavored wine designed to get you fucked up fast, favored by winos and teenagers.  It's skid row, not top shelf.

Here's a few.  Nothing spectacular.  What will you be doing with this stuff??  Makes a difference.. :)

Grey Goose Vodka
Stoli Vanil Vodka (Stoli Vanil and Coke is great!  girls love it, too)
George Dickle Sour Mash Whiskey.  Better than Mr. Daniels' product IMO.
Maker's Mark is good, and so is Knob Creek.
Captain Morgan is a decent rum.
Bacardi Limon mixed with Sprite is pretty damn good, too.
100% Agave Tequila, as mentioned before.
Fetzer Merlot is a nice inexpensive red wine.
KJ's Grand Estates is a good Chardonay.

And don't skimp on the bubbly!!  Get some Perrier-Jouet "Fleur".  Hands down some of the best champange out there!  It should be for over $100/bottle... but really, it's that good!!

Oh yeah, keep some wine coolers for the ladies in case they don't like the mixed stuff.  Not that you'd want to bring a girl over and her get "tipsy" or anything..... [:D]

Let me first openly confess that I'm a drinker of what are commonly called "women's drinks", those that tend to be mixed and of a fruity variety.

I like a lot of the citrus vodkas.... smirnoff twist is very smooth and mixes well with most anything you'd put an unflavored vodka in. Like it better than Absolut Citron.

Malibu coconut rum (or Captain Morgan's Parrot Bay, a little sweeter) is my drink of choice and I'll put it in just about anything. It's a the kind of liquor that doesn't taste like liquor.

I like Grand Marnier, an orange-based liquor which if fairly expensive. One of few liquors i'll drink straight on the rocks without mixing it in a soda, juice etc. Keep meaning to try Cointreau, which is supposed to be similar, but is even more expensive. Anybody tried it? Triple Sec is a cheaper alternative to both, and is a very sweet, weaker base liquor that tastes of orange.

I like to keep a Kahlua knockoff around. Kaluha is expensive coffee flavored liquor that really isn't any better than the cheap stuff. Ever had coffe milk? Milk and a shot of Kaluha is great for cookie dipping. Also makes mudlides which brings me to....

Bailey's Irish Cream, a brandy and cream mix whicg I'll drink straight on the rocks, in mudslides, or in coffee (yum!). It's kind of expensive and there are lots of knockoffs, some of which taste like bad brandy and some which are pretty good. Anyone tried one that they liked?

Arrow, Hiram Walker (and some other people) make a lot of fruit flavored liquors. Find some that are based on fruit flavors you like and start mixing with sprite, 7-up, ginger ale, etc.. see what you like. I especially keep strawberry liquor around and use it to make daquiris, it goes real nice in OJ (with Malibu) also.

About malt beverages: stolichnaya citrona, smirnoff ice, mike's hard lemonade, etc... Skyy Blue is the best of them, but's it's much cheaper to get a vodka or citrus vodka, mik with ginger ale/sprite/7-up and get darn near the same result. Also, many people become nausious if they mix malt bevarages with hard liquor in one night of drinking.

I've found I don't care for Tequila, but given the advice on this thread, that may be because I've only used Jose Cuervo, which taste odly of dark rum, which I also dislike. Will have to try some 100% blue agave. Do y'all recommend Sauza?

Try anything that says "schnapps" also... from butterscotch to cinnamon to peppermind to peach. Be warned that all of these have a very strong "paint thinner" alcohol taste and will be much stronger than the arrow/hiram fruit liquors. I like buttershots, and a little bit of goldschlagger cinnamon schanpps. Plus, you get free gold in the bottom!

Prices are different wherever you go. Up here, NH you can only get hard liquor at state run liquor stores, which, suprisingly, are well priced and have good sales. Slightly better than private store in MA and miles better than HEAVILY taxed Maine liquor. If you live near a sate line, find out what the deal is on the other side.

Drink in moderation, and DO NOT drive after more than ONE beverage, no matter what you think you're capable of thereafter.

For what purpose do you want to stock up on liquor for? Are you throwing a party are do you just want to have a variety of liquors on hand in case you will throw a party? Or will all this liquor be for just yourself and a couple of friends?
In either case, what do YOU and YOUR friends drink? If you are all beer drinkers, then it will be a waste to buy hard liquor.
You could buy a bartenders book and go with the most widely used liqours used.
If you want some top shelf liquours that aren't really expensive, but aren't cheap generic stuff, here are some recommendations

VODKA - Absolut, Stolichnaya, Grey Goose, Ketel One

RUM- Bacardi, Cpt. Morgan

GIN - Bombay, Tanqueray

TEQUILA - Jose Cuervo

WHISKEY - Whiskeys come in a large variety. Some popular ones are, Seagrams 7, Canadian Club,  Jack Daniels, Jim Beam, Wild Turkey

BRANDIES and COGNAC. Christian Bros., Korbel, E&J are some popular name American brandies. Cognac is brandy made in that region of France. Cognac such as Hennessey and Courvoisier can be priced from $30 to $2,000 a bottle depending on age.

Some other liquours that are always to have on hand for shots and mixes are Jaegermeister, Amaretto, Baileys, Kahlua and Sambuca

Then if you want to have the proper mix to go with you home "bar". You should have on hand, Cola, Lemon-Lime soda, orange juice, cranberry juice and sweet&sour mix.

All this information could possibly be OVERKILL for you if you just wanted to know about a specific type of liquor.

Liqours are an aquired taste. One cannot say to another what just ONE liqour they should have or stock up on. I'm personally a person who likes either rum or vodka based drinks, where you may like whiskey, so it is hard to say what you should buy.

[b]ArmaLiter[/b]

Smirnoff Vodka
Bacardi White Rum
Bacardi Spiced Rum
Black Velvet
Pepermint Schnapps  100 proof
Last but not lease
Southern Comfort!  
Drink a 1/5 of each, and you should be f*cked for the next few days.  What a way to celebrate!

Edited to say:  Pepermint Schnapps 100 proof is an EXCELLENT breakfast drink!!!

Oh, and about wine: what I'm about to say might really appall oenophiles if there are any here.

Basically, unless the wine really really sucks, unbalanced some way, wine from a $12 5 liter box is pretty much the same as wine out of a $9 bottle.

Unless you're hanging out with total wine experts (and even they are kind of suspect) no one can tell the difference.  The only thing about wine is making sure it's balanced between acid, tannin, and sweetness, and that it has enough flavor so it's not watery or flat. When people say "This is a good year" they mean to the degree the grapes harvested struck a good balance between sugar, acid, and tannins.

Aside from that, it's all supply and demand.  A lot of those super expensive wines are status symbols, or their price is inflated by the wine expert from the Wine Spectator newsletter who deem it to be the best.  People with too much money and who dont trust their own opinion bid those wines up.  One time a newspaper held a wine tasting and invited the leading wine connoseurs.  They dyed white wine red, then watched the "experts" say which vineyard it came from, what kind of grape, etc. etc.  They couldn't even tell white from red by taste.

Just turned 21 and my favorite drinks thus far are:

Irish Car Bomb
1.) Big glass of Guiness.
2.) Shotglass w/ 3/4 Irish Whiskey and 1/4 Irish Cream.
3.) Drop shotglass in Guiness and Down that mother.

Is there a name for this?
1.) Can of RedBull Energy Drink in cup.
2.) Add as much vodka you want.

Those are what I like so far.

Oz

Single malt is probably wasted on a youngin', but I would recommend Glenmorange in that category as well.

I also like Smirnoff "blue label" Vodka, Jim Beam, Jack Daniels, Wild Turkey, and a plethora of beers.

I have heard so many bad things about gin over the years (and had some nasty experiences), that I finally switched to vodka & tonics and dumped the gin & tonics. That was almost 20 years ago and I've never looked back.

Vodka tonic with a twist of lime is the best summer drink out there.

as far as good vodka goes, all vodka has no taste except for the alcohol (unless you get one of the flavor added vodkas like Absolute Citron). What you look for in vodka is smoothness.

for a good vodka drink try also White Russians
equal parts vodka, kahlua, and milk. mmmmmmmm

May I make a (well-learned) suggestion?  As a bartender for years as well as a world-class drunk (I'm not an alcoholic - they go to meetings) I have sampled and consumed vast quantities of many types of liquors over the years.  There are some good suggestions here, but it really all comes down to your personal tastes and whether you drink the liquor straight or mix it.

I suggest finding a place that has a LOT of the small 50ml bottles and getting every one you can find and sampling them.  Just a few a night, and take copious notes on their taste, texture, etc.  Try half of it straight and half of it mixed with Coke or Sprite/7-up.

For a great sipping whiskey that needs no ice, water, etc. - get Gentleman Jack.  There are better ones, but they are more expensive and some may not be to your taste.

For the absolute BEST rum you will ever drink in your life, and which EVERY woman will drink in mass quantities (which of course leads to other fun pursuits) get Gosling's Black Seal rum - this stuff is like pure fermented molassas - incredibly smooth, very sweet, mixes well - and very reasonably priced.  Trust me on this one - you cannot go wrong here.

Speyburn makes a great entry-level Scotch that is great "neat" (no ice, no water).  About $21 a bottle - good to start off on.  Highland Park also makes a very smooth Scotch in the under $30 price range as well.

I tend to avoid Wild Turkey because it has a much higher alcohol content and that affects the taste (too strong IMHO).

Good luck and let us know what you find out.

This is the good stuff.

Drink in moderation, please, for your safety and the safety of others around you!

Also, stay away from the MOGAN DAVID, unless you are one of them TOUGH GUYS who likes to inflict pain on yer self.

I drink MD 20/20. Get some steel reserve if they got it there good stuff.  Knob creek is good.

southern comfort is for kids. avoid it

scotch was a bet between a couple of idiots on who could make and drink the worlds worst whiskey.  avoid it.

Bourbons,  good.

Gin's ok

vodka, ok

GO with Jack, Jim, Crown royal, Turkey.

Tanq gin is good.

Absolute vodka is good.

If you are gonna get a Tequila, get a GOOD one. One that is $40 or $50 a bottle, it is worth it.

Do not drink them all in one night. [:D]

Happy b-day Shaun

TXL

So I got:

Jim Beam
Jack
Fundador or Lustau Brandy
Bombay Sapphire Gin
Herradura Anejo, Petrone(sp?) Tequila
Grey Goose Vodka
Lagavulin, Talisker and Glenmorange Scotch
Maker's Mark or 101 Bourbon
Captian Morgan
Rumplemeinz & Jagermeister (sp?)
Havana Club
Wild Turkey
Jamesons and Bushmills
Stoli Vanil Vodka
George Dickle Sour Mash Whiskey
Maker's Mark
Knob Creek
Bacardi Limon
Grand Marnier
Bailey's Irish Cream
Absolut
Stolichnaya
Ketel One
Seagrams 7
Canadian Club
Bombay
Tanqueray
Black Velvet
Southern Comfort
Crown royal
Gosling's Black Seal rum
Hennessey or Courvoisier (for when I have big bucks)

Most of this stuff I've already had and will buy big bottles of. Others I'll buy the smaller bottles to see how well they go down. I'm getting the shaft this B-day though. It falls on a Sunday (6/22), so I guess I'll have to party hard Saturday and pick up my pistol Tuesday. Most of this stuff I plan on keeping on hand for a wet bar or if I have friends over. Figured I'd ask the board so I'd have a large variety on hand.... eventually.

Sparsky - definately get the Gosling's Black Seal - I'm drinking some now - yummy!

And the Gentleman Jack and Speyburn are great, too.

But seriously, try out my idea of getting a lot of little bottles and trying them out a few at a time and writing your observations.  This is a great way to keep from buying big bottles of stuff you won't like.

You little bastard.

Threads like this really frost my ass.

All you need is advice.

The title indicated that you needed help from a liquor drinker, and I started salivating like Pavlov's dog.

If you need held drinking up some good liquor, call me.

If you need advice, call me.

But let me know up fromt what you want.

Greywolf... I'll try to write but I don't know if it's gunna make scene when I'm sober and trying to read it.

Piccolo.... In actuality I'll be dragging some of these bottles to some of the gatherings I go to with the DFW crew.

Yes, but....

ice wine is different. If done correctly, and at those prices it is, it is a real treat.

Sparsky - that's why you only should test 2-3 liquors each evening.  Don't get drunk. That way you can write coherently, remember to cleanse the palate, and all the liquors won't start running together.  Moderation is the key here for this particular experiment.

Hmm... Moderation and drinking... there's two things I haven't heard in the same sentence in a while.

Just what would I use to cleanse the palate anyways?

Oh, BTW I'm not much or a wine or champaign drinker. Tends to give me headaches, and not of the hang over kind.

Oh Raven what is the name of this I'm looking for? Or is that pic all I have to go by?

<---------Jaegermeister.  Licorice-flavored cough syrup, basically.  You drink it by the shot, ice cold.  It's 40-60 proof I think.  Some people love it, most people think it tastes like cough syrup. Its effects are more sedative than other drinks, maybe because of all the herbs it's steeped in.  Some people say there's opium in it, but aside from poppy seeds, that's not true.

My personal suggestions:

Fine Liquors:
Thunderbird
Night Train
Boones Farm Strawberry Hill

Fine Aromatics:
Rustoleum Metallic Gold
3M 70 Series Spray Adhesives

Whom ever suggested you drink is the real ass hole MD 20/20 is just as good as any to fuck up your head and body!


Pepsi anyone?  Leave the drinking to us Pros!


 Bob [:D]

[b]Jagermeister.[/b]

Cleanse the palate with about 3-4 ounces of water (room temp), munch on a plain cracker or two or some bread, then drink a little more water.  That way you've sopped up the remnants of the liquor you just drank so it wont interfere with the taste of the next one you try.